Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has described the death of the traditional ruler of Akinale Town, Owu Kingdom, Ogun State, His Royal Highness, Oba Olufemi Ogunleye, Towulade 1, as shocking and a great loss to the entire people of Owuland, the state, and the country in general.
This was even as the Owu Traditional Council formally announced the demise of the late erudite journalist and public relations guru on Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
Oba Ogunleye died yesterday, Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in the United Kingdom after a brief illness at age 79. He’s expected to be 80 in September 2024.
Obasanjo, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, said the news of Oba Ogunleye came as shocking, having informed him about his travelling some weeks back in high spirit.
The ex-President who is in South Africa for the second term inauguration ceremony of President Cyril Ramaphosa, said the people of Owu, Ogun State and Nigeria as a whole would miss him for his resourcefulness and promotion of the cultural heritage of his homestead.
The Owu Traditional Council, in a statement by the Oganla Owu, Chief Johnson Olu Fatoki, formally announced the passage of Oba Ogunleye, declaring that the Council had missed one of the erudite monarchs in Owu Kingdom.
He described Oba Ogunleye as “a peace loving, a progressive and bridge builder.”
Late Oba Ogunleye is survived by his wife, Olori Olanike Ogunleye, children and grandchildren, among whom is Mr. Bamidele Ogunleye of the Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC), Abeokuta.
Burial arrangements to be announced by the family.