A first-class Osun State monarch, the Owa-Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, is dead. Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Chief Yinka Fasuyi, announced this in a statement entitled “Farewell, The Ijesa Quintessential Imperial Majesty!” on Thursday in Osogbo, the state capital.
Born on 13 October 1937, The late monarch ascended the throne on February 20, 1982, succeeding Oba Peter Adeniran Olatunji Agunlejika II (1912-1982) as the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland. He spent 42 years on the throne until his demise.
Before Fasuyi’s confirmation of the Owa-Obokun of Ijesaland’s passage, there was anxiety over the health of Oba Aromolaran, who was said to be indisposed.
The late Oba Aromolaran was a renowned writer, teacher and publisher of about 100 books, most of which were the official titles of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) for its O and A Levels examinations.
Oba Aromolaran is the first Nigerian Oba to hold a PhD (Economics). His first book, Economics for West Africa, was published in 1966. The book was a collaborative effort with his friends, Alabi Ogun and Areoye Oyebola.
Owa Aromolaran left the old Oyo State Civil Service to become a full-time publisher on December 1, 1971, and established the Aromolaran Publishing Limited, a firm he ran till he ascended the throne in 1982.
His pen never lost its power, and his proclivity for writing never waned. Even as the paramount ruler of the Ijesas, Oba Aromolaran, Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Yola, wrote and published 14 educational books since ascending the throne.
