[Adesewa]

   

The Yoruba Council of Elders on Wednesday described the late Adebayo Faleti as a cultural icon , saying it received the news of his death with shock .
A communiqué signed by the President - General of the group , Chief Idowu Sofola , who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria , and its Secretary -General , Dr . Kunle Olajide , at the end of its 19 th National Executive Committee Meeting in Ibadan , also described the passage of Dr Olu Onagoruwa as a loss to the Yoruba race and Nigeria in general .
“ The YCE receives with sadness the passing unto glory of Alagba Adebayo Faleti , a cultural icon of Yoruba and Yoruba language exponent, poet and dramatist .
“ Onagoruwa was a foremost solicitor , a human rights activist and a fighter for press freedom . Their death is a great loss to Yorubaland and Nigeria . We condole with their families and the entire nation, ” the communiqué stated .
Meanwhile , one of the sons of Faleti , Gbemisola, has told our correspondent that the family has fixed a date for his burial . He said the family of the deceased visited the Alafin of Oyo , Oba Lamidi Adeyemi , on Tuesday to formally break news of his passage to the monarch.
He said , “Our father was a prince of Oyo and there is a traditional procedure on how to announce his death to the monarch. The government of Oyo State has a stake in the burial plan. The family has scheduled his burial to take place between September 5 and 8 , 2017 . We would have chosen earlier dates but the government must be carried along as requested and we don ’ t want to give the government a short notice .
“ He is going to be buried in his home in the Agboye area of Oyo after a burial service at First Baptist Church , Isokun , Oyo . Before then , his body will be taken to the Cultural Centre , Ibadan and the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State , where he worked, so that people can pay him their last respect . ”