By Oyekolade Sodiq OYESANYA Ph.D
The dignified Islamic burial of His Royal Majesty, Ọba Dr Sikiru Kayode Adetona, CFR, GCON, the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, has understandably ignited widespread commentary, critique, and cultural reflection across Yorubaland. Yet, the debates it provoked reveal a collective amnesia: the struggle for the reformation of Obaship rites in Ijebuland did not begin with his death, it began long before it. Indeed, the foundation of what we now recognise as the Ogun State Chiefs (Amendment) Law of 2021 was laid decades ago by the same monarch, in concert with visionary traditional and religious leaders who understood the burden of inherited contradictions in the post-colonial identity of the Yoruba Oba.
One of the clearest artefacts of this decades-long campaign is the communiqué issued by the Ijebu Traditional Council on 31 March 1997, following a landmark assembly of traditional rulers, religious leaders, and cultural stakeholders at the Aafin Awujale in Ijebu-Ode. Chaired by Ọba Adetona himself, the gathering sought to correct what it identified as an untenable contradiction between modern sensibilities and ancient customs, particularly concerning the treatment and burial of Obas.
The communique, now a historical exhibit in this unfolding discourse, reaffirmed decisions originally made in 1980 under the aegis of the Awujale. These decisions, recorded and endorsed by all present, included two profound declarations:
a. That Obas should henceforth be buried in accordance with their religious beliefs, provided such burial is not in prejudice to traditional rites and gifts;
b. That the children and families of deceased Obas be allowed to organise memorial or social ceremonies in a manner consistent with their religious or personal convictions.
The revolutionary nature of this resolution cannot be overstated. It was an unprecedented move, not just a deviation from dogma but a deliberate rupture from practices no longer supported by lived cultural and moral realities. As Oba Adetona boldly declared in his address at the assembly, “ever since the Imabgon war of 1892 and the rise of Christian missionary activity which eradicated human sacrifices, it has become very difficult and absolutely impossible to bury an Oba traditionally.”
This was not a polemic against tradition but a sobering assessment of its transformation under historical pressure. The monarchs of Ijebuland were acknowledging that rituals, once spiritually potent, had become obsolete, often cruel, and, most significantly, no longer reflective of the people’s collective conscience. The result was a cruel irony: kings who served their people with dignity in life were denied honour in death, their burials obscured by secrecy, myth, and confusion.
In many respects, the communiqué of 1997 was not just an internal policy document, it was a political manifesto, a cultural declaration of independence, and a moral indictment of uncritical traditionalism. More importantly, it sought to place the dignity of human life, and by extension, royal death, above inherited superstition.
Present at the assembly were not only traditional rulers and kingmakers but leaders of all major Christian denominations, Muslim clerics, and a broad cross-section of academics and intelligentsia. Their consensus reflected the sociocultural evolution of Ijebuland as an enlightened and pluralistic community.
The communiqué ultimately recommended the widespread dissemination of these progressive decisions to the general public, religious leaders, and cultural stakeholders across Ijebuland. The intent was clear: to codify a reimagined tradition that harmonises Yoruba identity with contemporary realities.
It is this moral and intellectual groundwork that paved the way for the Ogun State Chiefs Law (Amendment) 2021, which now legally authorises Obas to be buried according to their religious beliefs, if so declared in writing. It is not a betrayal of tradition, it is the fulfilment of a reformist vision that began in the late 20th century. The late Awujale did not simply exploit this law; he authored its preamble, long before it took statutory form.
Critics who now bemoan the Islamic system of burial of the Awujale as a repudiation of Yoruba culture betray either ignorance of history or a wilful rejection of documented facts. Obaship is not static. Like language, it evolves. Like institutions, it reforms, or it becomes a relic.
Indeed, the struggle for the emancipation of Obas in death mirrors their struggle in life: the fight for relevance, dignity, and constitutional clarity. That struggle did not begin in 2021, nor did it end with the passing of Ọba Adetona. It is a historical continuum, a battle between fossilised ritual and enlightened tradition, between inherited theatre and lived belief.
If modernity has no place in tradition, then tradition has no place in the lives of modern people. Thankfully, the Ijebu nation chose the path of reason, led by one of the most intellectually courageous monarchs in Yoruba history.
The dignified Islamic burial of the Awujale, Ọba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, was not an act of religious partisanship but the crowning triumph of a decades-long battle for cultural sanity, legal clarity, and moral dignity. It is high time the rest of the Yoruba nation took note, not to mimic, but to reflect.
Oyekolade Sodiq OYESANYA Ph.D
Department of Religious Studies,
College of Humanities
Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun
Ogun State, Nigeria
[email protected]
Saturday, 19th of July, 2025