The Arole Oodua & Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi has recently promised to solidly consolidate the existing cordial relationship with the City of Brampton, Canada and Yoruba communities in Nigeria and generally.
The revered monarch said this during an exclusive interaction with journalists in Toronto Canada as the end of his official visit to the country.
The foremost African monarch had been honoured during a ceremony of Proclamation Day, Flag Exchange presentation of city key done by the government of the City of Brampton in Toronto by the Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown, his wife Genevieve, cabinet members and members of Nigeria community led by His Excellency, Ambassador Adeyinka Asekun alongside senior officials of the embassy of Nigeria in Canada.
He pointed out that he was very excited to be in Canada, adding that he was there two years ago. ”I am here again to consolidate on the relationship that we have already built”, he emphasized; while also admonishing Nigerians in Canada to embrace investment interventions at home.
”We have a lot of them now. I have been telling most them to come back home; a lot of them have been coming in the last two years; they are tired of the country; but I use to tell them that there is need for a proper bridging of gap hence consolidating the Nigerian-Canadian relationship”, he stated.
”When you do ten investments, try and do at least six back at home; this is because at the end of the day, home is home. There are lots of them that want to come and I have been telling them to be part of the fixing the country”, he added.
”Nigerians should work together in laundering the image of the country – that is my focus. I have also been trying to bridge the gap between Nigeria and the Caribbean – I mean Africans and the Caribbean, this is very key. You can see the ways they have been treating us since we came; we did declaration with the city of Brampton, and a great relationship has been established”, he further harped.
On his relationship with the City of Brampton, he said: ”The leaders of Brampton love the Nigerian people, and all black people. Nigerians are so many here and they are really really being supported. And we have to give honour to whom honour is due by reciprocating their good deed to Nigerians here. So I have to say a Big Thank you to them for doing great things for the Nigerian people and yorubas in particular”.
On the recent kidnappings in the South West by suspected Fulani herdsmen, Ooni clarified that the emphasis should be on bad Fulani people. ”The bad herdsmenn are the one to be dealt with. Even the president has been trying to separate the good ones from the bad ones. We are glad that they have been trying to proffer solution to what is going on. We are working closely with the Federal Government, and we are letting them know that it is a collective problem. If there is no adequate security, there wont be any investment”.
”Nobody is supporting RUGA; as said earlier, the president said the issue would be discussed better at the appropriate time. We should not allow something that would cause problem in the future. We are all Nigerians; if you want RUGA, individuals should go and get land. Igbos have investments in Yorubaland; Yorubas also have investments in Igboland. Yorubas have investment in the North; they did not do it for free; the Northerners also have investment in Yorubaland”,.
When asked if the clamour for regionalism should be adhered to for the purpose of dowsing the tension, Ooni posited that if that would give youths a sense of belonging and inclusiveness, then it should be adopted; pointing out that any structural adjustment that is potential of taking people out of poverty should be considered.
•Source: Office of Ooni of Ife
