Adeniji Adele

Oba Sir Adeniji Adele II, KBE
Oba of Lagos
Adeniji Adele II
Oba of Lagos
Reign1949–1964
Coronation1949
PredecessorFalolu Dosunmu
SuccessorAdeyinka Oyekan
BornAdeniji Adele
(1893-11-13)13 November 1893
(N.S.: 13 November 1893)
Lagos, Nigeria
Died12 July 1964(1964-07-12) (aged 70)
Lagos, Nigeria
Burial
Iga Idunganran
HouseAdele Ajosun, Ologun Kutere
FatherBuraimoh Adele
MotherMoriamo Lalugbi
ReligionLahore Ahmadiyya Movement

Oba Sir Musendiku Buraimoh Adeniji Adele II, KBE (13 November 1893 – 12 July 1964) was the Oba (King) of Lagos from 1 October 1949 to 12 July 1964.[1][2]

Life

Adele was born in Lagos in 1893 to Buraimoh Adele and Moriamo Lalugbi. His grandfather was Oba Adele Ajosun. He studied at Holy Trinity Primary School, Ebutte-Ero and then at CMS Grammar School, Lagos. After his secondary education, he joined the colonial service as a trainee surveyor, after completing his training, he was posted to Kano as a surveyor. He served as a land surveyor with the Cameroon Expeditionary Force during World War I.

In 1920, Prince Adeniji Adele escorted Chief Amodu Tijani Oluwa to London to appear before the privy council in the Oluwa Land Case, which the chief ultimately won. Adele later worked with the treasury department and became a chief clerk in 1937.

He was awarded the titles of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1956) and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1962) by the Queen of the United Kingdom.[3][4]

Oba Adele II was a supporter of the Nigerian Youth Movement and a member of Egbe Omo Oduduwa led by Obafemi Awolowo. His political affiliation was therefore in opposition to the ruling NCNC/NNDP (whose political bedrock was the House of Docemo) founded by Herbert Macaulay and later led by Nnamdi Azikiwe. NNDP was opposed to Oba Adele's ascension, him not being descended from Dosunmu, and filed legal challenges to thwart his coronation. Oba Adele's right to the throne was finally sustained by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England in 1957.[5]

References

  1. ^ "LAGOS (Yoruba State)". Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Oba of Lagos". Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. ^ Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo, PhD; Margie Neal-Fayemiwo, Ed.D (6 July 2017). ASIWAJU: The Biography of Bolanle Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, 2017. p. 288. ISBN 9781946539434.
  4. ^ Toyin Falola; Ann Genova (July 2009). Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. Scarecrow Press, 2009. p. 16. ISBN 9780810863163.
  5. ^ Robert L. Sklar (8 December 2015). Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation. Princeton University Press, 2015. p. 71. ISBN 9781400878239.