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First and foremost I must thank the organizers of this forum which purpose is mainly to give room for the rubbing of minds by Okun people on the present state of outright lack of development of Okun land and the way out of this quagmire. There is no doubt that the chosen topic for this public lecture i.e. “Why Okunland is underdeveloped and Challenges of 2015” is coming at a time when it has reached the stage and has become necessary to correct, once and for all, the erroneous notion that the fate of the development of Okun land lies in the hands of the state government and the Federal Government.
The onus for the development of our Okun land rests solely on Okun people themselves, whom by the special grace of God today have held and are still holding key positions in governance both in the public and the private sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Unfortunately, Okun land today is at crossroads as far as development is concerned. At the mention of the word ‘development’ the mind of an average Nigerian goes to the Federal Government, the state government and the local government. But the fact remains that outside state development there is also ‘self development’ which other lands equivalent to our Okun land rely upon to develop their areas. Again, unfortunately, the only visible in the area of self development is in the building of town halls across the length and breadth of our Okun land. Outside this, there is nothing to write home about on self development as far as our Okun land is concerned. This is a bitter truth which we, as a people, cannot run away from.
Before asking ourselves the reasons for the underdevelopment of our motherland, it is pertinent for us all to take a
critical look and search for the understanding of the word ‘development’. Professor Walter Rodney, in his book “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” said that “development in human society is a many-sided process” and went further to explain that “at the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well-being” with a proviso that “the achievement of any of those aspects of
personal development is much tied in with the state of the society as a whole”. From this definition, it can be deduced that development can be categorized in two parts: economic development and social development.
While the skill aspect and capacity can be said to be economic in outlook, all the remaining attributes i.e. greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well-being come under social development aspect.
These two parts will be addressed as this presentation progresses.
A rhetorical question which a first time non-Okun visitor to any part of Okunland, whether Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, West Yagba, East Yagba and Mopa-Muro usually ask is: Why the backwardness in Okun land in spite of the top
positions which Okun people have occupied and are still occupying in the scheme of things in all ramifications in Nigeria and the plethora of eggheads in Okun land. There is no doubt that this apt appraisal of our Okun land by outsiders must have informed the chosen topic for discussion by the organisers of this important forum.
It has been persistently opined by well-meaning and patriotic Nigerian citizens that the oil boom era at the beginning
of the 70s in Nigeria rather than be a blessing to the country has rather turned to be a curse that has remained glued to the nation. Going by developments in Okun land, it can be said that our Okun land is undoubtedly having her own share of the national curse. Going down memory lane, a lot of lessons can be learnt by our youths from the interview granted to Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule, a one-time Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and which was published in the January 2, 2011 edition of the Sunday Sun newspaper.
In the preamble to the interview he was introduced as a minister in the First Republic, who was so poor that he couldn’t build for himself even a hut and that in fact, when the civil war broke out and he had to evacuate his household from Lagos to Kano – his town of origin – he had to rely on friends and family members for the fare. That
was then; when there were accountability and probity in public office.
Further in the interview, the elderstatesman, while buttressing the postulation at the beginning of this paragraph, said that “Oil has become both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it brought money for us to develop the
country. A curse because it has made us develop a negative culture, the culture of extravagance. As a result of oil find,
we have found the habit of sending our girl friends to do their hair in Paris, do their shopping in London an spend their holidays in New York. We still oil money and compete in buying V-boot cars for our girls friends. With oil money, we build mansions and palaces in the midst of ghettos; sometimes we have no access roads to them. We steal the money, go abroad, and buy houses. We buy the latest, the most luxurious and most expensive American limousines only to drive them on the rough, dusty roads of Nigeria – a negative culture, culture of extravagance.”
The spirit of entrepreneurial of the olden days in our people has vanished into thin air. Agriculture which used to be the mainstay of the economy of the Okun people has been relegated to the background while our youths have continued to see farming as an occupation that should be jettisoned for the non-existent ‘white cola’ jobs for sake of
modernity which, where available today, has remained the exclusivity of the children of the rich and the affluent in the Nigerian society as a whole.
Looking back with a wave of nostalgia one would marvel at the turn of events today when compared to the past when Okun land was acknowledged as one of the main producers of coffee and cocoa that remained as a main foreign
exchange earner for the Nigeria before the advent of oil. But in reality today, how many of our youths can identify these two cash crops or identify their trees in the forest? One should not be surprised that some of them may
even ask if there is any semblance between coffee and yam. It is unfortunate that our youths of today see farming as an occupation for the ‘old school’ but the bitter truth must be drummed into their ears that going back to the land is one of the main panacea and tonic that is NOW needed in Okun land for the checking of the untold poverty that is ravaging our people.
