The Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday revealed the content of a text message the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, sent to him on July 23, before he passed away.
Aregbesola, who had promised to wait for the news on the demise of the Ooni before making public the last conversation he had with the revered monarch, made good his promise in Osogbo on Wednesday, at a press conference where members of the family of the late Oba Sijuwade and his traditional council members officially announced his passing away.
Quoting from the text message verbatim, the governor said: “I am still not feeling good. So, I am travelling abroad for further medical treatment this week. I place you and your government in the hand of God and under His continuous guidance”.
Aregbesola further said: “This was the last conversation I had with the late monarch. We dearly miss his charisma, demonstration of loyalty and his position as a rallying-point for all Yoruba people and a bridge-builder across all ethnic groups in Nigeria.
“Indeed, he was a great man and he left an indelible mark on the sand of history, not only in Yorubaland, Nigeria but across the world”.
He added that the death of the Ooni was a great loss to the state and the Yoruba race but noted that the “king is not dead” because people do not say the king is dead in Yorubaland.
