Prominent Indigenes Called Upon To Transform Aba-Nla Community

-As Olagoke Sets To Construct Library, Study Center, Borehole, Shops,rebuild Ancestral Mosque, Family House

In a bid to revitalize the Aba-Nla community in Oluyole Local Government, Professor Sabit Ariyo Olagoke JP, founder and spiritual head of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, has appealed to prominent indigenes both at home and abroad to actively contribute to the town’s growth and development.

The Islamic cleric who is a native of the town and one of the four surviving children out of 44 children of his late father, made the appeal during a visit to his family compound at Aba-Nla recently.

Olagoke who vowed to set the pace in the uplift of the community, immediately put necessary machinery in place for the construction of a library bookshop, study center, borehole, shops, and the rebuilding of the family house and ancestral Oke Elelubo Mosque built in 1930 in memory of his late father, Pa Olagoke.

He noted that a lot of developmental projects need to be put in place by well meaning individual and collective efforts of indegenes of the town, saying that government alone cannot do anything.

Olagoke said: “Aba-Nla happened to be one of the commercial hub of Cocoa produce of the Obafemi Awolowo administration. He buys Cocoa produce here as well as the Osobas including my father. Most sons and daughters of Aba-Nla have made it abroad, I am appealing that there must be a renaissance, I am setting the pace now , we must rebuild, the efforts of our heroes past must not go in vain . It should not be through rhetorics, we won’t achieve anything from that, it is by working the talk”

“What concerns me most now is empowerment, wellness of the people. I discovered that when you are in the city, it’s easy for you to spend N50,000 to feed friends but that same amount can empower five people meaningfully with respect to those in our suburbs.”

“What am doing now is to challenge every elite in Nigeria, government cannot do all, if government is able to construct roads and provide some other amenities, it may not necessarily have the opportunity of coming to your house or suburb.”

“Those of us that have been sent to school and other trades who have made it in life , we are supposed to go back to restore the heritage of our fathers by raising children through the compound system where all hands are always on deck to build and send children to school.”

“It is a kind of collective responsibility in ensuring that the family cohesion is kept intact, we have to go back to that, we have to love ourselves, come together and do the needful.”

He said the community association is currently holding talks with officials of the state government on how to situate an hospital in the town which is being facilitated by one of the sons of the town based in Canada.

Olagoke who assured that due process would be followed in carrying out the construction works in the community with the support and prayers of the monarch of the town, the Alaba of Aba-Nla, Oba Tiamiyulabiyi Oladipo 1, expressed confidence of a successful implementation of the projects

He had earlier visited the 118 years old monarch in his palace to intimate him of his intentions and get his consent and blessings .

“Luckily, the monarch here, Oba Tiamiyulabiyi Oladipo is an elite who is about 118 years old is still able to read and can still sign documents himself. So, he has the wherewithal to be carried along. Am confident that with his approval of what we are doing, blessings and prayers, we will succeed,” he said.

“Abanla is the place where I was born with other 43 children my father had during his life time. This place has been in neglect since most of us were resided later at Ogunelu, Aare Alasa compound in Ibadan in 1962 where I had the opportunity of going to primary school before coming back to Prospect High School Aba-Nla for my secondary school education.

“I hardly came around but now that I have become the Arole Ogunelu, I believe I must rewrite the history of this particular dynasty and the history started here where I was born.

“I had the opportunity of bringing a kind of renaissance to Ogunelu Aare Alasa where the first native court in Ibadanland was built between 1901 -1904 and roofed with iron sheets in 1914 by Oguntade the first Mogaji , then I went to Ejigbo to carry out same renaissance, that of Otamokun is being delayed mainly because of many things are supposed to be redesigned ,we instructed them to have a market if they want to have a petrol station for the population to increase so as to bring the necessary civilization to the place.”

“Luckily, the Oba happens to be a an elite and a good Christian who has the mind of turning the place into a big city. Then to Ile-oye,Okere-Ado ruling house in Saki, we have gone there with solar lights to light up the area and some other things are being done.”

“The mosque here in Aba-Nla called Oke Elelubo Mosque happens to be our ancestral mosque and other structures built by my father Pa Olagoke before we left for Ibadan in 1962 . Luckily for us, Aba-Nla has turned into Ilu-nla with an Oba .

” We are going to pull down the mosque here built in 1930 which is outdated, the Olagoke house, a mud house, is not befitting of a 21st century building . We are going to build a four bedroom flat here as well as shops, library bookshop and a study center so that the place will become a beehive of activities. A modern borehole will also be provided .

“There is a central mosque in front of prospect high school that is at the foundation level after it was launched some years ago and you can see houses are very close meaning that all of us were raised together irrespective of the parent who gave birth to you and with collective responsibility we have to do the needful.”

In an interview, one of the sons of the monarch, Prince Idris Olanrewaju Oladipo, who is also the Chairman, Atunluto Aba-Nla Community Association expressed delight at the visit and applauded the gesture to rebuild the mosque and carry out other developmental projects in the community

He also called on indigenes of the town that are blessed with the resources to also return home and contribute their quota to the development of the town .

Similarly, the Chief Imam of the town, Imam Abdul-Rafih Muhibudeen Owolaranfe described the Shafaudeen spiritual head as a prophet of Allah sent to this generation with the mission to transform the society.

He charged other prominent indigenes of the town to emulate Professor Sabit Olagoke and join hands with him to move the town forward.