In honour of Queen Moremi Ajasoro, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has embarked on the construction of the tallest statue in Nigeria.
The monarch stated this on Tuesday at his Ile-Oodua Palace, in Ile-Ife, during the unveiling ceremony of Moremi Ajasoro Beauty Pageant.
Ajasoro was a brave and pretty queen who, in order to solve the problems facing her people, offered everything she had to the spirit of Esimirin river so as to discover the strength of the enemies of Oodua race.
She is a heroine who liberated the people of Oodua land from invaders.
The unveiling was performed by Queen Wuraola Ogunwusi (Yeyelua) as part of the activities marking this year’s Edi/Moremi festival in the ancient town.
While extolling virtues of the great African heroine, Ogunwusi praised God for making one of his greatest dreams become reality within his one-year on the throne of his forefathers.
He described Moremi as the real mother of liberty in the world whose legacy must not be left in the oblivion.
“God Almighty has given me the grace of achieving one of my greatest ambitions within my first year on this sacred throne of Oduduwa.
“Moremi Ajasoro, an Ife queen, who in her lifetime exhibited an unrivalled heroism of world’s liberty, dedicated her life to the liberation of mankind, by sacrificing her only child to free the people of Oodua land from the invasion of some faceless terrorists thousands of years ago.
“We are already constructing the tallest statue in Nigeria to be known as Moremi Liberty Statue.
“This 42-feet-statue, which will be the third tallest in Africa, is being erected right where Moremi lived before she became a deity thousands of years ago, as a goddess of liberty.
“It is going to be one of the greatest achievements in Nigerian tourism and will be unveiled in two weeks time during Edi/Moremi festival which is just a tip of the iceberg as many more tourist advancement are coming in the subsequent years,” he said.
Speaking while unveiling the pageant, Queen Wuraola urged women to emulate the brave act of Moremi, saying they needed to make themselves available for challenging roles in the society.
She explained that Moremi’s personality remained unique in the world and would continue to remain an important point of reference.
On his part, the Project Coordinator, Dr Balogun Olakunle, said that Moremi was part of the personalities that made Yoruba cultural history outstanding.
He commended the Ooni for re-branding the festival, saying that it would help to further enrich the Yoruba culture.