Aside impacting the lives of many in his community, the Southwest and across the country, the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, was a bridge-builder whose great intellectual knowledge and depth would be missed, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
Prof. Osinbajo stated this today in a chat with journalists in Akure while on a visit to Ondo State.
According to the Vice President, “we all feel a great deal of pain and deep sense of loss. The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, was a force of nature all by himself, he was a man of incredible knowledge, depth, he was erudite in every way.
“He was a bridge builder and I think he created several avenues in the 52 odd years that he reigned. He created several avenues for people from the Southwest of Nigeria to interact with people from other zones from those very early days.”
Speaking about his personal experience with the late highly referred monarch, Prof. Osinbajo said “I had several meetings with him, especially in Abuja, whenever he was in Abuja and sometimes in Ibadan.
“He was one of the most intelligent commentators on public life in Nigeria, on politics and he had such a deep knowledge of politics and international relations and international affairs and even in Nigerian political economy.
“He wrote several articles and books and he was always very keen to share them. I think that clearly, the Alaafin of Oyo was somebody I believe that the monarchy hid away from most of Nigeria just in terms of his intellectual depth and his knowledge.”
On the late Alaafin’s impact on his community and beyond, the VP said “I want to thank God that he was such an incredible and impactful leader and he didn’t just impact Yoruba land or Oyo State, but he impacted the entire nation.
“Today we celebrate a man who has lived a life of impact, who has reigned as a monarch, not just royalty, but he has royally proved that you can make tremendous impact in the lives of common people and in the life of your nation even while serving as a monarch in just one portion, one part of your country. I think his impact has been nationwide.”
The Vice President then expressed his condolences to “the family, government and the people of Oyo State” on the passing of one of the leading monarchs in the country.
The late monarch passed away on Friday April 22 at the age of 83 after ruling as Alaafin of Oyo for 52 years.