10 things you didn’t know about the late Ooni of Ife

Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. 10 things you didnt know about the late Ooni of Ife 1. He was born on January 1, 1930 in Ile-Ife to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. 2. He became the fiftieth traditional ruler, Ooni of Ife, on 6 December 1980. 3. He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. 4. He worked for three years in his father's business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune 5. He studied business management at Northampton College in the United Kingdom. 6. He became a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian conglomerate at the age of 30. 7. In 1963, he became Sales Director of the state-owned National Motor in Lagos. 8. After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the then Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire. 9. Sijuwade was a Christian. 10. In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke, resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke as an Oba.