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Afeez Hanafi
In African societies, especially Yorubaland, coronation is a historic event that attracts guests from far and near. Such an occasion usually has in attendance the rich, the poor and the cream of the society who share cultural or familial lineage with the host community. The planning for the eventful ceremony is usually novel and elegant in order to make the D-Day a memorable one. And the reason is not strange; traditional rulers are living embodiments of prestige and reverence. They are custodians of culture and a rallying force among people of different strata.
Like every new monarch, Oba Muritala Ogun-Oloko, the Olu of Iwaya – a busy community tucked in Lagos West – had moved preparations up a gear ahead of February 2, 2019 when he would be formally installed as “the number one citizen” of the populous neighbourhood.
He had bought seven different expensive clothes to wear on the day. And it was going to be a dress per moment, Saturday PUNCH learnt.
Already, there were bookings for drinks, catering service, musical show and ‘Aso Ebi’ (a dress chosen as the general attire for guests) for hundreds of potential attendees.
With each passing day, Ogun-Oloko, his family, friends and council of chiefs became more exuberant and could not wait to witness the event. Suddenly, plans had to be halted on Monday, January 14, when the 75-year-old joined his ancestors barely three weeks to the occasion.
“It all started like a mere cough that Monday morning. He was given medications. But his health deteriorated and we decided to rush him to the hospital. He died on the way,” the late monarch’s first wife, Bisi, told Saturday PUNCHamidst sobs.For about two minutes, the mother of eight could not continue the talk with our correspondent. She was devastated. After much succour from sympathisers around her, she managed to pick herself up. She stifled her tears to resume the narration.
“He was supposed to wear seven different types of clothes that day. He had already bought four and given them to his tailor. On Saturday, two days before he died, one of the younger wives and I went to the market to buy three new clothes of 10 yards each. We bought them for about N400,000. We also bought souvenirs that we would share at the event.
“The following morning, I went to his room to inform him about the new clothes. He said he was relaxing and that he would look at them later. He called his tailor that day and asked me to give the clothes to him. The tailor came along with the four dresses he had already sown.”
The widow explained that she was sleeping after she had prayed that Monday morning when a child rushed to her room, informing her that the monarch was coughing and acting strangely.
She continued, “I hardly slept at night due to the stress of the preparation. After praying in the morning, I would go back to sleep. That Monday morning, while I was asleep, one of our children woke me up. He asked me to come and look at Kabiyesi (the monarch). It was around 11am. When I got to his room, he was coughing. He took some medications but there was no improvement. So I called one of his sons, Sola, on the telephone and informed him about the situation. A nurse had already put him on a drip.
“Some minutes later, we decided to take him to the hospital, but he died on the way. I could not believe it. I thought he was sleeping and would soon wake up. I was expecting a miracle to happen. He was very humble and generous. He was my confidant and friend. We never expected this tragedy.”
