The new Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi of Giesi Ruling House
infotrust
I have a story to tell the world and most importantly
the people of Ile-Ife. About 40 years ago, I was born into the Giesi
Ruling House, Ojaja Royal Compound in the ancient city of Ile-Ife.
From
birth, my life has been a journey; one that I embarked on, saddled with
great conscientiousness when I became a responsible father at the age
of 19, which shaped and groomed me for greater challenges ahead.
To
cater for my family as a young father, I became very enterprising with
the knack of building something out of nothing. This certainly increased
my temperament for being successful in all my endeavours, as well as
towing the right path as a responsible father.
Thus,
in the following years, I was able to build a consortia of companies
with a team of well-versed, highly skilled and unskilled professionals
from scratch and with hard work and God’s providence. This has made me a
huge employer of labour and a captain of industries. The story of
Ile-Ife begins as the cradle of civilization and has spread its
tentacles beyond Black Africa.
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.
Spiritual home of all Yoruba
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 Headquarters of
the House of Oduduwa, which comprises 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. Available evidences from the curatorial community and
archaeological discoveries have put the origin of Ile-Ife around 2000
years BC.
Around this time, the people of Ile-Ife have distinguished themselves in technology and cultural advancement.
A
notable fact in this direction is Ori-Olokun: though purportedly
‘discovered’ by the famous German archaeologist Leo Frobenius in 1910,
but had been in existence for thousands of years.
Discovery:
The pure-copper sculpture took the entire arts world by storm at the
time of its discovery that experts from the West argued that the
artefact was a mystery that was too sophisticated to have been created
by African hands.
However, after careful
examinations of other works, profusely located in and around the city
and bearing striking resemblance, the world accepted the truth that the
advanced people of Ile-Ife had, not only wielded the technology to turn
iron to alloy but also of moulding abstract artworks out of the product.
Consequently,
it is now accepted by the curatorial community that the advanced
artistic techniques used to create the sculpture were more advanced than
those of Renaissance Italy, and comparable to those of [the artist]
Donatello.
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.
Redressing the 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. Now, with our resolve to transform Ile-Ife we are ‘SET’ to
leave no stone unturned, in the drive to put Ile-Ife on the map of the
world. Our ultimate goal is to reposition the House of Oduduwa as a
worthy example of successful inward-looking community.
At
this juncture, I consider it pertinent to share with everyone the
account of how Nigeria as a nation came to be. The Royal Niger Company
was a mercantile company charter by the British government in the
nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the United African Company
and became the Royal Niger Company in 1886. By 1900 it went through
several name changes and in 1914 a merger occurred between the Southern
Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate to become the
independent Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1960. It suffices to say our
beloved nation developed through a corporation of technocrats and
quality mind input. Arguably, this is one of the several ways cities and
communities are built; through large corporations.
The
ethos of this account goes to prove that any geographic setting can
undergo boundless growth through clusters of companies which invariably
can lead to the creation of settlements and human capital development.
Consequently,
there is a huge possibility for Ile-Ife to experience tremendous growth
through industrialization and developmental projects like a company
managed by dedicated sons and daughters of Ife and all Ife enthusiasts. I
have no doubt, Ife will be great again due to its economic dexterity.
Ife has one of the largest land mass in the South-west beaming with
natural resources including three out of the four factors of production;
‘land’, ‘labour’ and ‘entrepreneurship’ and with our great resolve we
shall work towards ‘capital’ creation.
I am very
passionate about my roots with the determination of bringing Ile-Ife to
the forefront of economic and social affairs. In my private life, I have
for a while been involved in many philanthropic gestures in Ile-Ife and
its environs. 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. This is not to say that the old and elderly
will be left out. There will be various empowerment Programmes for the
elderly and the widowed to learn new trades and acquire new skills that
will help stamp out redundancy and at the same time be financially
rewarding to them.
Many might argue that the tasks
before me are incredibly monumental and impossible. However, I do not
get easily swayed by the idea of impossibilities. In every challenging
situation what I see is a speck of possibility which I build on till the
task at hand is completed. I have done this time over time and I have
defied the rules of men to follow my gut instincts. I have excelled
where, people had predicted failure and I derived the most joy where
others have said emphatically “it is not possible.”
A
recent classic example of turning impossibilities to possibilities took
place at ‘Parakin’ in Ile-Ife where I converted a sizeable piece of
thick forest land into a beautiful castle within a month. The land
hitherto, was a garbage dump and an escape route for men of the
underworld in the vicinity which constituted a social menace to the
inhabitants of ‘Parakin’.
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. I paid a courtesy visit to the youths affected by the war and
implored them to be proactive. Furthermore I urged them to be on the
straight and narrow path and propagated the tenets of hard work as the
only way to make it in life.
Touching experiences
In
the course of my life I have had many touching experiences. However, my
most compelling experience till date involves two young boys namely
Demola Adewole and Taye Fayemi. Demola and thousands of others energetic
youths visit work sites on a daily basis to solicit for money. I took
it upon myself to get to know these young boys and found that all they
wanted was to earn a decent living. We got acquainted with Demola and
found out he was a welder. Without hesitation, we helped to re-orientate
him and got him involved in construction work in ‘Parakin’. Demola
Adewole has turned out to be one of the best welders I have been
privileged to work with till date.