While flipping through an old 1978 NNPC diary that was given to me by a friend whom I cannot readily remember today, I incidentally came across a jotting in which Daniel Webster emphasized the importance of farmers as founders of civilization when he said “Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labour of man.
When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization”. On the part of our local councils, efforts should begin to show commitment geared towards introduction of incentives and provision of the essential modern farming implements to encourage our youths to endear them to agriculture.
All Council chairmen in Okun land are advised to face the challenges of our youth employment, by collectively brainstorming with peripheral vision and thus encourage the youths to acquire technical skills that will enable them explore self-employment opportunities in and outside Okunland. The battle should not only be seen as that of the council chairmen alone but all the representatives of Okun people in the other tiers of government including the National Assembly and the Federal Government and astute businessmen who are Okun people. In the dictum of David George, “Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”
Economic growth, as expected, is usually tied to the growth in population but considering the total population of our
people in five local councils that make up Okun land in comparison with other parts of the country, can we, as a people, rightly point to the growth in our population as the bane of the abysmally low economic activity in Okun
land? To this question we should collectively say a capital NO for an answer. There are many factors, both Nigerian factors which are outside our control as a people and those that can rightly be described as self-inflicted which have sadly made poverty, lack of development in all ramifications to remain sacrosanct in Okun land.
However, for the purpose of this forum, we shall limit ourselves to brainstorm on the Okun land factors which, if addressed adequately, can change our land and its people for the better in terms of development, improve the below average standard of the living of our people and also remove the jinx of the curse of underdevelopment often associated with our motherland. It is pathetic to note that Okun people in top positions across the length and breadth of Nigeria have continued to be seen as movers and shakers of the Nigerian economy but who either by omission or commission, have continued to enjoy a good measure of popularity in the polity with their root reeling in
abject poverty and underdevelopment.
Some of the causes for the state of Okun land today that are within the control of ourselves such as the negative manner of empowerment of our youths by our politicians, thuggery, disrespect for our traditional rulers, elders and constituted authorities, just to mention a few. The other external factors that are unfortunately outside our control and constituting a clog in the wheel of progress and development of our Okun land such as the glaring marginalization of our people in Kogi state since its creation in 1991 have been adequately addressed in another of my paper presentation titled “Okun People in Kogi State, A Blessing Or A Curse?”
From the vantage point of the truth and right assessment, Okun people can be said to be the most blessed set of people in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole. Okun sons and daughters can be found as captains of industry in and outside Nigeria. Name any profession, you will always find Okun people there. Go to any of the universities in and
outside Nigeria, one is sure to come face to face with Okun people as members of the Federal Executive Council, Vice Chancellors of universities, Professors, Presidential aides and Special advisers to past and present nation’s president, Heads of departments, lecturers and holders of top positions in and outside the academic world, Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Overseers of Internationally acknowledged Churches, just to mention a few as the list is endless. Okun people have been state governors, state administrators, GOCs, ministers, permanent secretaries, Director-Generals, ambassadors, think-tank members for the Federal Government, but back home, there is absolutely nothing to justify these positions held by our people owing largely to the attitude of self-centredness,
myself-and-no-other-person syndrome in us as a people, perpetuation of the boss-servant relationship and the ossidised wide gap between the rich and the poor, pretense, among other things.
On the increase in skill and creativity of our people, these have no doubt been extensively dealt with in a paper presentation by Professor S.J. Timothy Asobele, the Head of European Languages Department, University of
Lagos to the Lagos/Ogun States Chapter of Okun Development Association in April 2012. It was titled “ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN OKUNLAND FOR RAPIDSOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF
OUR FATHERLAND”. It is a must-read and a must-have any day for all Sons and daughters of Okun land both at home and in diaspora. (Interested Okun people can forward their email address to odunayo_joseph2006@yahoo.com for the paper while arrangement will be made to get it posted on our Okun website – okundevelopmentassociation.org as soon as possible).
Another area that calls for collective brainstorming for the present and future generations of Okun people has to do with the undefined identity brought about by the neither-here-nor-there situation in which we find ourselves today. On one side, Okun land is grouped in the North Central geographical zone which is non-Yoruba speaking and to which Okun land is grouped politically while on the other side is the South West Yoruba speaking geopolitical zone but to which incidentally Okun land does not belong.
