… Says monarchs are untapped pillars of community security

… Calls for investment-led cooperative models

The founder and Pro-Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, Prof. Bode Ayorinde, has disclosed that traditional institutions possessed the untapped potential to become powerful engines of economic growth, employment generation and community security.

According to Ayorinde, traditional rulers can achieve the move by leveraging their moral authority to mobilise cooperative investment and grassroots enterprise development.

The Pro-Chancellor of Achievers University stressed this while delivering the keynote lecture at the 60th Birthday Celebration of Oba Ajibade Ogunoye III, the Olowo of Owo.

While speaking on the theme, “Community Development through Cooperative Society: The Strategic Role of the Palace”, the scholar argued that while constitutional governance may have altered the formal powers of traditional rulers, their legitimacy, trust capital and ability to mobilise citizens remain unmatched in modern African society.

“Governments come and go. Political parties change. Public officials complete their tenures. The throne, however, remains the permanent symbol of communal identity,” Ayorinde stated.

He described traditional institutions as custodians of social capital capable of converting communal trust into productive investment through professionally managed cooperative structures that create jobs, attract capital and strengthen local economies.

The professor noted that the moral authority vested in traditional rulers positions them to bridge the gap between grassroots communities and formal economic systems.

Drawing from successful cooperative models across three continents, Ayorinde cited examples from India, Denmark, Kenya, Rwanda and Japan to demonstrate how communities worldwide have transformed agriculture, healthcare, housing and finance through collective ownership and local leadership.

As part of a proposed development blueprint tailored for Owo Kingdom, Ayorinde recommended the establishment of an Owo Community Development Council (OCDC) to identify, incubate and support commercially viable community-owned ventures across strategic sectors of the economy.

“The palace becomes the convening institution; the cooperative becomes the development instrument; the people become investors rather than spectators; and the community becomes the ultimate beneficiary.”

Ayorinde pointed to the establishment of Achievers University as evidence of the transformative potential of collective ownership, noting that the institution emerged through the shared vision and investment of stakeholders who pooled resources to establish what has become the first private university in Ondo and Ekiti States.

The university’s success, he argued, demonstrates how community-driven initiatives can create enduring institutions that serve multiple generations.

He further urged communities to move beyond philanthropy-driven development models towards investment-led approaches capable of generating intergenerational wealth and enduring institutions.

The 60th birthday anniversary of the Olowo of Owo was chaired by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, CFR, the Ooni of Ife, and attended by Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa; former CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; traditional rulers; government officials; and Owo sons and daughters.