AJAYE Oke and Ajaye Odo-Ekiti are two of the adjoining villages in Aramoko Ekiti. According to historical records, the two towns and Temidire village, also within the same latitude, were created by a one-time Elejofi of Aramoko Ekiti many decades ago. A very accommodating and generous man, the then Elejofi was said to be a great farmer and community leader who gave lands to settlers from the present Osun and Ekiti States to practise farming in the same place.
According to Chief Akin Omoyele, a former Vice Chairman of Ekiti West Local Government Area, who spoke on behalf of the people of Ajaye, while welcoming the newly installed Elejofi of Aramoko Ekiti, High Chief Dare Ogunniyi, into the villages recently, the founder of the communities was a peace loving and accommodating man.
“It is our joy to welcome our landlord and other people from Aramoko Ekiti to our midst today. According to our forefathers, the town was founded by a one-time Elejofi, a peace loving and accommodating man, who tasked our fathers to turn the communities into towns. In line with that express invitation, we have consistently sustained the tempo by encouraging members of the communities to contribute their quotas to the development of Ajaye. While welcoming our dear chief here today, we promise him that we will cooperate with him to strengthen the development of Ajaye,”
Earlier, Chief Elejofi, had informed the people of Ajaye who welcomed him that his mission was to familiarise with them and appreciate them for the role they played during his installation. He also called for co-operation between the people and people of Aramoko Ekiti, especially the Elejofi family. Chief Elejofi restated the promise that he would consult his friends and influential people in government to attract development to Ajaye.
“Today is an important day in my reign as Elejofi and custodian of Ajaye, Temidire and other villages, because this is my home. From now on, we will not only be visiting regularly, we will be looking for ways to open up Ajaye and Temidire for further development. I appreciate our communities and religious leaders for the level of development our communities have witnessed so far; I still believe we can do more by encouraging our children to come home and build more houses. In the entire Ekiti West, I can boldly say that that Ajaye is the number one while others follow. If we intensify development and attract necessary attention, it is a matter of time; we would spread to Ilawe Ekiti and other places. However, it’s important that Ajaye and Temidire people co-operate with Elejofi,” he said.
Also speaking during the visit, High Chief Imi of Aramoko Ekiti, Olatunji Osadola, called on the people of the communities to work and co-operate well with Chief Elejofi, so that the communities would be well positioned to attract government and other patronage.
Despite the glamour and significance of the visit, the mood changed slightly in Temidire, where the respected chiefs and their entourage condemned the lackadaisical attitude of members of the community and their low turnout compared to Ajaye. To this end, they warned the people to always respect constituted authority as well as being calculative in taking political decisions.
Aside the annual convention of the African Apostolic Church, Mount Victory, which attracts people from far and near, every Sunday, members of the church and Christ Apostolic Church from Aramoko, Igede and their environs, troop to the communities for Sunday worship services. But as Pastor Joel Oluwasola Falodun observed this Sunday during a service which was attended by Elejofi, it was significant because the communities were hosting their landlords.
The peak of the visit was the presentation of gifts to Chief Elejofi by the representatives of Ajaye and Temidire.
If there is any take-away from the event, it was the fact that it was meant to raise the bar and deepen the popularity of the various communities. Before now, the communities had been in the news because of the relevance of Ajaye as the spiritual headquarters of the AAC, Mount Victory and perhaps because the communities produce cocoa and other cash crops in large quantities. In the nearest future, if the wishes of the leaders were met, Ajaye and Temidire would be ideal locations for piggery, fishery, bakery, animal husbandry and other cottage industries.