Ooni Unveils Ife / Modakeke Post-War Rebuilding Plans

LAGOS, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Years after the war had ended, Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Maj­esty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, yesterday dis­closed plans toward rebuild­ing the damaged parts of Ile Ife and Modakeke.

The mon­arch disclosed his rebuilding plans while speaking during a courtesy call on Osun State Gover­nor Rauf Aregbesola, at Government House, Osog­bo, yesterday.

The last Ife / Modakeke communal war triggered by land tussle and disagree­ment over the site of head­quarters of Ife East Local Government Area, lasted four years – between 1997 and 2001 – and claimed sev­eral lives, while property worth millions of naira were destroyed.

Oba Ogunwusi ex­plained that after the war, despite the huge damages the two warring towns ex­perienced, there have been no serious efforts to rebuild the damaged parts of the towns.

To this end, the Ooni said he has set up Odudu­wa Development Trust Fund from which funds would be raised to finance the rebuilding plans, urg­ing Governor Aregbesola to assist the towns in giv­ing the fund a legal back­ing by enacting a law to back it.

According to him, the ef­forts of Governor Aregbes­ola to leave good legacies af­ter exiting office is enough to support all efforts to de­velop the state and decried non-payment of taxes by Nigerians.

He called for a more unit­ed Yorubaland and Nigeria in the interest of peace and development, assuring that he would always lead efforts to promote peaceful co-exis­tence among Nigerians.

The monarch said: “We are all here to show our ap­preciation to the governor. I use this opportunity to say that our relationship will continue to grow; what we have in Ife is great to the extent that foreigners ac­knowledge it.

“Europeans have been to Ife and they likened us to the Roman empire and other empires of the world. The time has come for all and sundry to see the great­ness of Ife and Osun State.

“Leaders in Ife are closer to the people than govern­ment. I want to assure that the change and development that have come to Ife will spread across Osun State. I don’t want to believe that it will be difficult for our peo­ple in Osun State to pay tax. The only way we can help government is to pay our taxes.”

In his remarks, Governor Aregbesola urged tradition­al rulers in the state to help government in educating people on the need to pay their taxes, stressing that the Ooni in his capacity as a fa­ther to all monarchs, should assist government in that regard.

He urged cocoa farmers in the state not to sell their produce outside Osun State.

He noted that for the state to experience abundance, citizens and residents alike must be ready to fulfil their civic duties to government by promptly paying their taxes.

He emphasised that the time has come for everybody to realise that Osun State has nothing serious to expect from the Federal allocation accruing to states monthly.

The governor stated that government and citizens need to look inward for the prosperity and development of the state.

His words: “I am happy that we have all seen the need for payment of taxes; thank God that our monarchs are even joining us in the call for regular payment of tax.

“I want to also ask that tra­ditional rulers use their posi­tion to ensure that farmers are enjoined not to take their cocoa out of the state be­cause what we have in Osun State, if properly harnessed will help the economy of the state.”

Credit: National Mirror (Nigeria)