Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, is dead

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, is dead. The monarch died in London, United Kingdom on Tuesday evening, at the age 85.

The late monarch was born on January 1, 1930.

He reportedly fell critically sick last week before he was flown to London.

Oba Sijuwade inherited the Ooni stool in 1980, becoming the 50th monarch of Ile-Ife regarded as the source of the Yoruba people.

While he lived, one of the defining aspects of his reign was rivalry with the Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi, over supremacy claims.