Akran of Badagry, Lagos State, dies at 89
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
The Akran of Badagry and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs, His Royal Majesty De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I (OFR, LLD, DLitt, JP), has passed away.
He died on Monday, January 12, 2026, at the age of 89.
De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I died after spending 48 years on the throne, making him one of the longest-serving traditional rulers in Lagos State.
Born on September 18, 1936, he was the fifth child of His Majesty De Wheno Aholu Ajiyon-Kanho, the 17th Akran of Badagry. He received his early education at Salvation Army Primary School, Lagos; Methodist School, Badagry; and Methodist Teachers’ College, Ifaki, Ekiti, between 1956 and 1957.
Before his coronation, the late monarch worked as a teacher in various schools across Badagry Division and later transitioned into journalism. His media career began in 1961 at the West African Pilot, where he served as a diplomatic correspondent and chief reporter for the Post Group of Newspapers.
He later joined the Daily Sketch as a senior sub-editor and subsequently moved to New Nigerian Newspapers, where he rose to the position of News Editor (South).
His professional excellence earned him a grant from the International Press Institute to study at the University of East Africa, where he obtained a diploma with distinction. He also shared a prize on the Law of the Press with a Ugandan journalist. Throughout his life, he remained a strong advocate for the development of journalism in Nigeria and Africa.
His appointment as the Akran of Badagry was approved by the Lagos State Executive Council on October 7, 1976, and he was formally crowned on April 23, 1977, assuming the royal title of De Wheno Aholu Menu-Toyi I.
A prominent traditional ruler, he served as a member of the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission between 1979 and 1983. He also held leadership roles as patron, grand patron, and president of several social, charitable, and professional organisations.
Until his death, he was Chairman of the Chieftaincy Committee in Badagry Local Government and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs. In October 1990, he was elected by members of the council to represent them at the enlarged National Council of States in Abuja.
The late monarch was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) on March 7, 1981.
