Ekiti 2018: Ooni Warns Against Violence
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi on Saturday warned politicians, party supporters and other stakeholders in the forthcoming July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State against engaging in violence.
The monarch stated this at the 23rd convocation ceremonies of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State where he was conferred with the honourary Doctorate degree in Public Administration of the institution.
According to him, nobody’s blood in the country is worth being shed on account of the election, adding that such moves will be resisted.
He said,” We do not want violence and chaos in Yoruba land again. We don’t want anyone to toss our people around again in the name of politics. Power belongs to God, the people and the electorate.
“Always have it at the back of your minds that Ekiti is first. Let us work for the development and progress of our state.
“We don’t want war in the coming election. We don’t want violence and wanton killings in the name of election. We don’t want anyone to set Yoruba race against each other again. Power belongs to God and when it comes to election, the people have the power to elect their leaders and the power to elect doesn’t belong to the powerful people alone.
“So, this time, let the people decide who lead them. The time has come for us to know that power belongs to God and He gives to whoever He likes. The vote of the people must count.’’
The monarch said the election should not be conducted under the atmosphere of war, saying Yoruba should resist attempt to put them against one another over elections.
Dwelling on the honour done on him by the institution, he said the award would motivate him to do more for the university, saying he was committed to be part of any initiative put in place by the management to move the university to the next level.
Also speaking Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose said his commitment to education propelled him to initiate policies that moved Ekiti forward from number 35th to first in national examination in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The governor said his government had impacted positively on the people’s lives in the areas of agriculture, health and social and human infrastructures, adding that posterity shall judge him well as a governor , who did exceedingly well for the populace.
He added that the state deserves continuity in the July 14 governorship election, so that his Deputy, Prof Kolapo Olusola, who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) can complete the laudable programmes he began.
He said, “This university needs radical turnaround in all spheres. The State Government can’t do it alone. But with the support of the private bodies, we can go places.
“We are not used to selling awards here, no our awards are not for sale. But we need people of good minds to contribute to our universities, because I believe there is hope for Nigeria and that hope will come faster if we can invest in education”, Fayose stated.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Samuel Oye Bandele, said the university had decided to jack up its Internally Generated revenue as a way of shoring up infrastructural development necessitated by poor funding from the government.
Bandele said the university is making good exploits in bakery, block making and other ventures that can impact positively on the university and the Ekiti community.
The former Registrar of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and University of Ife(now Obafemi Awolowo University, Chief Alex Ajayi, Mr. Abiodun Adedapo, Dr Olasehinde Olatunji, Mr Israel Ovirih and Dr Falil Ayo Abina, were also honoured with Doctor of Public Administration, Doctor of Finance , Doctor of Public Administration and Doctor of Economics, respectively at the ceremony.
The wives of the Governor of Ekiti State, Mrs. Feyisetan Fayose and that of the Deputy Governor, Mrs Janet Olusola, are among the graduands that bagged Masters Degrees in Guardian and Counseling