Uche Henry
The Olota of Ota Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adeyemi Abdukabir Obalanlege, has tasked Obas to sustain the history of Yorubaland as a strategy to right the wrongs rocking the land.
He made this known at a book launch in honour of Timothy Dada, Ota Awori Kingdom (synopsis and biography), which held recently in Lagos while eulogising the evergreen legacies of late Oba Timothy Talabi Dada whose achievement-filled reign as the Olota of Ota from 1954 -1992 was brought to memory of Awori sub-ethic Yoruba group.
Oba Obalanlege reminisced with nostalgia the giant strides and landmark achievements of the late icon of traditional leadership, saying that, since the Aworis descented from Ile Ife, the history of Ota Awori will never go extinction.
Obalanlege implored the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodu, to right the wrongs in Awori Kingdom, reiterated his commitment to ensure that the Ota Aworis were not relegated but placed in their rightful position. “We are not slaves, therefore, our voices must be heard,” he said.
In his remarks, Senator Tolu Odebiyi decried the dying state of history Yorubaland and Nigeria, at large, adding that no one could do without the knowledge of his background. “I call on Aworis in Diaspora to support the Olota of Ota for the emancipation of our people to the Promised Land,” he said.
Equally, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodu, represented by his deputy, Engr. Mrs Noimot Oyedele-Salako, enjoined all Aworis to savour the book and take steps to correct every anomalies in the clan saying that, people perish because of lack of knowledge.
“The intellectual contents of book is apt and revealing to help us fix the misconceived and miscaptured beliefs about Ota Awori, it’s better we take informed decisions now for the peace and progress of our coming generations by getting the right information we need for tomorrow,” she remarked.
Addressing newsmen, the author and son of late Dada, Prince Gbolahan Dada, posited that the book was a product of his late father’s yearning to let the people know their rights from their left and take decisive actions to put things in order.
“This book is about the 38 years eventful reign of Oba Dada and the chronicles of Awori kingdom, so since history cannot die, I charge our people to study this 572 -page book to enable them know they are coming from, (back date from 1621), where they are and where they are going for the benefit of all,” he stressed.