Contribute your quota to development of Ibadan, group charges indigenes

A call has been made to indigenes of Ibadan, Oyo State, worldwide to come home and contribute their quota to the socioeconomic development of the city.

The call was made at an annual lecture and bursary awards organised by Oluyole Club, Lagos branch, held at Alausa, Ikeja, recently.

At the event, 11 brilliant university students of Ibadan indigenes, who are from the underprivileged homes across 11 local government areas under Ibadanland were offered N75,000 each as bursary award, to relieve their parents of financial burdens.

The students are from different public universities, including University of Ibadan; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Lagos, Akoka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; LAUTECH, Ogbomoso and University of Ilorin. All the benefucuaries are all in First Class grade.

Speaking at the forum on the topic, ‘The integrated development of Ibadan indigenous areas, Mr. Lanre Adewolu highlighted some of the significant roles Ibadan people, particularly the warriors, played in securing the Yorubaland during the Fulani invasion.

He said if not for Ibadan warriors who put resistant, the invaders might have succeeded in conquering the entire Yorubaland and that such would have spelt doom for the Yoruba race today.

While declaring that Ibadan had been the most safest place in Nigeria for ages, Adewolu expressed displeasure over the slow pace of development in the city.

He pointed out that the underdevelopment is more pronounced in the old areas of the city where their forebears lived and most of them who are now in their 70s grew up than in the new Ibadan where most elites and wealthy people live.

He, therefore, urged Ibadan indigenes, who have the financial wherewithal to return home and build not only industries and social amenities that will create job opportunities and make life more meaningful to the inhabitants but also to develop their ancestral homes and impact lives of their kinsmen and other people living in the city.

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