His Royal Highness, Oba James Aladesuru, the Onigbede-Ekiti of Igede-Ekiti, in Ekiti State has been named as the Longest Serving Monarch in Nigeria. The National Leadership Summit of the Nigerian Baptist Convention gave the traditional ruler the award last week.
Oba Aladesuru ascended the throne in 1959 at the young age of 26 after the demise of Oba Olubusi Apata, who reigned between 1950 and1957. He was a photographer, but later trained to be a teacher. He was a teacher at Pinnock Memorial Baptist Primary school in Ilora, before he was chosen to ascend the Igede-Ekiti stool.
The traditional ruler has spent 64 years on the throne. He was honoured because of his long reign as a monarch and also for his meritorious service to humanity and mankind. The award plaque was presented to him by Rev. Dr. Israel Akanji, the president of the NLSNBC in a colourful ceremony that took place last week.
Oba Aladesuru dedicated his award to members of his community for trusting his ability to lead them as their monarch while pledging to continue serving them with all honour and humility. He also promised to continue ensuring that his kingdom enjoyed enduring peace and he would sustain peaceful coexistence in the community and beyond.
