Another distinct and great King in Yorubaland has gone to join the ancestors, Oba Samuel Adegboyega Osunbade, Adeyelu II, JP, FCIS, FCA, the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon. A well-educated monarch with a high official and personal profile changed the face of Orile-Igbon, Surulere Local Government of Oyo State, with his expertise and zeal to uplift the exalted throne and the land of his fathers.

Historically, the stool of the Olugbon was among the top provincial rulers of the Oyo kingdom. However, Igbon was one of the early casualties of the destructive forces unleashed on the Kingdom from the beginning of the nineteenth century by Afonja. By 1830, the Igbon community had scattered, and a section of its people, with the Olugbon, had found refuge in Ogbomoso. His predecessor, Oba Akanni, started the resettlement efforts at Orile-Igbon, and after the installation of Oba Osunbade on the 24th of July 1992, he continued the resettlement efforts with notable strides. According to Osuntokun and Oduwobi in The Merchant Prince and the Monarch, Oba Oladunni Oyewummi, the Soun of Ogbomosoland.

The strides of the 21st Olugbon, Oba Osunbade, to Orile Igbon were in various respects, including the removal of the Soun’s consent for the subsequent Olugbons to be installed, as recommended by the Oloko Commission of Inquiry, emphasising that the Olugbon ranked second to the Alafin in the state in terms of traditional hierarchy. The King also embarked on a quest to establish Orile-Igbon as the headquarters of a newly established local government in 1996, a great feat for his people. Subsequently, he became the Vice Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas. Many developmental projects that have attracted the siting of various government agencies in the community largely based on his philanthropic gestures.

The monarch, with a flourishing accounting practice in the metropolitan city of Lagos, was prepared for all the struggles with government institutions over these visible developments in Orile-Igbon. As a student in England, he was the General Secretary of the All-African Students’ Union and the President of the Nigerian Union of Students in England and Ireland, which afforded him the opportunity to visit many African countries. In 1967, he led a delegation of Nigerian students from England to pay a visit to the General Yakubu Gowon –led Federal Military Government to intervene in the national crisis at the out­break of the civil war.

I had the opportunity to meet the monarch at his Ogbomoso home on Ikoyi Road, by his 3-star hotel, Olugbon Hotel. He greatly encouraged me when I embarked on the noble course of writing the biography of my maternal grandfather, Revd John Adegoke Okesiji, JP, who was his spiritual father, while he was the under shepherd of First Baptist Church, Okelerin, Ogbomoso. The ever-accommodating King was glad to contribute to the book, and he wished me success. He answered my calls whenever I called, and he contributed to the book, which he gave to Olajide Akinsola, my very good friend. As described by Revd Okesiji, Oba Osunbade truly cared about the work of God, and his charismatic leadership was evident in the wisdom he regularly dispensed to other traditional rulers around him. He was not a hindrance to anyone, within or outside his community, who worshipped the triune God.

Unfortunately, the great story of a noble King and activist had a dark lining when the King was bereaved in 2012 when his son, Prince Aderoju Osunbade, died in the ill-fated air crash. This deeply affected the widely celebrated monarch, who eventually gave up the ghost on the 14^th October 2016.

The Royal Accountant, credited with glowing tributes from across the globe as a boardroom colossus, a traditional ruler of repute, and a devoted Baptist, has completed his terrestrial 82- year race. The King served both divinity and humanity. He has transitioned to the Greatest Accountant who will reckon his final ledger.

Kabiyesi Olugbon ti saye re;  yoo si sorun ire! Fare thee well, Sir.

Olutayo IRANTIOLA

Lagos, Nigeria.