The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi

  • The making of a royal banger

    The making of a royal banger

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, had conferred a honorific title, the “Okanlomo of Yorubaland”, on an Ibadan-based businessman, Dotun Sanusi.

    But the new Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, took offence, claiming he was the only authority — by law — allowed to confer Yoruba-wide titles, and threatening Armageddon, if the Ooni did not reverse himself within two days! 

    The making of a royal banger!

    Okay, even among the royals, a tiff is not unexpected, though its regularity might be far between.  Royals were first human, before a feudal system lofted them above fellow creatures. Still, must royal tiffs be so base, be so crude, be so uncouth, from both sides?  Frankly, the exchanges, between the Oyo and Ife courts, are rather forgettable!

    By Yoruba sacred myth, Ife is the spiritual fount of Yorubaland — what the late Ooni Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, coined the “Source”, in the bruising royal politics of his day.

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    Oyo, on the other hand, was the imperial capital, on account of the then fashionable crime of empire building.  Pray, how can sacking, maiming and killing a captive people — fellow Yoruba and other folks — be a blessing to anyone, including the cruel imperial power?

    So, by myth and brazen power, both Ife and Oyo have a special place in Yoruba history.  Which is why you’d expect whatever emanates from either court not to be disagreeable, even if both violently disagree.  But the toxin issuing from both courts, over the “Okanlomo” matter is, to say the least, disgraceful.

    The Oyo opening salvo: “… It is very obligatory for the Alaafin to call the Ooni of Ife to order and demand revocation of the so-called Okanlomo of Yorubaland Chieftaincy title conferred on Engr. Dotun Sanusi with 48 HOURS (capitals his) or face the consequences.”  Crude.

    The Ife riposte: “My principal has directed me against issuing a press release on the empty threat of the Alawada Baba Sala” the Ooni’s spokesperson dismissed the threat from the Oyo court as comic relief: as Moses Olaiya, the iconic Baba Sala and late ace Yoruba rib-cracking comedian, provided.  Rude.

    After everything, the whole huff was needless.  Sanusi just said his Chieftaincy was “Okanlomo Oodua”, not “Okanlomo of Yorubaland”!  Idle tiff?

    Even then, “Okanlomo” is honorific, not a core traditional title.  “…of Yorubaland” is also farcical.  If the Ijebu were never under the yoke of Oyo, even at the climax of its imperial powers, and the Ijebu are part of Yorubaland, then it’s common logic that the Alaafin couldn’t validly confer any pan-Yoruba title, beyond Oyo’s immediate vanity, and definitely not outside its old imperial boundaries.

    Let these two monarchs get busy with serious things.  The Okanlomo feuding should be infra dig to their majestic dignities, though the Alaafin would appear more blame-worthy, for opening the front with a vain-glorious attack.  Enough!

  • Ooni lauds Airtel for Olojo sponsorship

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi has commended Airtel Nigeria for its sponsorship of Olojo Festival – a cultural celebration of the first dusk and dawn in Yoruba land.

    Speaking during the visit of Airtel team to the monarch’s palace, Oba Ogunwusi said: “On behalf of entire people of Oduduwa, I want to appreciate Airtel for being the official partner to Olojo Festival – the celebration of the first dawn. This is a festival that actually accommodate the entire Yoruba race. It’s our new year which started several thousands of years ago.

    “We are upholding our heritage and culture. On behalf of the entire omoluwabi race we appreciate Airtel and we know that they will do better next year. We are enjoying their telecommunications service and we will continue to partner with them. We appreciate the company and their entire staff for their support.”

    Airtel Nigeria Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya, expressed the company’s delight to be associated with the festival.

    “We were very much delighted to be associated with the Olojo festival and that is why we decided to support in our own little way. We also praise Eledumare for a successful event.

