​Oba Olashore joins ancestors. Punch. 3.6.12
•Osun monarchs mourn

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Frontline monarch and Oniloko of Iloko Ijesa, Osun State, Oba Oladele Olashore, has joined his ancestors. The traditional ruler passed away at  a London hospital  on Friday night of an undisclosed ailment. He was aged 77 years.

Oba Olashore, a former Finance Minister in  the defunct Interim National Government led by   Chief  Ernest Shonekan, was a banking icon, who rose to the peak of his career, serving as Managing Director of  IBWA (now  Mainstreet Bank  Plc) and First Bank Plc, before heeding the call to ascend the throne of his forebears.

There was initially  uncertainty over news of his death yesterday as close associates including his former Personal Assistant for nine years until 2010, Chief Dele Alimi, said they only heard it as a rumor but could not yet get credible family members to confirm it.

But, the monarch’s colleague and Secretary General of Council of Yoruba Monarchs and Coordinator/ Representative of the South West Zone of National Council of Traditional Rulers, The Alayemore of Ido Osun, Oba Aderemi Adedapo, confirmed the news to Daily Sun last night. He said the council’s chairmen, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade and the Sultan of Sokoto,  Sa’adu Abubakar had been officially notified.

Oba Adedapo, who is also the Secretary of the Osun State Council of Obas and Chiefs said royal fathers in the state had also spoken to the late Oba’s eldest son Abimbola, who was reportedly with him when he passed on.

Abimbola, an investment banker, who manages his late father’s businesses, is being expected back in  the country any moment from now. Oba Adedapo said the Ooni, who is the permanent President of the state’s Council of  Obas  was busy consulting with other traditional institutions and stakeholders to arrange the rites of passage for the deceased.

Oba Olashore marked his 77th birthday and coronation anniversary between February 18 and 23, this year. Oba Adedapo recalled that the late royal father “was as fit as a fiddle. In fact, he was hale and hearty”. Adedapo described Oba Olashore as “  resourceful, enigmatic, colossal and larger than life, considering his landmark achievements in his profession”

He paid tributes to his departed colleague, saying: “He was an amazing grace to the traditional institution and his subjects. He contributed to the development of his domain,  economically, socially and educationally even before he became king. He put Iloko on the world map by establishing  Olashore International School, which is today a reputable globally recognized brand. He also built a five-star royal hotel in the town and he had just commissioned a big museum and amusement park in Iloko.

He was about to start an 18-hole golf course in the same Iloko, while the Federal Government had just approved N500 million-dam project to serve the community and the fishing industry for the state. Everybody will surely miss him.

Oba Adedapo described the late Olashore as a man of great pedigree, who grew up in northern Nigeria and  schooled in Kumasi, Ghana and that he strove hard to build an enviable career for himself.