Akarigbo Anoko Royal Family Honors Legacy of Remo Iconic Ruler, Oba Adedoyin on 73rd Anniversary of His Passing
Akarigbo Anoko Royal Family Honors Legacy of Remo Iconic Ruler, Oba Adedoyin on 73rd Anniversary of His Passing
The descendants of Oba Williams Christopher Adedoyin, the revered Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, gathered on March 22, 2025, to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of his passing.
The ceremony, held at his compound in Sagamu, Ogun State, brought together notable figures, including one of his grandsons and former Commissioner for Environment in Ogun State, Otunba (Dr) Olukoya Adeleke Adedoyin, his 92years old granddaughter Princess Adewunmi Banjo(Nee Olatunji Adedoyin), and other family members.
Oba Adedoyin, who reigned from 1916 to 1952, is remembered for his tireless efforts to protect Remoland’s autonomy and identity. Born in 1879 to the Anoko Royal Family of Ofin, Sagamu, he was a descendant of Akarigbo Igimisoje, a key founder of Sagamu.
During his reign, he fought relentlessly against the merging of Remo with Ijebu Ode to form the Ijebu Province in 1921, by the British colonial government to . the British government to grant Remo autonomy.
His relentless efforts, boldness and doggedness as a royal fighter, through legal approach, led to the visit of Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Bourdillon to Remoland in 1936 and the setting up of the Justice Miles Martindale’s Public Commission of Enquiry on the matter in 1937.
These efforts led to the establishment of the Remo Native Authority, as distinct from the Ijebu Native Authority, and gaining of full autonomy. He then built the Akarigbo Palace in 1938 on the location it is till date.
Based on the recognition of his paramountcy by the Ooni of Ife and Alaafin of Oyo, he was invited to and attended the first Conference of Paramount Rulers of Yorubaland in Oyo in April 1937. And that laid the strong foundation for the future Akarigbos, starting with HRM Oba Moses Sowemimo Awolesi (Erinwole ii) at the Western House of Chiefs founded in 1952.
Oba Adedoyin’s legacy extends beyond his royal/political achievements. He supported the spread of Christianity and Western education in Remoland, and his reign saw the establishment of Remo Secondary School in 1946.
He also promoted infrastructural development, including the construction of a road linking Remo to Ikorodu. During his reign, a Remonian from Iperu Remo, Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, founded the first indigenous bank in Nigeria, the Agbonmagbe Bank known today as Wema Bank Plc, in May 1945, in Lagos, with branches in Sagamu and Abeokuta then.
Under his watch one of his sons Prince (Dr) Adegboyega, a medical doctor who studied Medicine in UK, became the first Nigerian to participate in Olympic in 1948. His most prominent son, Prince Adeleke Adedoyin, a University of London trained lawyer, who would become the Speaker of Western Region House of Assembly and later a Federal Minister of Labour, Social Welfare and Co-operatives, became a nationalist and was elected into the Legislative Council in 1945, under the umbrella of Herbert Macaulay’s Nigerian National Democratic Party, NNDP.
His reign also witnessed the establishment of a formidable private newspapers in Nigeria, the Nigeria Tribune, by a great Remonian from Ikenne Remo, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who also became the Founder of Egbe Omo Oduduwa that metamorphosed into the Action Group that formed the government in the Western Region.
In the year he joined his ancestors (1952) he also witnessed the emergence of the Remonian, Awolowo, rising to the post of Minister of Local Government Reform and Leader of Government Business for the entire Western Region. While his own son, a former Commissioner of Supreme Court, who had been a close friend of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and strong member of the National Council of Nigerian and Cameroon, NCNC, and part of the NCNC Seven-man delegation to London, to demand self-government for Nigeria in 1947; at the time Awolowo had not even formed his Action Group party, got elected into the Western Region House of Assembly, in that 1952.
Likewise, the emergence of Professor Theophilus Oladipo Ogunlesi (from Sagamu) in that 1952, as the pioneer Head of the College of Medicine (University College Hospital, UCH) of the University of Ibadan, the first and only university in Nigeria then, were proofs that a lot of Remo people came into national limelight and made a lot of impacts in Nigeria during his reign.
The 73rd anniversary of his passing was marked with traditional festivities, including the serving of akara, locally fried cakes made of beans, and drinks to entertain guests.
Princess Banjo, a nonagenarian and the eldest granddaughter of Adedoyin alive today, praised the late monarch for his enduring legacy, and then prayed for his continuous eternal rest.
Otunba (Dr) Adeleke–Adedoyin, an octogenarian, who is the current Head of Anoko Ruling House of Akarigbo, disclosed the intention of the family to work more on immortalising their late grandfather for his immense contributions to the attainment and retention of Remo’s autonomy, identity and dignity.
Among other descendants and guests at the event were: Princess Adeyinka Odeyemi (Nee Adediji Adedoyin), Princess Adeyinka Oduyela (Nee Lawole Adedoyin), Princess Iyabo (Nee Olabunmi Adedoyin), Alhaji Dauda Afolabi Olokunand Prince Rotimi Onafuwa from Liyangu Akarigbo Ruling House.