There are six states that make up the North Central namely: Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Benue, Plateau and Nassarawa but the fact remains that with the exception of Yoruba in Kwara state and Nupe in Niger State, all the remaining states have no trace of cultural contiguity or affinity with the Okun people. With this development, political pundits would be quick to admit that our Okun land will continue to be at crossroads politically, economically and geographically except there is boundary adjustment or state creation through which all the Yoruba in Kogi and their kiths and kin in Ilorin and environs, Offa and environs, Igbomina, Eruku all in Kwara State and 12 villages in Ekiti State namely: Ayede, Imojo, Itaji, Isan Payom, Omu, Omu Isale, Itapaji, Eyimero, Ipao, Oke-Ako, Irele and Itagbangba can come together to form a state.
Before the grouping of Okun land as part of the North Central geopolitical zone, Okun land was grouped as part of the Northern Region but a critical appraisal of Okun land would reveal that in spite of the fact that Okun people
stood as the lifeblood of the region’s civil service in the first republic, there is not much to show for it in terms of development in all ramifications with the exception of the establishment of the College of Agriculture at Kabba that was affiliated to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Today, while all the Federal Trunk A roads outside Okun land in North Central geopolitical zone to which we presently belong are in perfect condition, the only Federal Trunk A road in Okun land, one of the oldest in
Nigeria, that runs from Omuaran-Egbe-Mopa-Kabba-Lokoja, has remained abandoned by the Federal
Government for donkey’s years in spite of countless number of appeals and cries made to it by concerned Okun people both at home and abroad. One of such appeals that were made was the one from me addressed to President
Yar’Adua (may his soul rest in peace) and the then Minister of Transport urging them to rehabilitate the potholes ridden road considering the fact that it is the main link that Kwara and Kogi states have with Abuja and the need for prevention of further loss of precious lives owing to the deplorable state of the road. This appeal was published in the P.M. News of Thursday, 18 December, 2008.
For now, Okun sons and daughters come home have in a circuitous manner through either Osun state or Ekiti state and this makes a journey hitherto made in 4 hours to take up to 8 hours, while the people at home are being made to pay through their nose for journeys made on the only Trunk A road that runs through the length and breadth of Okun land.
At this juncture, the efforts of the founding members of Okun Development Association should be acknowledged by all sons of daughters of Okun both at home and abroad. The need for Okun people to reflect on their true Yoruba identity was emphasized during the visit to Lokoja of the constitution review committee led by Air Commodore Bernard Nimfa Bamfa in year 2000 by Chief Otitoju who doubled as the first President of Okun Development Association and a founding member of the Yoruba Parapo. There is no doubt that he hit the nail on the head when he told the committee that “the truth of the Nigerian situation is that we have been from the beginning and we still are, a divided people…. divided along ethnic lines, divided along north/south lines, divided along east/west lines and so on and so forth.”
His suggestion that “Okun Development Association (ODA), the Yoruba speaking part of the Kogi State requested the restructuring of the federation to reflect their true Yoruba identity” should continue to be a food for thought for the present and future generations of Okun people.
Going down the memory lane, the former Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, late Chief Sunday Awoniyi (may his soul continue to rest in peace) in an open warning letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo as published on
page 2 in The Punch of Thusday, April 20, 2006 appealed to him to openly denounce his alleged bid for a third term
maintained that he “felt compelled to write the President for three major reasons: for friendship; as a fellow Christian; and for being a fellow Yoruba.”
In a political report titled “2007: Wither the Middle Belt!” with pictures of Danjuma, Saraki, Jemibewon, Awoniyi, Ogbeha and Malu on page of Sunday Punch edition of February 11, 2007, it was stated that “in spite of the fact that the region is a part of the North, it has continued to assert a separatist collective political identity, different from that of the core North, since 1959 but that despite the holding of key political positions by Middle Belters at the federal level as Chief of Army Staff. Air Staff, high profile ministerial and ambassadorial appointments in terms of translating these into social economic dividend for the rest of the people. The zone cannot claim to have anything
to show for it”. It was further stated in the food-for-thought report that “In the Middle Belt, every state is on its own and this explains why the zone is under developed because of the lack of corporate political interest” and concluded that “each state be in charge of its own fortune”.
