Book on Ekiti State will immortalise, glorify its founding fathers —Sunday Olagunju

Mr Sunday Olagunju is a former General Manager of the defunct Sketch Press Ltd. Since his exit from the newspaper house, he has devoted himself to pastoral work and writing. He speaks with Adewale Oshodi on his latest book, Ekiti Kete: From Evolution to a Modern State. Excerpts:

YOUR new book, Ekiti Kete: From Evolution to a Modern State, focuses on Ekiti State. What exactly are you trying to tell the world about the state?

With the book, I am trying to share how Ekiti State came into being and how it became a state.

There was the Ekiti Parapo war, which led to the unity of the people, and when there was the need for state creation, they united and demanded for a state of their own; they were formerly under Ondo State, but they were not recognised. Ekiti people were the intellectual basket of Ondo State, but people only saw Ondo people and not Ekiti people because they were under Ondo.

However, towards the end of the military rule, the leaders decided that they must have their own state if they truly want to be recognised and prosper, and that was how they got a state of their own.

Now, in the last 25 years, the state has grown in all ramifications, population, strength and development, which has, therefore, justified the creation of the state.

Therefore, this book will show the reader how a little beginning can bring about development and progress; a mustard seed can develop into an oak tree.

Today, Ekiti has really developed and this is through the hard work of some of its prominent sons and daughters.

 

In the book, you also focused on some of those who worked to bring about the creation of the state..

Yes, another aim of the book is that I want those who worked for the creation of Ekiti State to be remembered, even while alive. There are many of them like Chief Afe Babalola, who championed the creation of the state, even, the current governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji was the secretary to the committee for the  creation of Ekiti State.

There are also many others who worked for the creation of the state, and I have put together this book as a way of remembering and glorifying them and saluting their efforts. The book also exposes the nature of Ekiti people. The average Ekiti man is a Republican; he doesn’t tolerate nonsense and he will tell you his mind on certain issues without holding anything back; that is, they are very blunt and they can’t be enslaved. So reading the book will give people of other cultures different perspectives about Ekiti people.

 

One of the most known attributes of Ekiti people is that they are well educated. How did that come to be?

During the Western Region, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo was premier, Ekiti people benefitted in the area of education, and today, they are the intellectual basket of this country.  There is hardly a house in Ekiti that you won’t find a professor. So my main aim of the book is to highlight the history of the state; there are 16 towns that actually formed the nucleus of Ekiti and they were the ones who fought the Ekiti Parapo war. The Ekiti Parapo war lasted for about 16 years. So the story of Ekiti is one that everybody should learn from.

One of the challenges in the country is that people don’t read; what ways are you creating awareness for the book so that it will get in the hands of people, not only Ekiti people, but Nigerians as a whole?

The first step is that by October 26, 2024, I will be launching the book in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. I had already reached out to Chief Afe Babalola, who had already bought several copies of the book.

I will also reach out to the governor and other prominent sons and daughters of the state. This book is simply to document the evolution of the state and it means, in many years to come, people can still pick up a copy to read about the Ekiti people. So it is a project of Ekiti people, which God only used me to bring about.

The preparation for the launching is ongoing and I am already reaching out to those who need to be at the event, including state and federal lawmakers, students, civil servants, among others. Even those who are not from Ekiti will be invited as it will help us understand ourselves better.

The book will also project the state because there are lots of potentials in the state which have been highlighted. This will then make it easy for those in positions of authority in the state and at the federal level to know what to do to further develop the state.

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