The future of Odu’a

The Odu’a conglomerate is one of the legacies bequeathed to the Yoruba people by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo when he was Premier of Western Region. Odu’a Investment Company Limited was à fusion of several businesses and later aggregated into a conglomerate to be managed by the Odu’a Group.

The name Odu’a is short for Oduduwa believed to be the progenitor of the Yoruba people, and it is symbolic because it collectively refers to the conglomerate as the patrimony of the Yoruba people, notwithstanding the essence of state creation.

The Western Region government established several businesses and investments that spanned virtually all sectors of the Nigerian economy. The government was proactive in realising the indisputable employment needs of the products of the free education that it began in earlier years.

Chief Awolowo was an exemplar and he demonstrated his stellar nature in the field of education which he championed as the pivot and focus of his administration. Right from the onset, Chief Awolowo was imbued with three fundamental principles of life, and which he believed are non-negotiable, namely: good education, good governance and economic prosperity.

Being the patrimony of all the Yoruba people, the name Odu’a became apposite as a reminder of our collective role and responsibility for its well-being.

The governors, as heads of state government and trustees of the people, now hold Odu’a in trust for the citizens of each state of the South West.

Any average Yoruba man or woman, given our culture and outlook to life, would salute the foresight, hard work and astuteness of these erstwhile leaders, especially given the appropriateness of their mind and resolve to leave a legacy for generations coming after them.

The Odu’a conglomerate must continue to flourish and all hands must be on deck to guarantee this.

 

Femi Olatunji.

 

 

 

 

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