Alaba Lawson, Iyalode of Yorubaland, dies at 72

The Iyalode of Yorubaland, Mrs. Alaba Lawson, has died at the age of 72.

Mr. Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, the media adviser to the deceased, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Saturday.

He said the notable entrepreneur and educationist passed away in the early hours of Saturday in her house in Abeokuta.

Kayode-Adedeji added that Iyalode’s corpse had been deposited at a private mortuary.

“We lost our mother and benefactor to the cold hands of death this morning in her private residence in Abeokuta.

”It was a sad Saturday morning, but we cannot question God, who knows the best. We thank God for her life because she lived a fulfilled life.

“Iyalode came, saw, and conquered, and she will forever continue to rest in perfect peace,” he said in the statement.

The media adviser added that details of arrangements for the burial of the late Mrs. Lawson would soon be announced by the family.

”Meanwhile, a condolence register has been opened at the deceased’s house and at the private school she established in the Oke-Ilewo and Kuto areas of Abeokuta,” he said.

Kayode-Adedeji disclosed that the deceased was born on January 18, 1951, to the late Pa Emmanuel Jiboku family in Abeokuta.

”The late women’s leader was the proprietress of the Lawson Group of Schools, established in 1977.

”She was also the first female National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

“She was the first Iyalode of Yorubaland, a chieftaincy title conferred on her by the late Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom.

“She was also the matron of the Ogun Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).