Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of its foremost benefactor, His Royal Majesty Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 91.
In a statement released by the institution, the university described the late monarch as a visionary traditional ruler whose six-and-a-half-decade reign brought distinction and development to Ijebuland and Nigeria as a whole. The university noted that Kabiyesi’s impact on education, particularly at OOU, was “monumental and transformative.”
OOU highlighted Oba Adetona’s numerous contributions, including the endowment of the Oba (Dr) Sikiru Kayode Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance, the construction of lecture halls, staff residences, roads, and the establishment of the School of Governance Studies, which has since been adopted by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
The university stated that the annual lecture series, organised under the Professorial Chair, has evolved into a nationally recognised forum where leaders and academics discuss governance and policy reforms.
“His unwavering love and commitment to good governance and education used our university as a platform to shape the future of this nation,” the statement read. “The legacy of Kabiyesi will live on through the countless lives he touched and the institutions he helped build.”
The university extended condolences to the Adetona family, the Ijebu Traditional Council, Ogun State Government, and the global Black community, describing his death as a “monumental loss that leaves a void difficult to fill.”
