OONI OF IFE TASK IFE INDIGENES IN DIASPORA

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Sunday, urged indigenes of the town resident in Lagos to return home and bring about the development to Ile Ife saying there are untapped potentials in the town.

He spoke at a summit of all Ife sons and daughters in Lagos and environs which was held at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island in Lagos.

The summit was themed: Ife development agenda: Issues, aims and strategy for development.

Oba Ogunwusi, who noted that there are untapped potentials in Ile Ife, urged indigenes of the town to return home to tap into the potentials.

He said: “If we do not meet regularly like this, where do we want to place Ife in the scheme of things?

“I want to urge you to meet regularly, we need to know ourselves, rub minds and bring about development of Ife. I want us to know that Ife is making progress, those of you resident in Lagos need to return home and ensure there is development in Ile Ife.

“A lot of people do not know that there are investment opportunities in Ifr and that is why I urge you all to return home and invest in Ife.

I am also happy to inform you that we now have made in Ife products like the adire attire. It is a big business opportunity in Ife; we also have tourism potentials in Life which must be tapped into and that is why I want to urge those of you making headway in Lagos to return home.”

Delivering a paper titled: The place of Ife in the scheme of contemporary Yoruba/Nigeria affairs, the guest speaker, Professor Adisa Ogunfolakan, urged Ife indigenes to return home and help the town bring about development and progress.

It’s a watershed movement–Awogbade

Earlier in his welcome address, chairman of the Organising Committee for the summit, Mr Soji Awogbade described the summit as historic and a watershed movement.

Awogbade said: “Some say this event is historic, I agree with them. Others say it is a landmark, I agree with them also, in my humble view, it is a watershed movement.

“By tradition and hallowed, the Ooni of Ife seldom went to meet people even his people. All roads lead to the Aafin and everybody, high and low had to make their way there and if granted audience, saw the Ooni.

“So, that the Ooni has come today to meet his son’s and daughters in Lagos, in the modest setting of this hall, is in my humble view a watershed movement of its own. Another watershed element is the fact that some elders in their wisdom, conceived this idea that it is high time Ifes got together at a summit to deliberate on the affairs of our fatherland. Let me not be understood to mean that this is the first time something like this has ever happened, it is not.

“However, it is the first time the initiative has come to assemble under the auspices of the throne to a collegiate setting, to collectively device a plan, the implementation of which, will not only lead to the development but by the same token, forge unity among all Ifes wherever they may find themselves