Group urgesTinubu to honour late Ladigbolu, others for role in 1914 Amalgamation Treaty

Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, yesterday, paid a historic visit to the Bodija residence of the Olubadan-designate, Oba Rasidi Ladoja. The revered monarch arrived to a rousing welcome, marked by drumming, singing, dancing, and jubilant cheers from hundreds of residents who had thronged the venue.

The reception drew together high chiefs, Baales, Mogajis, socio-cultural groups, and title holders, all eager to witness the meeting of the two eminent Yoruba monarchs.

Oba Ladoja, flanked by members of the Olubadan-in-Council, warmly received the Ooni before leading him into his parlour, where the royal engagement commenced.

MEANWHILE, a socio-cultural group, Oyo Forum, in Abuja, has called on the Federal Government to immortalise six eminent Nigerian leaders who played pivotal roles in the signing of the 1914 Amalgamation Treaty by conferring on them posthumous national honours as Fathers of the Nation.

In a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the group insisted that the honour is long overdue, more than a century after the historic event.

The letter, jointly signed by Segun Owolabi (Chairman) and Dr Ayeleke Dauda (Secretary), was captioned: “Request for Posthumous National Honours for the Fathers of the Nation Involved in the 1914 Amalgamation.”

The Forum listed the leaders involved in the treaty, which unified the Northern and Southern Protectorates into Nigeria, as Oba Siyanbola Onikepe Ladigbolu (Alaafin of Oyo), Muhammadu Maiturare (Sultan of Sokoto), R. Henshaw (Obong of Calabar), Abubakar Garbai (Shehu of Borno), Usuman bin Abdullahi (Usuman Dan Maje), Emir of Kano, and Sir Kitoye Ajasa (Barrister and Legislator).

The group stated: “On behalf of the Oyo Forum, Abuja, we respectfully urge the Federal Government to confer posthumous national honours on these six eminent Nigerian leaders — traditional and civic — who, by virtue of their leadership, signed the 1914 Amalgamation Treaty that gave birth to our country.”