Ooni receives staff of office, unfolds development agenda

The ancient city of Ile Ife on Monday played host to a large number of important personalities as the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, was inaugurated as the 51st Ooni of Ife .

The ceremony was held 35 years and one day after the late Ooni Okunade Sijuwade was inaugurated the same way by the Governor of the old Oyo State, the late Chief Bola Ige.

Ogunwusi, who was born on October 17, 1974, was around six years old when his predecessor was crowned.

Ogunwusi’s predecessor, Oba Siluwade, who reigned for 35 years, joined his ancestors on July 28 in a London hospital after a brief illness. Consequently, Ogunwusi was appointed his successor on October 26 after a tough contest with other princes.

There was a heavy presence of security operatives with the deployment of about 10 sniffer dogs at the venue.

The road leading to the Ile Oodua (Ooni’s palace) was blocked from about 200 metres to the Enuwa Square where the ceremony held.

The road was closed to vehicles while a red carpet was laid on it. The sniffer dogs were behind the makeshift barricades on both sides which made it to form an isle.

Dignitaries had to trek the distance and almost all of them were pushed and shoved at the narrow entrance leading to the big canopy where the main ceremony was held.

The pushing and shoving at the narrow gate did not exclude security aides attached to the dignitaries who had to engage those deployed at the gate in a shoving match to make way for their principals.

Some of the dignitaries, having fought their way to under the canopy, had to run out for fresh air because of the suffocating heat under the tent despite the air conditioners there.

Ogunwusi, dressed in a white attire with beads round his neck and on his wrists, was ushered into the arena by the members of the Isoro cult who were also dressed in white apparel.

The arrival of Ogunwusi coincided with the time the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad, was delivering the goodwill address on behalf of all traditional rulers present.

The cheering, drumming and jubilation from the crowd interrupted the Sultan’s message intermittently.

The monarch, in a pamphlet circulated by the organisers of the ceremony, unveiled his 11-point agenda to transform his domain.

Among the agenda is the creation of employment for the youths of the town and establishment of the Ife Heart Centre which is expected to offer service for about 20,000 patients every year.

Other agenda of the new Ooni are: donation of 50 additional transformers to Ife communities within the next 60 days; creation of a sport academy; the relocation of the monarch’s ultra-modern furniture factory to Ife; and turning the city into an international tourists centre.

Ogunwusi said he planned to build a 200-bedroom resort at Ife, adding that work had started on the project about three weeks ago.

He added that construction of a housing estate, Ife Ancestral Library, rebranding of Mokuro Water Factory and other projects were parts of the development agenda he intended to pursue.

Ogunwusi said all of these projects were aimed at creating employment, which, he said, would lead to reduction of crime rate in Ife.

He said, “Ile Ife will enjoy one of its kind and the first state of arts centre for heart surgery in Africa with over 150 hectares of land inclusively with the developmental plan of a nine-hole golf course that will be part of the total package of the hospital resort with spa to relax after surgery. This centre will render service for over 20,000 patients a year with job creation of about 3,000 employees.”

Osinbajo reminds Ooni of responsibilities to subjects

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinabjo, urged the monarch to always remember that responsibilities were always attached to positions of power. He advised the Ooni to use his position and influence to further develop the town and its people.

Osinbajo quoted from Ecclesiastes 10:16-17 to buttress his counsel to the new monarch, saying . “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”

The Vice President advised Ogunwusi to be father to all his subjects and to be guardian to all the people of Ife and the entire Yoruba race, saying he occupied an exalted throne which came with huge responsibilities.

‘Rule with fear of God’

In his own remark, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, who presented Oba Ogunwusi with the staff of office, urged the monarch to rule with the fear of God. The governor stated that the new monarch would succeed greatly if he allowed himself to be guided by the fear of God.

Aregbesola, who described himself as Oranmiyan 1, said there were two types of kings people did not forget: the one whose reign was characterised with peace and the one whose reign was characterised with turmoil.

Ogunsua of Modakeke shows solidarity

The Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin, was among the hundreds of traditional rulers who attended the inauguration.

Some Modakeke youths had on October 28, when Ogunwusi arrived in Ile Ife for the first time after his selection, trooped out with placards to welcome him to the town.

The presence of the Modakeke monarch at the Ooni coronation is a further testimony that Ogunwusi is ready to ensure peaceful coexistence with his subjects and those outside his domain, some observers noted.

Although the Chairman, Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers, who is also the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, threatened that members of the council might not attend the ceremony because they had yet to receive a formal invitation as of Thursday, the monarch graced the occasion.

Some of the prominent monarchs from Osun State, who attended the ceremony were the Orangun of Ila, Oba Wahab Oyedotun; Orangun of Oke Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin; and Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Rauf Olayiwola.

Also, monarchs from Lagos, Ondo and Ogun states, including the representative of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oladunni, were present at the ceremony.

Sijuwade’s family also present

Members of the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade family, led by Prince Tokunbo Sijuwade, were also among the dignitaries who witnessed the crowning of their father’s successors.