Can our Okun land be said to have been having its fair share of this unfortunate situation? At both fronts, that is at state and at federal levels, Okun land has continued to lose out as far as development is concerned. A good example is the neglect of the only Omuaran-Egbe-Mopa-Kabba-Lokoja Federal Trunk A road that passes through the entire length of Okun land. Our people cannot continue to lose at both ends and posterity will not forgive our generation if we continue to imbibe the ‘sit-down-look’ attitude with pretence that all is well with the people. It is therefore hoped that all stakeholders in Okun land will do all in their power to ensure that the Yoruba-speaking Okun people begin
to identify with the proposed laudable economic integration of the South West geo-political zone to which Yoruba belong.
Taking a critical look at need for Nigeria to imbibe the culture of accountability, there is no doubt that the Federal
Government has done its own part by making the public to know what goes to purses of all the 774 local councils and the 36 states in the country as monthly statutory allocations from the Federation Account.
Whether the people do show any concern or do any follow up by asking questions so as to determine the whether the allocations are being judiciously used or not by their leader at the two levels of governance is another ball game entirely. It is high time we borrowed leaf from some local governments where the people’s parliament is being used as a forum for interaction between the leaders and the led. It is therefore suggested at this occasion that people’s
parliament be established as a matter of urgency in all the five local government headquarters in Okun land, namely: Kabba, Iyara, Isanlu, Odo-Ere and Mopa. This is the only solution and the way out by which the seeming docility of our people towards accountability in governance and display of impunity by almost if not all our political leaders
and representatives at any level of governance can be addressed. We must acknowledge the fact that this culture of docility is not helping matters as far as accountability for the people’s money vis-à-vis development of Okun land is concerned. There is also the need for our children to be kept abreast, at primary and secondary school levels, of the
functions of local governments as duly specified in the 4th Schedule of the Nigerian Constitution. This will make them, as future leaders of tomorrow, to be better equipped in bracing up for the task ahead in development of
their motherland.
On self-discipline, nothing can be further from the truth that development in any form cannot be achieved in the absence of self-discipline by those who hold public office in trust for the people. It would be recalled that former Kogi State Governor, Ibrahim Idris, once chided council chairmen in the state for wasting councils’ funds by lodging
in expensive hotels during frequent their frequent and unnecessary visits to Lokoja, the state capital. Going by a newspaper publication on page 9 in Saturday Punch of July 18, 2009, reproduced below, can the governor’s observation be faulted or said not to be in tune with the reality?
Quote:
In Lokoja, there are no weekdays, only weekends Emmanuel Addeh, in Lokoja
A visitor to Lokoja, the touted Confluence City and capital of Kogi State, is easily confronted with the reality of its
backwardness. The 10 unbroken years of democracy in the country appears to have impacted little on a town
that hosts two of Africa’s biggest rivers – Niger and Benue.
It is the quintessense of what obtains in other parts of the state from Egbe to Okene and Dekina to Kotonkarfe. It is a
state yearning for a leap in infrastructural growth and take-off of its industrial base. To call a spade what it is, Kogi is a state waiting to be built.
Ironically, Lojoja, the capital city of Kogi State, is only awake at night. The days of the week conventionally considered as working days are like weekends. Every available space seems to be meant for a fun spot, so much so that Lokoja can now possibly boast of more hotels than residential buildings. Everywhere you go, there is either a
bar, a restaurant, a motel or a suya joint. It is as if residents are trained to enjoy life now and care less about tomorrow.
Damsels are at the beck and call of men with the wherewithal. Every street reminds you of the notoriety of Ayilara, a popular area in Lagos renowned for its night life. In structure and complexion, shapes and sizes, as well as craze for money, the women remind you of Ayilara’s famous nocturnal dwellers. And the way they tantalize the men that come their way would make even Sharon Stone go green with envy.
With juju, apala, Afro, fuji, hip hop and other genres of music blaring from speakers that are strategically positioned and powered by generators, one would easily mistake Lokoja for Ojuelegba in Lagos.
Complementing the varieties of alcohol and beverages at such joints are delicacies like roast chicken and fried fish.
The dance steps also come in profuse abundance, with fun seekers dancing as if their lives depend on it. Liquor, food and pepper soup sellers are a mix of Igbos, Yoruba and Hausa. The cacophony of dialects also strikes a certain rhythm a visitor cannot ignore. The visitor beholds Nigeria in microcosm as the people render conversations in
various Nigerian languages.
