Tinubu, Obasanjo, Abiodun Others Eulogise Alake at 80
Aremu Sosanya
President Bola Tinubu, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, two former governors of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Sen Ibikunle Amosun were among eminent Nigerians that joined the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, and his loving wife, Olori Olatokunbo Gbadebo on Thursday at a special thanksgiving service to commemorate the 80 years of the royal father held at Cathedral of St Peters, Ake, Abeokuta.
Speaking at the special thanksgiving, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was represented by the governor of the state, Prince Dapo Abiodun in his congratulatory message to Oba Gbadebo said that the 80th year celebration was not just to mark passage of time but to celebrate the reign of a first class ruler that had been marked by great wisdom and unwavering commitment to pursue the socio-economic development and prosperity of the people of Egba land and Nigeria in general.
President Tinubu said “your reign has been so worthwhile, it has shown you as a monarch that is compassionate and devoted to justice, equity and fairness. Your love for your people in Egbaland and the country as a whole is legendary. You have shown deep connections to cultural heritage of Egba land.
“You have been a symbol of unity fostering sense of belonging, peace, progress and development among your people. You have certainly been a shining example of leadership that we crave for in the country and our prayers is that you will celebrate many more years to come in sound health while inspiring all of us to keep serving the country diligently”.
Speaking in his capacity as the governor of the state, Abiodun described the royal father as a leader par excellence whose support has really helped his administration to record his modest achievements in the last four years.
Gov Abiodun specifically lauded Oba Gbadebo for being so bold and courageous to openly support his second term ambition saying that the traditional ruler has really proved to be so loving and quite dependable ally when it comes to working in the best interests of the development and moving the state forward.
In his sermon Primate of Anglican Communion in Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba has again challenged Nigeria leaders to embrace righteousness and let the fear of God and love to selflessly serve the people guide them in performing their leadership roles.
Archbishop Chukwudum decried the general level of corrupt practices in the country saying that Nigerians both the leaders and the led now tell lies at will and change N500 to N500m without battling an eyelid insisting that now is the time to turn a new leaf if the country must achieve the dream of being great.
Chukwudum who was represented by the retired Primate of Anglican Church, Nigeria, The Most Revd Peter Jasper Akinola disclosed this on Thursday while ministering during the special thanksgiving service held at the Cathedral of St Peters, Ake, Abeokuta to commemorate the 80th birthday of Alake and Paramount ruler Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Okukenu IV.
The man of God who took his text from Psm 101 emphasized that as good as it was to be giving thanks to God for his bounteous mercy it must be done done in holiness and righteousness for it to be acceptable before God.
He said “unfortunately, we now tell lies with all reckless abandon in Nigeria, telling lies is now in our DNA, it is alarming the way we toy with corruption, people now don’t think it twice to change N500 to N500m, our politicians and leaders must change, even this evil is among those who sell food stuff in the market, they have adjusted what they use in measuring what they are selling, when you go to buy fuel too, you found out that the metre has been tampered with, this evil is so much.
“And we are all behaving as if God is not seeing us, no He is definitely seeing us and as we all know that reward and punishment await whatever we do here on earth. Some politicians will carry this money and go and build houses in Dubai and all over but what becomes of these houses, they are eventually become homes to cobwebs. We just have to change to move this country forward”.
Congratulating Oba Gbadebo for attaining the 80 years of age, Revd Chukwudum described the royal fatber as an exemplary leader whose commitment to providing qualitative leadership for the people of Egba land and Ogun State as a whole is worthy of emulation.
He said at 80 years, the top priority of Oba Gbadebo should be to move closer to God saying that by doing this the royal father would bequeath to the coming generations the honour of being a beacon of light who served humanity diligently and made lot of positive difference in the life of the people.
Dignitaries at the church service included the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former governors of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba and Sen Ibikunle Amosun. Others were the Deputy governor, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Sen Shuaib Salis Afolabi representing Ogun Central at the Senate, Sen Adeola Olamilekan representing Ogun West, the Nigerian Ambassador to United Kingdom, Alhaji Sarafa Tunji Ishola as well as Mr Tunde Lemo, former CBN Deputy Governor.
The royal fathers were led by the Chairman, Ogun State Traditional Council and the Akarigbo of Remo land, Oba Babatunde Ajayi. Other traditional rulers present were Olu of Ilaro and Paramount ruler of Yewa land, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olowu of Owu, Oba (Prof) Sakariyau Matemilola, the Osile of Oke Ona, Oba Tejuoso, the Olota of Ota, Oba (Prof) Obalanlege among others.
Speaking during the Muslim prayers held earlier for him at the Ake palace, Oba Gbadebo who thanked everyone for showing him so much on the occasion of his 80th birthday said that he would ever be gracious to God who has given him the grace to still remain mentally and medically fit at 80 adding that he has already committed the rest of his life to serving God and humanity
