Daniel Aladesanmi II

Daniel Anirare Aladesanmi II OBE CFR (1902 – 7 January 1983) was a Yoruban Oba who reigned as Ewi of Ado Ekiti in Nigeria from 1937 until 1983.

Early life

Aladesanmi was born in 1902 to Olori Ifalete and Oba Ajimudaoro Aladesanmi I, who had reigned as Ewi of Ado Ekiti between 1892 and 1910. He was an Ekiti, a subgroup of the Yoruba people. He attended Saint Andrews College in Oyo^[2] from 1924 until 1928. While at Saint Andrews he was school prefect and president of the Ekiti Parapo Society. He worked as a higher grade officer for the railway in 1933.^[2]

Reign

Aladesanmi ascended the throne, becoming Ewi of Ado Ekiti, on 18 June 1937.^[3] Ado Ekiti is an ancient community in Southwestern Nigeria and the seat of the Ekiti State.^[4]

In 1941 Aladesanmi set up an advisory board to supervise developmental projects in Ado-Ekiti regarding construction, transportation, and city planning. He was appointed as President of Pelupelu in 1938. He was involved in the Constitutional Independence Conferences of 1948 and 1959 in London^[2] and was a member of the Yoruba Council of Obas.^[3]

Aladesanmi was appointed Deputy President of the Western House of Chiefs^[2] on September 28, 1960 and was a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He was also a Bencher of the Western House of Chiefs in the 1960s.^[3]

In 1977 he published his memoir titled My Early Life: An Autobiography.^[5][6]

During his reign Aladesanmi traced the history of migrant settlers in the Ekiti kingdom since the twelfth century and their connection to the Ilesun people.^[7]

He was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Elizabeth II at the 1962 New Year Honours. He was also appointed as Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri. In 1978 he was the first to be decorated with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic by Olusegun Obasanjo.^[3]

Death

He died on January 7, 1983. He reigned from 1937 until 1983.^[8]

References