Our correspondent could not but wonder why even on a Monday, the first day of the working week, the beer parlours were filled to the brim. The string of bars and beer parlours directly opposite the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in the state is probably the largest concentration of fun centres anywhere in the country. And there
can be no short supply of any brand of beer.
Surprisingly, one of the bartenders, who identified himself as Emmanuel Adebayo, said the Appeal Court verdict given earlier in the day had adversely affected sales. True to his words, the fun centres came much more alive the following day. In spite of a heavy downpour in the evening, a walk round the streets showed the people’s love for the ‘good life’. As usual, the daughters of Eve were not in short supply.
A journalist who lives in the town told our correspondent, “Anybody who wants to see this place in full gear, should come on a Sunday. “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he declared as he walked away to order another bottle of beer and a wrap of suya.
So, fun, liquor and women make Lokoja tick, in spite of the many developmental challenges that the residents
have to contend with on a daily basis. While nobody could trace how the ‘everyday Christmas’ came about,
sources told our correspondent that it was just in the nature of Lokoja residents to have a ‘good evening’ before going
to bed. While in other parts of Nigeria, Saturdays and Sundays are usually set aside for such pleasure, Lokoja, once the capital of Nigeria during colonial rule, has an amazing story of a people’s love for the good life, development or no development.
End of Quote:
We must not lose sight of the fact that for a first-time visitor to the state capital, the probability of using the level of
infrastructural and industrial development there to mirror the standard of living of the people and what obtains generally in other parts of the state, as reflected in the 2nd paragraph of the newspaper’s report above, cannot be ruled out.
On accountability, there is no doubt that the problem in our Okun land is not the issue of paucity of funds but how well our leaders have been able to put to good use the little that is at their disposal. It would be recalled that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, once bemoaned the impunity and corruption which made the sharing of the monthly statutory allocations rather than for development the main business of almost all the local councils in Nigeria.
Below is a table showing the monthly statutory allocations to our five local councils at various times between from
1999 to date but the million dollar question for us as a people remains: Is the former Chairman of the EFCC justified in her assessment of the local councils as mentioned above going by the randomly selected allocation table below?
SEPT 2007.
Source: The Punch 27/10/07
Ijumu LG
N78,224,234.85
Kabba-Bunu LG
N79,660,516.89
Mopa-Muro LG
N60,819,359.91
Yagba East LG
N78,283,564.67
Yagba East LG
N78,283,564.67
APRIL 2010
Source: Guardian 14/7/10
Ijumu LG
N182,945,443.06
Kabba-Bunu LG
N188,517,440.41
Mopa-Muro LG
N140,481,792.14
Yagba East LG
N181,662,978.51
Yagba East LG
N174,373,756.55
JUNE 2010
Source: The Punch 27/8/10
Ijumu
N101,687,491.76
Kabba-Bunu
N104,915,378.62
Mopa-Muro
N78,457,735.96
Yagba East
N101,348,471.97
Yagba East
N97,408,890.31
JUNE 2012
Source: The Punch 27/8/10
Ijumu
N128,071,226.49
Kabba-Bunu
N132,306,535.66
Mopa-Muro
N98,867,287.47
Yagba East
N127,753,802.56
Yagba East
N123,096,492.95
JULY 2012
Source: The Punch 27/8/10
Ijumu
N169,090,307.18
Kabba-Bunu
N174,420,351.28
Mopa-Muro
N130,002,657.92
Yagba East
N168,066,514.52
Yagba East
N161,659,010.03
More information on the monthly allocations to our five local councils can be googled on the internet. Going by calculation, at an average of N100 million monthly statutory allocation for a period of 156 months i.e. from June 1999 to May 2013, the total allocation accruable to a local council would be N1.5billion. Taking into consideration all the 5 local councils that make up Okunland, the total amount collected would, in the same period, be in the region of a whooping N78 billion.
From the table above and the information that followed it, it can be deduced that had there been some level of
financial discipline on the part of our leaders at the local government level, our Okun land will not be where it is today in terms of poverty and underdevelopment. How many communities in Okun land can boast of good
drinkable potable water? Is enough attention being paid to construction of drainages in our communities? Is there any appreciable improvement in the standard of education of our children beginning with the foundation level? Can we boast of existing cottage industries across the length and breadth of Okun land which, in place, would have addressed the issue of our youth unemployment? The questions are endless.
