S. K. Adetona: Remembering a quintessential monarch

By: AFazzy A. Yusuf

A dark cloud pervaded the entire Ijebu nation nay Nigeria when on Sunday, July 13, 2025 the news filtered out that the quintessential, nonagenarian and longest reigning monarch of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, GCON, CFR, had joined his ancestors. The devastating news drew the curtain on the sixty-five years, three months and eleven days’ remarkable reign of a king who bestrode the traditional institution like a colossus and juggernaut.  Born on May 10, 1934 at Imupa Quarters, Ijebu Ode, the amiable monarch would have been 92 years old on May 10, 2026. This is thus his first posthumous birthday, and a veritable moment to recount some of his transformational and intentional contributions to the making of modern Ijebu nation and the country at large.  His coronation and presentation with the Staff of Office took place at Itoro grounds, Ijebu Ode before a mammoth crowd of who was who in the defunct Western Region including Sir Samuel Ladoke Akintola (Premier), Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo (Leader of Opposition in the Federal House of Representatives), Chief Timothy Adeola Odutola (Ogbeni Oja of Ijebu Ode), Mr. Samuel Olatunbosun Sonibare (who later became the Asiwaju of Ijebu), and Chief Emmanuel Okunowo (Bobasuwa I of Ijebu). He was a month and eight days short of 26 years of age when he ascended the throne!

Shortly thereafter, he took his seat in the Western Region House of Chiefs in Ibadan amongst other Kings in the Western Region now covering Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, and Delta States, and some parts of the present Lagos State. It is salutary to recall that he was nominated to be the Chairman of the House (of Chiefs), but the the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, was eventually chosen. Remarkably, at the tender age of 26, he was appointed a Minister in the Akintola government and served in that position until the lamentable political crisis of the region in 1962. When the Tafawa Balewa government at the centre declared a State of Emergency in Western Region, he was chosen as a member of the Dr. Moses Majekodunmi’s Emergency Administration from June to December 1962. Thereafter, he continued to serve his kingdom whilst also creating a niche for himself. He strove to empower himself as he was the School of Thought that taught him not to depend on his subjects for sustenance or means of livelihood. During the first military incursion into governance (January 1966 to September 1979) and the Civil war (May 1967 to January 1970), Oba Adetona played a key role in ensuring stability and cohesion in the polity. He was one king who was referenced and adored by successive Nigerian leaders. However, during the Second Republic, he had a rough encounter with the government of Chief Olabisi Onabanjo of Ogun State who issued an Order to suspend and subsequently move to depose him as the Ijebu monarch on November 28, 1981. A dogged fighter, Oba Adetona went to court to challenge the legality of his deposition. He won. The government of Onabanjo could not pursue the appeal, as the military overthrew the government of Aliyu Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1983 and dismantled the Second Republic. Colonel Donaldson Oladipo Diya (later Lt. General) who was appointed the Military Governor of Ogun State decided not to pursue the appeal and chose to accept the judgment reinstating Oba Sikiru Adetona as the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland.

This development opened a new opportunity for the Ijebu nation to come together as one indivisible entity to pursue common goal and regeneration. The Ijebu Ode Development Association became a focal point for the mobilisation of the citizenry. It was the pervading congenial and clement environment that galvanised the people to rally round Oba Adetona in building a magnificent palace at Ijebu Ode. The profile of Oba Adetona took a quantum leap and he was sought after by all for advice, counselling, mentoring and coaching. His knowledge of governance, society and humanity was unparalleled. He was an encyclopedia on Nigerian and global affairs. Frank, factual, calling a spade by its very name, he damned every demagogue. His palace became a Mecca for consultation and objective and sagacious deliberations. The June 12, 1993 political imbroglio or debacle provided a wonderful opportunity for Oba Adetona to exhibit his uncommon sagacity, wisdom, mastery of conflict resolution, incorruptibility and patriotism. He hosted many sessions to find solutions to the myriad of issues plaguing the country. He was nicknamed the ‘grandfather of NADECO – National Democratic Coalition). NADECO was a body formed to actualise the June 12, 1993 presidential mandate of Chief Moshood Kasimawo O. Abiola. When his subject, Lt. General Oladipo Diya, the Chief of Statf to General Sani Abacha was arrested for an attemped coup, Oba  Adetona spoke truth to power.

Oba Adetona hosted Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the tail end of his sojourn in this part of the universe.He equally played host to numerous Nigerians and foreigners. He served the Nigerian government as a special envoy to Southern Africa, Chancellor of the former Federal University of Technology, Yola, amongst others. He was President of Nigerian Muslim Council and on many occasions, he was Chairman of Ogun State Council of Oba (Kings). During his 80th birthday, he was approached through this writer by the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye to endow a Professorial Chair in Good Governance. He did not hesitate. He did not waiver. He went beyond expectation and endowed a multi-billion naira Professorial Chair in the university. Having been involved in governance at the tender age of 25, he conceived a project that has now catapulted the university. He established the multi-billion naira School of Governance in Olabisi Onabanjo University for postgraduate and research studies in every aspect of governance. So captivated was the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Federal Government that the government at the commissioning in May 2025 decided to make the school an annexe of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru-Jos.

The Ijebu deity was honoured with several awards, including the second highest national honour of the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON), Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), and honorary doctorate degrees by many universities. The heavens lamented the passage of this uncommon monarch. Indeed, lamentations over the exit of Oba S. K. Adetona would continue to focus on the sudden void in leadership, the fall of a mighty and quintessential monarch, and the transition of an era. According to Thomas Paine “Death is not the monarch for the dead, but of the dying” Oba Adetona lived a life of love, a life of purpose, a life of service and a life that the angels continue to sing his praises. His widows mourn him. His children, grandchildren and great grandchildren mourn his exit. His subjects mourn his passage. Nigeria and Nigerians lament his death. When can we have another monarch like Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona?

•Chief (Prof.) Yusuf, FNIM, FCIoD, Baagbimo of Ijebu, writes in via [email protected]