The Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, CCII has replied Ibadan Youth Progressive Youth Indigene Association, IYPIA that queried the association about the ‘Most Distinguished Friend of Ibadan’ award bestowed on Hon. Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare.
The CCII justified the award with valuable contribution and impact the Minister has had on Ibadanland.
Below is the full rejoinder:
Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII)
www.ccii.ng . 08110200327
ibadanindigenes@gmail.com
REJOINDER BY THE CENTRAL COUNCIL OF IBADAN INDIGENES (CCII) TO THE PRESS RELEASE OF IBADAN YOUTH PROGRESSIVE INDIGENE ASSOCIATION ON CONFERMENT OF THE AWARD OF FRIEND OF IBADANLAND ON CHIEF SUNDAY AKIN. DARE, THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS.
Our attention has been drawn to a publication by the Ibadan Youth Progressive Indigene Association with respect to the Award of the Most Outstanding Friend of Ibadanland conferred, among other recognitions, on Chief Sunday Akin. Dare, the Honourable Minister for Youth and Sports by the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) on 20th June, 2021.
From the write-up, we could clearly see very deep information arbitrage not in conformity with the intention and ideals of the CCII as the Voice and Face of Ibadanland. This is why we always enjoin Ibadan groups to join the CCII so as to avoid this type of misrepresentation. Few years ago, the 265 Affiliate Club Members of the CCII resolved that it would discourage any acts of insolence, arrogance, intolerance or disunity in her relationship with her other kinsmen across Oyo State and Yorubaland. With his standpoint, we can quickly submit that yes, Chief Sunday Dare might not have done enough for Ibadanland, yet our area of divergence with the group is on the Ibadan approach in solving the problem. Pointblank, while the group seems to believe that the solution is to distance ourselves from Chief Sunday Dare, the CCII believes that we should draw Chief Sunday Dare closer to Ibadan so that Ibadan can have her legitimate claim from his Ministry since 4 years will soon be over and hatred would not take us anywhere. In essence, our approach in patriotism induced and not in anyway politically motivated. Pursuant to our own friendly approach, we formally invited Chief Sunday Dare to the CCII about six (6) months ago to explain to Ibadan – his core constituency – his Ibadan Agenda among the rest of Nigeria. It was during this meeting that he exposed his plans for Liberty Stadium, Ibadan Youth Empowerment, his challenges, the inter-ministerial bottlenecks and other issues that affect Nigeria in general. We vividly recall telling him at the meeting that he should not mistake Ibadan Youths as being limited to his Political Party Youths and that his Ministry carries the burden of some 55% of the population of Nigeria. It should be mentioned right away that the CCII also periodically invites our two (2) Senators – Dr. Kola Balogun and Chief Teslim Folarin –and they regularly brief us on their programs towards Ibadanland and at times follow us to meetings on critical issues like State Creation etc. If this group like almost 300 other Ibadan Groups has joined the CCII and/or take part in her activities, it would have known that the simple reason why we decided to give the Award of Friendship to Chief Sunday Dare is that within a period of Eighteen (18) Months, Chief Sunday Dare has authorized his Ministry to allow the CCII use the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium four (4) times for various Ibadan Events free of all charges.
The truth of the CCII situation at the moment is that if you take a Stadium out of our major events, the dignity, glamour and prestige is lost. Chief Sunday Dare bailed Ibadan out at a time when the only alternative we had – the Lekan Salami Stadium – came under repairs. It will interest this group to know that we deliberated on the dilemma to the extent of thinking of begging the State Government to allow us clear some portion of the Olubadan Stadium just to enable our event retain its usual glamour and prestige. In essence, those who are open-minded about us know that the Award was gratitude-motivated, properly placed and not in any way politically motivated as perceived by the group. The award was also a strategic move that was patriotism-induced to ensure that Ibadan does not totally lose out for the four (4) years of his tenure as a result of arrogance or political intolerance. True to our plans, we used the occasion of the award to extract words of immediate action on the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium and a major Youth Empowerment issue, very dear to Ibadan – the defence of the World Featherweight Tittle of the Oje, Ibadan-born Ridwan Oyekola ‘Scorpion’ due to take place within the next two (2) months.
This group should furthermore be aware that, in relation to their submission that we should point to only one thing that Chief Sunday Dare has done for Ibadanland and despite having answered same as above, the most popular opinion of our kinsmen from other parts of Oyo State is that everything for Oyo State goes to Ibadan. So, the situation is precisely within the context of the Yoruba Proverb that Ilu Gangan ni ile aiye, ohun ti o k’oju si enikan, ehin ni o ko si elomiran Life should be about moderation and diplomacy. The generality of us serving in the CCII have spent our time, money, intellect, connection and experience to serve Ibadanland diligently and hereby appeal that our fellow indigenes should desist from using the CCII as the scape goat for political eye-service or camp fiefdoms. A mere award from the CCII is not what will make someone the Governor of Oyo State but ingratitude is a sin that God says he will not forgive.
With the above, we want to assure everybody that the CCII of today has realized that Ibadan cannot get anywhere by fighting with everybody or showing arrogance or insolence towards our fellow Kinsmen in Oyo State, Yorubaland and Nigeria. Within the past two years, we have organized events to which we invited the Alaafin of Oyo, the Ooni of Ife, the Eleruwa of Eruwa, the Soun of Ogbomoso and the Aseyin of Iseyinland using the bridge-building spirit of our amiable Engr. Dotun Sanusi, the Otun Apesinola of Ibadanland and resultantly, some negative perceptions about us are fast changing.
The CCII has conducted itself in the past 4 years in a highly Ibadan-Centric Manner. It is on record that while we commended the APC Federal Government of Nigeria for the historic Lagos-Ibadan Standard Guage Rail System, we have also taken them up on not naming any of the 3 Stations on our land after any Indigene, we have taken them up on not giving Ministerial appointment to an Ibadan Indigene and we also took them up on the issue of the University of Ibadan Vice-Chancellorship position and Ibadan Indigenes. We recall with interest that in March 2018, the CCII boldly gave the Award of the Most Patriotic Ibadan Indigene (MPII) to the then Engr. Seyi Makinde (now the Executive Governor of Oyo State) in the presence of the then Gov. Abiola Ajimobi at the Liberty Stadium Ibadan and surprisingly, nobody then accused us of being used to promote the ambition of Engr. Seyi Makinde.
We gave Chief Sunday Dare the Award because of what he has done for Ibadan so far and what we still want him to do and more strategically, to have a committed friend within the Federal Executive Council as more often than not, his opinion will still count on matters relating to Ibadan at the Federal Level.
We feel that we can also use this medium to state that we have not lost sight of Mogaji Abass Oloko’s comments in drawing our attention to other friends of Ibadanland like H.E. Engr. Rauf Olaniyan, Sen. Hosea Agboola, Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu and Prof. Adeaolu Akande – all of them principally of PDP stock – as people quite deserving of recognition by Ibadanland. We are however quick to state that just two (2) months ago, we conferred similar Awards on Distinguished Sen. Kola Balogun and Engr. Remi Oseni – both of the PDP stock – and so nobody can accuse us of bias towards a particular Political Party.
We did not think we would have to go to this level on a recognition we gave to only one non-Ibadan Indigene along with 20 Ibadan Indigenes, but then, this is us as a people
Thank You.
Chief Yemi Soladoye
President General, CCII.
Akọgun ‘Ṣẹ́gun Òbé
Secretary General, CCII.
Ibadan
. . . a city without end.
1 City . 21 Towns . 1681 villages . 1 people
