Alaafin kept my chieftaincy title for 11 years, says Kwam 1

BY OLUFEMI ATOYEBI

Wasiu Ayinde, the Fuji singer fondly called Kwam 1, says Lamidi Adeyemi, the late Alaafin of Oyo, kept the title of Mayegun of Yorubaland for him for 11 years.

The long-reigning monarch died on Friday night at the Afe Babalola Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti. He was aged 83 and ruled for over 50 years.

Paying his tribute on Saturday, Kwam 1, who was honoured with the title in January 2020 at a ceremony held in the king’s palace, said Alaafin’s demise will not only be felt by the Yoruba people but the black race.

The singer also reflected on how the monarch stood for and encouraged the growth and development of the Yoruba people.

“Before I became the Mayegun of Yorubaland, I have been a son to the late king. My chieftaincy title was kept for me for 11 years. He insisted that I will be the Mayegun and told me to come for it whenever I was ready,” he said.

“This is still a shock not because we did not expect something like this but because we did not expect it to come now and because of the figure that is involved.

“This is too much but we thank God for the kind of king he was, for the kind of father we had and the kind of leader we had in him. He did what brave men should do. He brought us up at the right time and made us sit when the time was ripe. All these will be lessons to all because we lost a great man.

“His achievements are too enormous to state. He did his best where necessary. He was a warrior and an important one as far as the black race is concerned. He used his position very well to make a statement on what we stand for. We give God the glory for giving us such a man.”