Thursday 16 February 2017

STRICT ITINERARY COMPLIANCE FOR OONI' S UK VISIT

News coming from the Palace of Ojaja II, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Babatunde Adeyeye Ogunwusi regarding his two-week UK visit this March; which is his first official visit, states that any unofficial reception/activities outside his itinerary will be frowned at; warning that His Majesty will keep strictly to his official itinerary.

News reaching the Palace about Nigerian groups and Yoruba Organisations in the UK churning out various invites to hold dinners, reception and award ceremonies with the Monarch in attendance; and demanding payment from Nigerians has not gone well with the Ooni, and he warns Nigerians to be careful who they give their money to and what they pay for. Nigerians in the UK are urged to attend only the official gala night in his honour; billed for the 24th of March 2017 at the Arora Ballroom, InterContinental Hotel, 02 London.

The Ooni's visit is based on the invitation of her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth Il as a special guest speaker during the Commonwealth Day Service and the Commonwealth Africa Summit from the 13th to 15th March 2017 whose theme is "Leveraging our Commonwealth Heritage for economic development and collective growth"

In line with his itinerary, the Ooni plans to meet with various socio-cultural groups and various business stakeholders.

Tuesday 7 February 2017

OLUWO OF IWO TO BRING MOUNT RUSHMORE TO AFRICA

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi, Telu I, has concluded plans to engrave and sculpt figures of prominent black personalities that contributed to modern culture in and outside Africa on stone

 The project will be similar to South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore accommodating engraved faces of four great past American presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

 Briefing journalists in Iwo about the project, Oba Akanbi said there was no better time than now to celebrate black African leaders across the world for their immense contributions which he said had laid a foundation for modern culture and serve as a catalyst for growth and recognition.

 According to him, Mount Rushmore National Memorial park in the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States of America, which construction started in October 4, 1927, is a must-see vacation experience for everyone.

 The Oluwo, disclosed that those to feature in the project are the  likes of the late  black American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jnr;  the anti-apartheid hero and first black South African President, Nelson Mandela;  the first Ghanaian Prime Minister and President, Kwame Nkrumah;  the first Prime Minister of Independent Nigeria, Tafawa Balewa; the leading figure of Nigerian modern nationalism and first President of independent Nigeria,  Nnamdi Azikwe; the late sage and leading Nigerian nationalist,  Obafemi Awolowo; the former Nigerian Army General and twice former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo; and former governor of Lagos State and Nigeria’s leading national political leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

 

The first class traditional ruler, who noted that the project will be purposeful for its historical, social and economic values, maintained that “this will be the first time to use our key black figures to serve a multi-faceted agenda that will attract investment, jobs and opportunities at various levels for our people.”

 

He further said: “I can’t wait to see this project coming to fruition. Time has come for us to celebrate our black leaders of note in all parts of Africa and beyond for their immense contributions to the world development, peace and stability. I think many of them have been ignored for far too long and not given their due recognition. I want to create a space in a strategic Iwo mountainous forest to assemble and engrave faces of these great world leaders for tourists all over the world to come and listen to their stories to be told and re-told over and over again.

 

“It is important for our people, particularly  the youths to know what these figures stood and stand for in times of misrule and oppression. For example, Mandela and King, Jnr stood tenaciously against oppressive tendencies. Nkruma and Azikwe were rallying point for nationalist struggle and Obafemi Awolowo and Bola Ahmed Tinubu remain trail blazers, managers of human resources, producers of world class leaders and promoters of good governance as well as models for service to humanity. Obasanjo set standard for courage and known for taking far reaching national decisions while in government and is always available as mechanism for resolving conflicts around the world. Balewa as Prime Minister of Nigeria played important roles in the Africa's formative indigenous rule. He was an important leader in the formation of the Organization of African Unity and creating a cooperative relationship with French speaking African countries. So, we want to encourage our youths to learn and benefit from these key figures’ wisdom, skills and acumen.

 “It will also surely be a memorable experience for whoever cares to venture to come to the place we are about creating for these noblest among the nobles. We are using the project to bring to the consciousness of the world that the black Africa has the capacity to emerge a contending power with its enormous human resources with which some of the figures featuring in the project have laid a foundation for. We will also use the project to put Iwo on a world map, create opportunities for direct and indirect employment for my people and generate revenue for the state of Osun.”

 Oba Akanbi said he had started consulting great sculptors and carvers to participate in the design of the project, adding that the other phases, including constructions of shopping malls and hotels as well as other facilities to complement project will soon be unveiled.

Sunday 5 February 2017

TRAVEL BAN: US GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS ORDER

The US Government has said it will act in accordance with federal judge, James Robart's temporary halt on Donald Trump’s travel ban, thereby restoring travel for refugees and for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Trump
The President however criticised the order on his Twitter handle yesterday in a series
of tweets: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
He also wrote: “When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety & security – big trouble!” He went on: “Interesting that certain Middle-Eastern countries agree with the ban. They know if certain people are allowed in it’s death & destruction!”
On Saturday night, he told news reporters: “We’ll win. For the safety of the country, we’ll win.”
The federal government’s request for an emergency stay was filed Saturday night with the 9th US circuit court of appeals.