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It is with great delight that I welcome you all to this November General Meeting here in the Palace of Olojo of Ojo, in Ojo Local Government Area, Badagry Division. On behalf of Awori Obas, AWAN Exco and the entire membership of the Awori Welfare Association of Nigeria, I hereby express our gratitude to Kabiyesi, HRM Oba Galib Adeniyi Rufai who again has demonstrated his keen interest in the activities of the Awori Welfare Association of Nigeria. At short notice, Kabiyesi accepted to host this November General Meeting. We are most grateful, Kabiyesi.
This is not the first time that Kabiyesi would be doing Awori proud. When we were going around Awori Towns and communities, visiting Awori Obas to mobilise for the funding of AWAN-LASU project, through the support and contributions from Olojo’s Palace, Ojo has the largest contributions, Kabiyesi, you are very well appreciated, sir. You will see this in the financial statements being circulated.
I want to also appreciate the efforts of our Vice President for Badagry Division, Dr Tayese Oyefolu for Badagry Division hosting AWAN, three times this year. Yours is a great inspiration. Please keep it up. God is your strength.
Today’s meeting at Ojo gives me an opportunity to brief ourselves on the progress of the AWAN-LASU Project. As you are all aware, the project is estimated to cost us #100m. Funds mobilisation through visits, fundraising activities yielded a little over #70m, which brought the building to its present stage of 70 per cent. I urge you to visit the site to see things by yourselves. In view of the present inflation in the economy, we require almost #100m to complete it. I believe that by the grace of God and with your support, we will complete and deliver the 300-Seater Lecture Hall as Awori’s Legacy contribution to LASU.
AWORI DAY CULTURAL FIESTA
There’s no doubt that having made a good show in December 2022, our people are eagerly waiting for the second Edition of Awori Cultural Fiesta, tagged AWORI DAY. I want to assure you that this will come up as soon as we conclude on-going consultations very soon.
Meanwhile without any prejudice to the Cultural Committee’s report, I wish to announce that EFE 2024 idomo, igbesa, is scheduled to come on display on Friday night, 13th December/Saturday, morning, 14th December, all are cordially invited.
Awori Think Tank @ 4
When in October 2020, we established the Awori Think Tank, it was a pragmatic bold decision to have such an organ as an intellectual outfit or body of AWAN, that would help advance Awori course and steer Aworiland into prosperity, through intellectual engagement. To say that Aworis have problems is an obvious statement. But as the ATT Chairman, Ogbeni Oye Taiwo, our renowned global Consultant, once said, ‘no matter how dry a desert is, it has its treasures hidden somewhere within it. But only those who look for it, find it. In other words, no matter the problems confronting Aworiland, we would look for where the treasures were, augment our positivity and produce the solutions’. It is this notion that drove our passion for the establishment of the Awori Think Tank, ATT, in October 2020. And truly, ATT has obviously justified their essence as an intellectual organ of AWAN. Our thanks to Ogbeni Oye Taiwo, Dr (Mrs.) Aminat Ige-Ariyibi and all the egg-heads in ATT.
Some of its achievements:
Within the four years of its existence, ATT has made tremendous impacts, giving us refocused Aworiland. Their achievements are noticeable at national, state and local levels. These include
1.Awori’s Memorandum to the National Assembly’s Committee on Constitutional Amendment
2. They organised a number of Seminar, Workshops and Summits on topical issues and made recommendations.
3. ATT was involved in the restructuring of AWAN, to improve productivity and enhance efficiency to make the age long Association more impactful and all-inclusive organisation. This is already yielding results.
TRAILBLAZING–AWORI ON THE INTERNET
The mother of ATT’s achievements is the recent Launch of A Website and the Awori Database, a new vista that is not a commonality either amongst our people or within our immediate sub-nationals. It is the unveiling of a website known as aworikitigbe.org.ng, donated by our own Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, SAN, Aremo of Akesan Kingdom and immediate past Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, LASU and the Awori Database donated by The Ota Club, an Awori cosmopolitan club whose membership cuts across Aworiland.
Website is like a community, an online community brought together from different geo-locations as though, they were next to one another. A place where individuals or groups can share ideas, develop common interests and pursue common goals through the internet such as social media interfaces and email.
Awori Database is better described or referred to as a community database, which is expected to encourage research and contribute immensely to knowledge acquisition. It enhances learning and improves growth and development.
It was one of these American Presidents, George H W Bush, who said, ”there could be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others.” This advisory is very analogous to these two facilities being made available to the Aworis by Aworis through Awori Think Tank. It is, indeed, A worthy service to our Homeland for which we are very grateful.
Having these facilities, I want to encourage every Awori, young and old, man or woman, especially the youths, don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality, but upgrade your conviction to meet your destiny.
As the meeting progresses, other matters will be brought up in the various standing committees reports by way of information and/or recommendations.
Kabiyesi, my dear brothers and sisters, this meeting is a good opportunity to lend voice to the efforts being made by the State Government through the intensive advocacy and public enlightenment to encourage our young boys and girls to enlist into the Army the recruitment exercise of which is ongoing. Every state has a quota. But we have not been taking up our slots. Let communities, Obas, Baales, Clubs and Societies should join in the campaign and mobilisation. List can be submitted to AWAN Secretariat, or Obas Palaces or directly to the Secretary to the State Government, our own Bar Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, whose Office is in charger for Lagos State.
I once again thank our Royal Father, Olojo of Ojo for making this meeting possible. To all our members from far and near you are all appreciated. Let me notify you that first Saturday December meeting will take place in Ota, Insha Allah, Thank you all.
Have a pleasant weekend.
Asiwaju M Ajibola Olagbaye
National President, AWAN
2nd November, 2024