By Uche Amunike
It was pomp and pageantry at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Saturday, as sons and daughters of Ile-Ife converged in their numbers to celebrate the Olojo Festival 2022, where the Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi unveiled his new wife, Mariam Ajibola to the general public for the first time since they got married.
Apart from Mariam who was all dressed up in white, the Olojo Festival 2022 was also attended by other dignitaries which include Nigerian Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the Ogun state Deputy Governor, Benedict Alabi, among others.
The new Queen has been at the Oodua Palace at Ile-Ife since Tuesday, September 6, when she was ushered in at about 8pm by her mother and other family members from Kogi and Kwara states. Since then, she has not been to any public outing.
Mariam, who is the new Yeyeluwa of Ife will be adorned with the ‘Aare Crown’ for the first time during the major cultural celebration as the wife of the Ooni at the Olojo Festival 2022.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, expressed his displeasure at the neglect of farming in Nigeria. He recalled that the festival used to serve as an opportunity to display farm produce in the past.
His words: ‘In the olden days, at a festival like this, we use them to display the harvest of our farms to measure how far we work and our economy. I will be pleased if we can revert to the tradition. It is better to celebrate after work,’ he said.
‘We must be vigilant, we must not leave the work of security to our security agencies alone else there will be problems. All of us must be concerned about security. The government will play its part, in little areas where we are encountering challenges, and we will soon succumb to them before December 2022.’
‘We must work together with security agencies to win the challenges of insecurity. I recognise the roles played by Ooni to end insecurity and I commend you for this’, he added.
On his part, the Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, who was represented by his Deputy, Benedict, Alabi, stated that his administration has been consistently making efforts to protect the citizens while assuring that he will not relent in ensuring the safety of the people of Osun state.
He congratulated the people of Osun state, while stating that the Ooni of Ife has been a great pillar of support to his government by keeping the youths gainfully engaged.
Hear him: ‘I thank the Ooni for his sacrifices and for interfacing with the ancestors to perform all the necessary cleansing, productivity, security, and other rites for the benefit of the black race in particular and mankind in general.’
‘The significance of this festival is in tandem with the philosophy of our administration, as we strongly believe that the State economy should be repositioned by giving a boost to cultural-tourism promotion to drive meaningful youth employment, create wealth, and preserve our cultural heritage, among others.’
‘I want to assure you that government will continue to do all within its power to protect the people, and provide an enabling environment for a prosperous, secure and progressive Osun.’
‘As we celebrate this year’s edition of the festival, I enjoin all and sundry to intensify efforts to preserve our cultural heritage, entrench peaceful co-existence, eschew political bitterness, and always be our brothers’ keepers’, Oyetola added.
