OPC President, Aare Prince Osibote Visits His Imperial Majesty, Ooni Of Ife

By The Nigerian Voice
L-R:OPC President Aare Prince Osibote & His Imperial Majesty Ooni Of Ife, Oba Babatunde Enitan Adeyeye Akande Ogunwusi Ojaja Ii
L-R:OPC President Aare Prince Osibote & His Imperial Majesty Ooni Of Ife, Oba Babatunde Enitan Adeyeye Akande Ogunwusi Ojaja Ii

The President of Oodua Peoples' Congress, Aare Prince Osibote and members of the organization paid a courtesy visit to His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Babatunde Enitan Adeyeye Akande Ogunwusi Ojaja II in his Ile Oodua, Ife.

The revered 51st traditional ruler of the Yoruba kingdom of Ile- Ife said that he was overjoyed to received the group in his Palace.

Oba Ogunwusi, the spiritual leader of the Yoruba people is also saddled with responsibility of making supplications to God and the Òrìṣà on behalf of his subjects.

The leadership and members of Oodua Peoples' Congress founded by late founder/president, Dr. Frederick Fasehun have come to His Imperial Majesty to seek his royal counsel and blessings.

The Royal father praised the OPC President for his forthright leadership of the organization and wished the group and her members well.

In his speech at the event, Aare Prince Osibote thanked 'Kabiyesi' for improving and adding more value add to the legacy and institution bequeathed humanity by his progenitor and forbearers.

Below is his speech:
Kabiyesi
His Imperial Majesty and Chief Custodian of the SOURCE, Arole Oduduwa

Other protocols duly observed
Good afternoon Distinguished sons and daughters of Oduduwa. This is our home, our collective heritage. This is our Jerusalem in figurative terms.

We are proud of Your Imperial Majesty for providing the necessary leadership and guide always to the human race. Your reign has rekindled hope for a new vista in the affairs of men and nations. May your reign continually record resounding and timeless successes and good tidings (ase).

No river without a source. And a river that fails to recognize its source runs dry. Ile Ife, the seat of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the human race, remains the indisputable source of the Yoruba. As the Ooni Orisa, your Imperial Majesty is the main Custodian of that proud history, and on the throne of that magisterial and revered institution.

I also realize that no society jokes with its history and permit me to say that any society that fails to value and sustain its history does so at its own peril. It is our firm belief and conviction in the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) handed over to us by the late founder/president, Dr Fredrick Fasehun, that you have added value and will continue to add value to the legacy and institution bequeath humanity by our progenitor and forbearers.

We are aware and conscious that by virtue of your status, Your Imperial Majesty bears a big burden; the burden of sustaining, projecting and adding value to the legacy of the Yoruba race; the history of a people famous for gallantry, wisdom and knowledge signposted by pioneering feats and strides in all progressive facets of life.

As the incontrovertible guardian of the custom, culture and tradition, as well as being the pathfinder of the Yoruba race, you remain the fulcrum of unity, direction, progress and inspiration. An impartial son of the Yoruba progenitor, Your Imperial Majesty consistently ensures justice, equity and fairness among the Yoruba, no matter wherever they are, status or inclinations. May you remain immersed in the divine power that guarantees that onerous task and responsibility.

We are here, again, to drink from the fullness of your uncommon wisdom. We are here to share our common ideals, ideas and aspirations. We want to humbly crave your indulgence, Your Imperial Majesty, by drawing your attention to vexed issues agitating our minds on the actions, inactions or lethargy of some stakeholders in the Land. We know tough times do not last but tough, comported, focused and responsible people do. We know you are not just resilient, resourceful and imbued with capacity and wisdom to galvanise and rally the people at very critical and auspicious occasions. That is why we deem it necessary in advocating that Your Imperial Majesty convene an all-inclusive summit to chart a new path to progress, horizon, where wisdom, coupled with the spirit of patriotism and omoluabi reigns supreme. In charting the new course, you will be reinforcing the widely acknowledged virtue of the ooni Risa as the pillar, bridge builder and cornerstone of Yoruba and the universe. Given your enviable record as the Man with the Midas’ Touch, we are convinced that you would have opened another chapter in the history of Yoruba and mankind as a whole.

Nigeria is at a crossroads now. It needs collaboration among the main stakeholders to strike the vital chord of empathy, understanding and appreciation to reinvent itself. Consequences of violent actions are too grave to be imagined and contemplated. The scars are usually permanent, just as the trauma and wounds resonate immeasurably in the minds and memories. No price should be considered too precious and much to embark on such a quick intervention aimed at calming frayed nerves and fixing the system currently troubled by cacophonies, chicanery and theatrics of jobbers and clowns.

Kabiye, Ooni Orisa, His Imperial Majesty and the Custodian of the legacies and history of the Yoruba, I thank you for the honour and privilege to stand before you and present this speech.

Kade pe lori; ki bata pe lese.