Olubadan’s pure mind is secret of his long life, says Ajimobi
Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has attributed the 100 years of existence of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, Odugade 1, to his pure heart that is devoid of hatred to his fellow man.
He made this known on Monday at a church service held to mark the monarch’s birthday held at the St. Peters Aremo, Ibadan.
According to him, Oba Odulana harboured no hatred or bitterness against anyone and asked the present generation of Nigerians to learn a critical lesson from his life.
“Those who knew him, even pre-his ascendancy to the throne, speak eloquently about a man who typifies honour and nobility. He has an attachment to the place of humanity in the scheme of things. Perhaps in the fact that Kabiyesi constantly ventilates his heart from the consuming fire of bitterness towards his fellow man and his sworn avowal to always do good to everyone can be found the secret of his longevity. We all have one lesson or the other to learn from this purification of the heart from the cancer of hatred,” he said.
While extolling Oba Odulana as a gentleman and a man of honour, he said the monarch typified the Yoruba classification of a honourable man.
“In the Olubadan is a demonstration of the elusive concept of Omoluabi. The Omoluabi, for the purpose of clarification, is that man who carries nobility, human goodness and trust around him like a pouch. With Kabiyesi, you know where you stand as he does not suffer fools gladly.
“In him you find the discipline of a trained soldier, the consummate nobility of a gentleman and the astuteness of a man of honour. His own politics transcended the type found on the streets today; it was the politics of a statesman. To a statesman like him, politics could not be worth its salt until it transforms the lives of the collective citizenry and repositions society on the path of transformation,” the governor said.
Ajimobi also extolled the Olubadan as one of the first sets of people to acknowledge the urban renewal initiative of his administration.
“As a fitting demonstration of his acknowledgement of our effort in this regard, Kabiyesi bestowed on me the traditional title of Atunluse of Ibadanland, the remodeler/beautifier of Ibadanland. This was at a time when our political opponents were throwing tantrums at us for deeming it fit to take away the dirt of Ibadan and regain us the global respect of a modern economy,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi also lauded President Goodluck Jonathan whom he said would have been at the centenary celebration but for the unfortunate tragedy that befell the nation earlier in the day.
