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Olowu stool:
Obasanjo, Daniel, Ajibola caution on
looming danger
LERE OJEDOKUN and KOLA ADEPOJU,
Abeokuta
Caution and
appeal for understanding among the feuding parties in the Olowu of Owu
Abeokuta succession bid, were the central message at yesterday’s fifth annual
Owu Day, marked with pomp and circumstance.
While President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is
the Balogun of Owu and a principal actor in the chieftaincy tussle,
called for "family spirit" among his kinsmen, the Ogun State Governor, Gbenga
Daniel stressed "the need to temper the contest for succession with sobriety and
the spirit of sportsmanship".
Eminent Owu son and former Minister of
Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola on his part, harped on unity as he warned that
allowing the succession crisis to disrupt the peace of the town would have very
grave consequences.
Obasanjo as the traditional minister of
Owu told his kinsmen who thronged the Olowu coronation ground, venue of the
event, that the town should move forward and not be grounded due to
disagreements over the choice of a new monarch.
"We have a family-Owu community Abeokuta -
and we have to develop what I call family spirit. We also have to develop
community spirit, community attitude and community behaviour. That is what can
move us forward and we have to move forward", he said.
The President who also used the occasion
to again explain the administration’s multi-sectoral reform programme, stated
that the initiative was aimed at re-inventing Nigeria as a great country which
God had made it to be.
He emphasised that the reform must be
all-encompassing and implemented at the federal, state, local and community
levels in order to bring about a complete turn-around in the manner things were
done.
While noting that the intention was pure
and honest, he however, declared that there was no apology whoever ox was gored
by the policy.
His words: "If in the process of that
reform some people feel hurt, we have no apology because we will do what has to
be done to make this country to move forward".
President Obasanjo explained further that
his understanding of God’s plan was that the country should be "the land flowing
with milk and honey, a land of prosperity, a land of righteousness a land of
uprightness, a land of what is right, not a land of anything goes. We know that
we are fighting for and we’ll continue to fight for it"
Gov. Daniel who lauded the heroism in the
ancestors of Owu, admonished sons and daughters of the town not to let their
labour be in vain.
To this end, he charged them to put
collective interest above every other personal pursuit so as to safeguard their
heritage.
Represented by the deputy governor, Alhaja
Salmat Badru, he called for sobriety in the succession crisis. "The challenge
for all is to ensure that Owuland does not relapse once again into a situation
that disturbs the peace of the domain and stalls the development of the
community", Gov. Daniel charged.
Prince Ajibola in a speech, urged the
people to be united and respect their leaders while noting that the price of war
was costly.
Owu, he said, was a well-respected
community and therefore, should not lose its prime position at this time in
history.
The event was graced by ministers, federal
and state lawmakers, top politicians, traditional rulers, members of the state
executive council and prominent industrialists.
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