The Governor Tried To Remove His Own King.
A Coup Saved The Throne — By Two Days.
This is one of the most dramatic power struggles in modern Nigerian history.
And most Nigerians have never heard of it.
It started with a letter.
In August 1981, Oba Sikiru Adetona wrote to Ogun State Governor Victor Olabisi Onabanjo, notifying him of an upcoming trip to London for medical reasons, including his overseas address and phone number. It was purely informative. Not a request for permission.
The Governor did not see it that way.
Onabanjo replied demanding more details, apparently implying that the trip needed his approval. Oba Adetona bristled, reminding him that his letter was purely a courtesy update and that as a traditional monarch, he did not require permission to travel.
It was a small exchange between two powerful men.
But it lit a fuse that would burn for three years.
What made it even more extraordinary?
Both men were eminent sons of Ijebuland. Years before politics, they had been close friends. Onabanjo had once fallen ill and it was Oba Adetona himself who arranged accommodation and support for him while he studied in London.
The governor was not just removing a king.
He was removing the king who had once taken care of him.
Then the governor acted.
On November 23, 1981, Oba Adetona was suspended from office as the Awujale of Ijebuland. Onabanjo set up a commission of inquiry to probe the affairs of the suspended monarch. The commission quickly recommended his deposition.
Other Yoruba monarchs called.
They pleaded with Oba Adetona to back down.
He refused.
He changed his telephone number.
The Awujale of Ijebuland would not be moved.
A legal battle followed.
The monarch initiated a legal battle led by the late Fatayi Williams against the validity of the Sogbetun commission of inquiry.
The case dragged on.
The deposition loomed.
The removal was scheduled to take effect on January 2, 1984.
Oba Adetona had days left on his throne.
Then, at the last possible moment — Nigeria changed.
On December 31, 1983, a military coup led by Buhari upended the Nigerian Second Republic. All elected officials were removed from power. Onabanjo was not excluded.
The deposition was set for January 2, 1984.
The coup came on December 31, 1983.
Two days.
Two days stood between the end of one of Nigeria’s greatest royal reigns and its continuation.
A few months later, a high court overturned the findings of Onabanjo’s commission, and the monarch was restored to the throne.
Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona went on to reign for 65 years.
He became Nigeria’s longest serving monarch.
He built institutions. He elevated the Ojude Oba festival into a national celebration. He founded universities. He outlasted presidents, generals and governors.
He did not cower before state authority. He saw himself as a servant of his people first.
He died in July 2025 at the age of 91.
Still the Awujale.
Still on his throne.
A letter about a medical trip.
A friendship turned to rivalry.
A deposition two days from taking effect.
And a coup that changed everything.
This is Nigerian history at its most dramatic.
And Nigeria Untold will never let it be forgotten.
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