    “At Airtel, we are committed to connecting and empowering people. We are also passionate about our cultural heritage. It is for these reasons that we embraced the opportunity to join you in hosting the Olojo Festival. We believe that culture can play a significant role if we must be successful as a nation.  We admire your influential role as custodian of the Yoruba culture and we encourage you to continue to blaze the trail as far as cultural renaissance is concerned,” he said.

    This year’s event themed: “The Olojo Festival: An Impactful Domestic Tourism Product”, was held from Tuesday, September 18 to Monday, October 1, 2018 at Ile-Ife in Osun State with many events for each day.

    Accenture to help AB InBev improve sales and distribution operations in Africa with new Distributor Management System

    Accenture is helping AB InBev (Euronext: ABI) (NYSE: BUD) (MEXBOL: ANB) (JSE: ANH), the world’s largest brewer, better manage its sales and distribution operations in Africa with the Accenture NewsPage Distributor Management System (DMS).

    A fully integrated distributor management and sales force automation system, Accenture DMS covers the complete down-stream supply chain, providing consumer goods companies with accurate, reliable data on secondary sales to help them control promotions; improve productivity; and streamline inventory and sales processes and distributor claims.

    Under the terms of the three-year contract, Accenture is helping AB InBev implement the latest version of DMS for its operations in Africa. This includes the initial roll-out of the system in Mozambique, Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria, as well as the upgrade of the system in Tanzania and Uganda, where AB InBev has already been using DMS for more than three years.

  • Ooni donates gifts to new-borns in Lagos hospitals

    Ooni donates gifts to new-borns in Lagos hospitals

    His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi has donated several expensive gift items to new-borns in two hospitals in Lagos State. The hospitals are Lagos Island Maternity Hospital and Ikorodu General Hospital.

    The gesture carried out under the auspices of his pet project, Hopes Alive Initiative was the Ooni’s special way of celebrating this year’s Valentine’s Day with the new-borns. Hopes Alive Initiative is His Royal Majesty’s social advocacy intervention designed to alleviate social, cultural and environmental issues and reduction of the impact of poverty among the most vulnerable. It also intends to create equal opportunities for all.

    According to the leader of the team, Miss Temitope Adesegun, Hopes Alive Initiative is working hard to give hope to the hopeless, succour to the oppressed and the less-privileged in the society. She added that although God created everybody equal, some are more privileged than others in terms of possession of things that make life worth living. So, there should be a mechanism or a platform through which the gaps could be abridged.

    She said the Ooni has always loved to live his life for humanity.

    Media Coordinator who led members of the team to the Island Maternity Hospital, Mr Chidi Amos, appreciated His Imperial Majesty for the gesture towards the babies, saying the monarch has been carrying out such gestures before he was crowned the Ooni.

    “It was not surprising that Hopes Alive Initiative was established because it has been part of the Ooni’s way of life. Today being celebrated worldwide as Lovers’ Day in commemoration of Reverend Father Valentine who was executed because he showed love to Roman youths against the will of Emperor Claudius 11, he thought of the best way to celebrate it.

    “In his usual act of benevolence, he chose to celebrate the day with those babies coming into the world for the first time. He felt they should be welcomed with love, by giving them worthy gift items. He had to send head of the team, Miss Adesegun to London to do shopping for the babies,” he said.

    Amos urged leaders, especially monarchs, to emulate the Ooni by showing love to their subjects, especially on special days such as this.

    Chairman of Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area, Hon Kamal Salau-Bashua, said the event was a laudable one, even as he said Hopes Alive Initiative has embarked on this to make mothers of the new babies happy. He added that Lagos Island Maternity is the biggest maternity hospital in Africa.

    Salau-Bashua also suggested that the day should not be celebrated individually but should be an all-encompassing way of spreading love to many.

    “There is hunger in the land; government can use the day to visit the less-privileged in order to distribute food items, clothes and so on to them. There is need to tackle the basic needs of life so as to put smiles on the faces of people; that will help in reducing social vices to the minimum”, he said.

    The council chief also stressed that the Federal Government can take opportunity to address the people on Valentine’s Day, as this will help in calming the tension in the land.

