Lamidi Adeyemi III
| Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ikú Bàbá Yèyé | |||||||||
| Alaafin of Oyo | |||||||||
| Reign | 18 November 1970 – present | ||||||||
| Coronation | 18 November 1970 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II | ||||||||
| Born | 15 October 1938 Oyo, Federation of Nigeria | ||||||||
| Spouse | See
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| House | Oranyan | ||||||||
| Father | Oba Adeniran Adeyemi II | ||||||||
| Mother | Ibironke | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||||||
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Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III (born 15 October 1938) is the Alaafin, or traditional ruler, of the Yoruba town of Oyo and rightful heir to the throne of its historic empire.
Early life and ancestry[]
Alaafin Adeyemi III was born Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi on October 15, 1938 into the Alowolodu Royal House, and as a member of the House of Oranmiyan to Raji Adeniran Adeyemi (born 1871), who later became Alaafin in 1945, and Ibironke of Epo-Gingin, who died when he was young. His father is said to have had over 200 wives. His paternal grandfather[1] was Alaafin Adeyemi I Alowolodu, who ruled during the Kiriji War, and was the last independent ruler of the Oyo Empire before British colonialism. Alaafin Adeyemi I's father, and Adeyemi III's great-grandfather was Oba Atiba Atobatele, who founded New Oyo.[2] Atiba's father, his great-great grandfather, was Alaafin Abiodun,[3] and is a direct descendant of Oranmiyan, the founder of the Oyo Empire.
Lamidi's father, the Alaafin of Oyo Oba Adeyemi II Adeniran, was deposed and exiled in 1954 for sympathizing with the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC). He had come into conflict with Bode Thomas, deputy leader of the Action Group.[4]
According to rumors, Bode Thomas shouted at him for not standing to greet him as the chairman of NCNC during a political gathering at a party. Oba Adeyemi II Adeniran, insulted, stood and then told Bode Thomas to go home and bark like a dog. Later, he started coughing blood and died while walking back home leaving his entourage. Shortly, Herbert Macaulay heard of the catastrophe, and along with Obafemi Awolowo accused Oba Adeyemi II of poisoning Thomas, and then exiled him from his kingdom. He lived out the rest of his days in Lagos where his subjects still visited him until his death in the early 1960s.
Coronation[]
Lamidi Adeyemi succeeded Alaafin Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II in 1970, during the governorship of Colonel Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, after the end of the Nigerian Civil War. In 1975, the head of state General Murtala Ramat Muhammed included Oba Adeyemi in his entourage to the hajj. He was chancellor of Uthman dan Fodiyo University in Sokoto from 1980 to 1992. In 1990, President Ibrahim Babangida appointed him Amir-ul-Hajj in recognition of his commitment to the consolidation of Islam in Nigeria.[4]
Political attachment[]
On 3 May 2011, the outgoing Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala announced that the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III was no longer Permanent Chairman of the Council of Obas and Chiefs in Oyo State. The state government had just passed a law that introduced rotation of the office of Chairman between the Alaafin and his two rivals, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Soun of Ogbomoso. It was said that the measure, introduced by the state assembly with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) majority, was in response to the Oba's support for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the April 2011 elections. The ACN beat the PDP decisively in that election.[5]
Talking in September 1984 he said: "Traditional rulers should be seen as the perfect embodiment of the culture of the place, as well as the synthesis of the aspirations and goals of the nation. This is not only in social values of veracity, egalitarianism, justice and democracy; but in dress, utterances and comportment; even the mere necessary trivialities (sic) that mark Nigeria and the locality as a distinctive entity".[6]
Personal life[]
He is married to Ayaba Abibat Adeyemi, his senior wife.[7] He attends most events with her or with one of the twelve junior wives that he's also married to.
His other wives are Ayaba Rahmat Adedayo Adeyemi, Ayaba Mujidat Adeyemi, Ayaba Rukayat Adeyemi, Ayaba Folashade Adeyemi, Ayaba Badirat Ajoke Adeyemi, Ayaba Memunat Omowunmi Adeyemi, Ayaba Omobolanle Adeyemi, Ayaba Moji Adeyemi, Ayaba Anuoluwapo Adeyemi, and Ayaba Damilola Adeyemi.
He is a lover of boxing, as he was a boxer before ascending the throne of his Fathers.[8]
References[]
- ^ Adebayo, Musliudeen (24 December 2017). "Alaafin presents Oyo monarch beaded crown 37 years after coronation [PHOTOS]". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Falola, Toyin (1999). Yoruba Gurus: Indigenous Production of Knowledge in Africa. ISBN 9780865436992.
- ^ http://www.citypeopleonline.com/the-shocking-story-of-how-alaafin-adeyemi-ii-adeniran-was-dethroned-banished-from-oyo-kingdom-by-obafemi-awolowo/
- ^ a b "Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi Turns 70". The Nation (Nigeria). 3 November 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ YINKA FABOWALE (8 May 2011). "Real reasons Akala sacked Alaafin". The Sun (Nigeria). Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Reinwald, Brigitte (2001). Afrikanische Beziehungen, Netzwerke und Räume: Africain networks, exchange and spatial dynamics. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 271. ISBN 3-8258-5705-0.
- ^ "See The Alaafin Of Oyo's First Wife, She's The Same Age As Her Husband". Information Nigeria. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Alaafin of oyo fights for boxing title". 15 October 2016.
External links[]
- Living people
- 1938 births
- Alaafins of Oyo
- Nigerian Muslims