Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III ,who joined his ancestors today, April 23, 2022, was the Alaafin, or traditional ruler, of the Yoruba town of Oyo in Western Nigeria.
Lamidi Adeyemi succeeded Alaafin Gbadegesin Ladigbolu II in 1970, during the governorship of Colonel Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, after the end of the Nigerian Civil War. In 1975, the head of state General Murtala Ramat Muhammed included Oba Adeyemi in his entourage to the hajj.
He was chancellor of Uthman dan Fodiyo University in Sokoto from 1980 to 1992. In 1990, President Ibrahim Babangida appointed him Amir-ul-Hajj in recognition of his commitment to the consolidation of Islam in Nigeria.
Alaafin Adeyemi III was born Lamidi Olayiwola Atanda Adeyemi on October 15, 1938 into the Alowolodu Royal House, and as a member of the House of Oranmiyan to Raji Adeniran Adeyemi (born 1871), who later became Alaafin in 1945, and Ibironke of Epo-Gingin, who died when he was young.
His father is believed to have had over 200 wives. His paternal grandfather was Alaafin Adeyemi I Alowolodu, who ruled during the Kiriji War, and was the last independent ruler of the Oyo Empire before British colonialism.
Alaafin Adeyemi I’s father, and Adeyemi III’s great-grandfather was Oba Atiba Atobatele, who founded New Oyo.Atiba’s father, Adeyemi 111’s great-great grandfather, was Alaafin Abiodun, a direct descendant of Oranmiyan, the founder of the Oyo Empire.
Lamidi’s father, the Alaafin of Oyo Oba Adeyemi II Adeniran, was deposed and exiled in 1954 for sympathizing with the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC).
He had come into conflict with Bode Thomas, deputy leader of the Action Group, the ruling Party in Western Nigeria where we had Oyo.
According to the famous story, Bode Thomas shouted at him for not standing to greet him as the chairman of during a political gathering at a party. Oba Adeyemi II, who felt insulted , stood and then told Bode Thomas to go home and bark like a dog. Later, he started coughing blood and died while walking back home leaving his entourage.
The Action Group Government, led by Obafemi Awolowo, accused Oba Adeyemi II of poisoning Thomas, and then exiled him from his kingdom. He lived out the rest of his days in Lagos where his subjects continued to visit him until his death in the early 1960s.