    “Nigerians are angry because of decades of decadence. On a day such as this, I expect the Federal Government to issue statements. Sometimes it’s all about advocacy; there should be motivation. When there is apprehension in the land government should speak more to the people. Nigerians want to hear from their leaders, they should talk to us and calm the tension in the land”, he said.

    February 14 every year is set aside to commemorate the day Reverend Father Valentine, a Roman Catholic Priest was executed on the orders of Emperor Claudius 11 in 270 A. D. because the Priest was secretly wedding Roman youths against the Emperor’s wish and order that Roman youths should not get married so that his army would be fortified to enable him to conquer his enemies should there be any insurrection.

    His note and message to the daughter of the prison guard whom he miraculously cured of blindness resulted in what is celebrated as “Lovers’ Day” or Valentine’s Day.

    In a noted he sent to the girl from prison, the day he would be executed, he advised the girl to be prayerful and to be of good character. He ended the note thus: “Love from Father Valentine”.

  • Ooni charges Ambode on food security in South-West

    Ooni charges Ambode on food security in South-West

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has stressed the need for South–West states to integrate in some many areas including food security to develop the region.

    Ooni gave the charge when he visited the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, at his office in Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday.

    He emphasized that partnership on food security was important for the South West states to explore partnership for the benefit of the people.

    “We can partner in respect of food security. In Osun State, we have land for agriculture and same in Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti States,” the monarch said.

    “You will not believe that 80 per cent of all the products from those farmlands are wasted; it is only about 20 per cent that get to the metropolis of Lagos for consumption.

    He lamented that 80 percent of all the products from those farmlands are wasted, saying it is only about 20 percent that gets to Lagos State from Maiduguri.

    “If only we can synchronize and work together on how to take food security to another level.

    “Traditional rulers have great role to play, we should not leave everything to government. We must all come together because we are closer to our people than government, we should rally round government and support their wishes to encourage the government,” he added.

    Responding, Governor Ambode unveiled plans by his administration to integrate the six states in the South West region to the food security drive in addressing the demand and supply deficit for the overall benefit of the people.

    Ambode, who harped on his commitment to the economic growth and promotion of the traditional values and culture of the Yoruba nation, recalled that in the last one year, the state government joined the Oodua Investment Group in addition to the acquisition of land in Ogun and Oyo States for agricultural purposes.

    The governor said the government would scale up the economic integration of the South West states as well as the cultural heritage of the region.

  • Ooni named UNN chancellor

    Ooni named UNN chancellor

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi has emerged as the youngest chancellor in Nigeria with the appointment of the monarch as the chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka by President Mohammadu Buhari.

    In a statement issued by Yera Moses Olafare, the director of media, Ooni’s palace, copies of which were obtained by newsmen in Ibadan Thursday, President Mohammadu Buhari was commended for recognising Ooni’s efforts to promote unity among Nigerians.

    The statement said ” Ile Oodua is thankful to the people’s President Mohammadu Buhari of the
    Federal Republic of Nigeria for the appointment of Ooni, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, as the chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN” , saying the development would further enable the monarch to build more bridges of friendship especially across the Niger.

    The statement further noted that Oba Ogunwusi was ready to bring to bear, his influence and connections to promote unity and harmonious working relationships in the university.

    The palace also admonished Nigerians to promote only issues that can foster unity to ensure speedy development rather than playing up their differences.

    The statements reads: “It is incontrovertible today that Ooni Ogunwusi is a bridge builder and being the youngest chancellor appointed for the only university bearing “Nigeria” is worth the celebration.

    “His appointment as chancellor, University Of Nigeria, Nsuka is considered as a positive sign that can further enhance peaceful coexistence of our dear nation as it was clearly stated in the letter of appointment written
    and signed by Honorable Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu on behalf of Mr President that Kabiyesi’ appointment is based on his wealth of experience and his capacity to manage men and resources which he has demonstrated in the administration of his Kingdom in the last three months.”