Another set of
energetic youths on one of the days I visited Ife chased after my car,
many of them climbed onto the fast moving car and during the tussle to
stay latched on to the car, one of them got injured. I got out of the
car and addressed all of them and asked why they would want to hurt
themselves and with no care in the world, Taye replied “death means
nothing to me”; I shed tears, there is no hope for the youths and no one
to rebuild their dashed hopes or future.
Taye
Fayemi was simply desperate to make a living for himself and today, to
the glory of God I personally supervise Taye’s rehabilitation, his
personal development and wellbeing.
Destinies:
Similar to the story of Demola and Taye, are thousands of youths with
different expertise that need our help to find their feet, many whose
destinies would have been cut short like the others lost the war. I
cannot but emphasize that the development and well being of our youths
is paramount to our future and one that is very close to my heart.
This area needs to be properly addressed to ensure our youths are well engaged in various professional and vocational pursuits.
Today,
and to the glory of God, I have been energized to rehabilitate and take
off the streets several thousands of youths by providing them with
gainful employment. Furthermore, 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
mentor-ship and empowerment programs that will further take thousands
off the streets on a gradual basis. Youths all over the country will be
eligible for the mentor-ship programme and Ife will be the pilot model.
We will use the stool to transpose Ile-Ife into the twenty-first century
and with the use and influence of social media we are ‘set’ for his
transformation. Sons and daughters of Ife and Ife enthusiasts around the
world will have an input in the building of the New Ife City, ‘NIC’
through constructive feedback.
‘Socially’, we are ‘set’ to revive and promote Ile-Ife as a tourist destination.
‘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.
Plans
are well under-way to revitalize Ife in the areas of Sports, Mining,
Agriculture, Real Estate, Tourism and rapid industrialization. To
achieve this transformation, a brand new platform named ‘House Of
Oduduwa Resources Limited’ has been established to stimulate the entire
economy of Ile-Ife with a positive impact on the entire Yoruba race and
our nation as a whole.
‘House Of Oduduwa Resources
Limited’ will be tasked with rebuilding Ife into the ‘New Ife city’,
NIC. However, this is a herculean task which can only be achieved with
the support of all well-meaning technocrats, sons and daughters of
Ile-Ife in Nigeria and in the Diaspora and all lovers of Ife. My fervent
desire is to grow ‘House Of Oduduwa Resources Limited’ into one of the
biggest corporations out of Africa, likewise uniting all lovers of Ife
with the people of Ife. Earlier this year, I acquainted the youths of
Ile-Ife of my plans to replicate the truly Nigerian project, Inagbe
Grand Resorts Lagos, Nigeria (almost hundred percent of raw materials
used are locally sourced) in Ile-Ife. Inagbe Grand Resorts is the first
of its kind and will soon be the most sought after resort destination in
all of West Africa. I have developed an incredible master plan for the
proposed ‘Ife Grand Resorts’ which will be an off shoot of ‘Inagbe Grand
Resorts Lagos’.
The ‘Ife Grand Resort’ project
and the ‘NIC’ initiative was conceived to attract young men and women,
businesses, corporate organization, investors, holiday makers, lovers of
Ife and Ife in Diaspora to a comfortable ambience to stay when they are
away from home. This will continually put Ile-Ife, the cradle of black
civilization on the map likewise showcasing many artefacts about the
Yoruba race, hence creating a steady influx of people into Ile-Ife.
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 honoured 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 colossus 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.
I am not coming to the
throne to pass judgment on those that have maliciously wronged me. But
then, I should think that a bid to be enthroned as the foremost Oba in
Yoruba race should be healthy and ordained of God. There is also the Ifa
divination that also synthesizes the process, just in case human beings
are partial.
Rather, some people resorted to
dangerous attacks, wicked lies, malicious insinuations and vigorous
campaign of calumny. Why would I fail to forgive them when all came to
nought and the good people and governments of Ife and State of Osun saw
through these unfair games and chose me as the prestigious Ooni of Ife.
Therefore,
I am coming to set a good example and show the world that I am truly
called by God to lead Ile-Ife into a state of tranquillity,
conscientiousness and prosperity.
It is my
fervent prayer that the Lord will continue to guide us all and bestow us
with great wisdom to carry out our incumbent tasks. I use this
opportunity to call on all the sons of Ile-Ife that were alongside me in
the race for the stool to heed to my call and let’s work harmoniously
to align our goals for the sake of posterity and Ile-Ife.
Together
we shall not lose sight of the values and tradition that have made us
the greatest nation of black people on earth. I come before you all
today as a man pledging his unwavering commitment to his Kingdom and his
people that I cannot do this alone; without you all there is no me “I
will serve you all with everything I have”.
Long live Ile-Ife; long live the Yoruba race, long live the House of Oduduwa, and God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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