Nuggets from the king… Ile -Ife is top priority

Ile – Ife is remarkable for its great stories, the spirit of the ancestors, the pristine shrines, great festivals of art and culture; the extensive forest reserves and cocoa economy . Notwithstanding the existence of a world class university, the Obafemi Awolowo University often remarked for its scenic beauty and green architecture and the few outposts of notable money deposit banks, Ile – Ife, to some people, remains an unenviable ancient abode.

No industries. No factories. Dilapidated infrastructure .The men of the agrarian reckoning are aged while the youths are restlessly engaged in unskilled enterprises of riding commercial motorcycles (Okada ) to eke out a living. They generally provides the cesspool of musclemen for unconscionable politicians who relish violence or the rent seeking traditional elites from around Ife, who arm rangers to pillage the farmlands. Violence on the farmstead is a common occurrence .

shows Ooni of Ife Oba Enitan Ogunwusi after receiving the AARE Crown from the Olojudo of Ido land on Monday PHOTOS BY Dare Fasube

But this shall soon be history, promises Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11.
Youthful, industrious , Ogunwusi says that he comes prepared for the throne of Ooni, to turn around the fortune of his people, lead by example of prowess- not on the battlefield but in recreating the new economy of Ile-Ife and role modeling for other Yoruba cities and perhaps Nigeria.

Hear him: Ile Ife is blessed. It is endowed with enough to feed herself and millions of others. It is all about the story of the cup being half full than being half empty. Nothing is impossible if there is the will to succeed . I have done my research and was amazed at the blessings of natural endowment under our soil. I wear a 20 carat gold made from Ile -Ife and I am proud to show it off. How many know that there is pharmaceutical kaolin in Ile -Ife? That can put thousands to employment and relief to their dependants.

Researchers have also alluded to the possibility of oil mineral deposits at our borders with Ijebu. What of the forest resources ? Surely, the skills of the youths can be honed to add value to these assets and great wealth created. All that is required is to be focused and mobilizing all available resources and networks to improve the lives of the people. It can be done. It will be done.

Leading by example, in deed, Ooni Ogunwusi has kicked off with laying the foundation for the New Ife City (NIC) project where land and labour would attract a premium. He acquired 100 aces of land for this project, visible to all as you approach the Old toll gate into Ile Ife.It is a project designed to recreate wealth, employ the youths in thousands , directly . And thousands more through the spin offs from the recreation of the economy.

Already, more than 2000 youths are reported to have been taken off the streets, working as technicians , artisans, etc in the gargantuan resort whose construction has already started just as one approaches the Ife city gate. To cap it, much of the input into the project is of local content. Modeled after the Inagbe Resort in Lagos, the project comprises of an international conference centre, hotels and other facilities that should attract others to come and put money into the economy of Ile Ife.

It is all about a new lease of life and industry which should bring an abundance of peace to the community, vows Ooni Ogunwusi. It is a long journey of revival, one that is supposed to magnetically draw prosperous Ife sons and daughters, at home and abroad and friends of Ife and many others who exploit the resources of Ife to give back and lift the people from poverty.

Kabiyesi… Unquote:

The Ooni stool is highly revered and exalted and as the world looks on; our strength and emphasis need to be injected into the development of Ile-Ife as a beacon of hope and enviable city. Suffices to say that Ile-Ife is the ancestral and spiritual home of all Yorubas, bona fide, in Nigeria and the Diaspora, and the World Headquarter of the House of Oduduwa, which comprise of people resident in nearly all the continents of the world. Thus, the Ooni, as the head of the vast Oduduwa family, must be no less versatile and resourceful.

Yet, Ile-Ife has not taken its rightful position as the ‘source’ of civilization despite her wealth of history, culture and tradition. Having found ourselves in such state of affairs where the potential of the land remains untapped and its people lacking economic and social emancipation, we should all take it upon ourselves to redress this situation. The Ile-Ife of ‘my dream’ will be strategically positioned to empower its people socially, economically and culturally to bring about the desired developments.

The progressiveness of the youths of Ile-Ife is at the core of my philosophy and I have been instilling hope to thousands of youths through the various ongoing reciprocity Programmes I established a while ago. It is within the dictates of our culture that the young shall provide for the old and for this reason our youths need to be nurtured and engaged positively hence they can attain financial independence and in return provide for their parents, families and dependants..

In recent history one cannot mention Ile-Ife without acknowledging the Ife and Modakeke conflict. It’s unfortunate that lives were lost during the war between Ife and Modakeke; a war that had no economic value and displaced many lives. We shall set up a foundation that will support post war effects and the rebuilding of war torn Ife and Modakeke. Thereafter there shall NEVER be war again. I stand firmly for peace and unity between Ife and Modakeke and I guarantee that this peace and unity will transcend into economic and social benefits for everyone.

Similarly, we shall use this stool to unify the entire Yoruba race; there shall be no division, no supremacy or animosity amongst us, we are all from the one and the same source-God Almighty.

Coming to the throne is a clarion call to heed my selfless desire to serve the people of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba race and all of humanity. We will use the stool to provide a lot of opportunities to invest in the youths through mentorship and empowerment programmes that will further take thousands off the streets on a gradual basis. Youths all over the country will be eligible for the mentorship programme and Ife will be the pilot model.

‘Economically’ we are ‘set’ to increase our industrial footprints to give Ife the much desired facelift and ‘Traditionally’ we are ‘set’ to redefine the kingship system by blending modernity into our cultural values and practices and our tradition of thousands of years will stand.

The time has come for us to embrace our true heritage as the progeny of Oduduwa and the task of modernizing Ile-Ife is yours and mine. I am highly honored to have been chosen to fill the stool that great men once occupied; history and I will forever remember this day. I use this opportunity to pay tribute to Oba Adesoji Aderemi and Oba Okunade Sijuwade; these monarchs were colossuses that redefined the monarchy with touch of diligence, elegance and gravitas that traversed so many cultural boundaries. They were great fathers to me and I will forever miss and honour them.