Still on the issue of the statutory monthly allocations to the councils from the Federal Account, there is need for us
all to ruminate over the incalculable damage, directly and indirectly, that the tinkering by making deductions from the monthly allocations solely meant for councils by some state governors in the country do to area development, provision of infrastructure and dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots.
It is common knowledge that some councils do resort to bank borrowing to meet payment of staff salaries alone talk less of embarking on any meaningful capital project(s) that can impact positively on the standard of the living of the people. It is therefore hoped that with the coming into reality of the popular nationwide clamour for local government autonomy, councils in Nigeria will be in a better position to meet their obligatory functions as clearly spelt out in the 4th Schedule of the 1999 Nigerian constitution.
Another issue that is attitudinal in nature and which sadly contributes to the growth retardation and underdevelopment of Okun land can be traced to the run-away-from-home syndrome that has become the norm among our youths and our people in general.
This is a bitter truth which we cannot run away from. There is need for Okun people in top positions across Nigeria who have continued to remain passive to the development of Okun land to have a change of mindset about
their motherland and collectively resolve to come back home with a great passion and make it have a feel of the development which they have brought to bear on other parts of the country.
However, there is need to commend the efforts of sons and daughters of Okun incognito who have continued to assist in providing employment for and giving scholarships to our sons and daughters while at the same time assisting the umbrella organization for Okun people – Okun Development Association (ODA) – in one way or the other. It is needless to start mentioning names here today but the collective prayer of well-meaning Okun people is that the Almighty God would continue to shower his blessings on these illustrious Okun sons and daughters and also give them the strength to forge ahead in the spirit of being their brother’s keeper (amen). Their efforts will definitely be part of Okun history and according to an adage, history is like pregnancy which cannot be hidden.
The preservation of the cohesiveness of Okun people as an indivisible entity must be uppermost in the minds of all at
all times. It is high time jettisoned our holier than thou attitude and come together and help each other to lay a solid foundation of a protectionism system that would ensure that our people get minimum jobs. Other non Okuns in Nigeria have done it and continue to do it for developmental sake of their people, why should we an exception? Why should we left behind?
Indeed, we must not portray ourselves like someone whose calabash of hope has just been smashed with the contents spilled and trampled upon. God forbid it!
Before calling it a day, there is need to use the opportunity of today’s occasion to make a clarion call on our youths to
address the age-old issues of ostracism, internal wrangling, discrimination petty jealousy and ethnic rivalry among ourselves which without doubt have continued to pose a serious threat to the development of our motherland.
Another pertinent question that we must ask ourselves in this regard is: Can there be any meaningful development in our motherland in the absence of true love for ourselves or in a thriving love-hate relationship for one another? The answer to the question is obvious and the need to address it NOW cannot be overemphasized if we are to climb that ladder of progress and development.
To cap it all, can we beat our chest and say that we are our ‘brother’s keeper’ in the real sense of the words? Can we
also agree collectively that we are not doing enough in line with the message in our Okun anthem which
goes thus:
1. Ile Okun yi ti gbogbo wa ni,
ko ma gbodo baje
Tori kosi bo miran ti a le lo, ajo o le dabi ile
Eje kaso wopo kafi mo sokan
Gbe, kemi gbe.
1. Ejea gbele Okun ga oo
Ejea pa moran ha po
Ejea gbele Okun ga o
Ibi wo ba se mo ka rohin re mo
Omo Okun.
In conclusion, I have no doubt that the communique that will be issued at the end of today’s event will provide the
opportunity for soul-searching, display of sobriety by all Okun people both at home and in diaspora with a
view to charting a course for a new direction that would not only see to the laying of a solid foundation for the
development of Okunland but also convince the whole world that the sobriquet of ABJECT POVERTY, BACKWARDNESS and LACK OF DEVELOPMENT IN ALL RAMIFICATIONS is not our own portion any
longer in Okun land. Okun agbea oo!
Thanks and God Bless.
————————————————————————
A Paper Presentation Titled “Addressing The Issue Of Abject Poverty And Lack Of Development In Okunland And
A Paper Presentation Titled “Addressing The Issue Of Abject Poverty And Lack Of Development In Okunland And
The Way Forward”
By Odunayo Joseph, Publicity Secretary, S/W Zone Of O.D.A. On The Occasion Of A Public Lecture Organised By Okun Youth Development Association On Saturday, June 15, 2013 At Isanlu, Headquarters Of Yagba-East Local Government Area Of Kogi State.
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