The death of Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the much-respected Awujale of Ijebuland who ruled for 65 years before dying at the age of 91, has set off a deep controversy. In respect of his personal beliefs, the king was interred at his palace following Islamic custom—a decision that quickly became a point of contention. Security agents, including troops, were deployed to keep traditional priests from performing traditional rites, giving priority to the late king’s express desires over millennia of tradition.
The burial uncovered a split between emerging legal norms and culture. In 2022, Ogun State enacted a bill allowing traditional rulers to be buried according to their faith. The action of the monarch is defended by advocates as a reinforcement of personal freedom, with others arguing that it goes against the religious nature of Yoruba tradition.
Traditional custodians reacted fiercely. The Ifa Council announced plans to sue the state and the royal family in court, arguing the hasty elimination of rituals has damaged cultural heritage and violated sacred tradition. Critics lament the exclusion of fundamental components—libations, ancestral incantations, sacred invocations—grumbling that the spiritual rite the Awujale underwent may be an incomplete one.
Others, however, advocate a broader perspective. They view the burial of the monarch as proof of religious tolerance and symbol of constitutional right, and not abandonment of tradition. They think that respecting his religion is an indicator of cultural progress and not regression.
Awujale’s farewell highlights a pressing dilemma: is it possible for individual religion to coexist with generational tradition? His funeral may be a turning point for how modern Nigeria navigates individual religious liberty and collective cultural identity.
