Worship centre’ll boost Ibodi, Osun economy –Adelekun

HRH Adedoyin Adelekun is the Loja of Odo-Iju-Ijesa in Atakunmosa-West Local Government Area, Osun State. Recently, the Loja-in-council donated huge expanse of land to the Osun State government to construct worship centre for Christians as a replica of the one at Redeemed Camp and others along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.  Adelekun, who is currently National Vice President of Ilesa Grammar School Old Students Association, bares his mind to Correspondent Gbenga Faturoti on the proposed worship centre, how his domain was brought into the project and gains for his subjects.  Excerpts:

The opposition has mounted criticism against Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration for planning to build a worship centre in Ibodi, Odo-Iju in your domain, what is your take on this?
I don’t know the cause of their criticism. Anyway may be it is because I don’t see anything unusual in what the government is planning to do.

In your view, is it appropriate for government to dabble into such venture?
What is inappropriate about it? I don’t see anything inappropriate about it.

How did your community come into the project?
That is a different thing entirely. I am a member of Ilesha Grammar School Old Students’ Association. I graduated from that school in 1964. Some of my seniors the set that graduated in 1960 celebrated 50 years of graduation in December 2010 just a week after Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola became the governor of the state and he was invited as a guest. Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God happens to be a member of that set and he was there. During the celebration, Aregbesola was invited to give his remarks as the governor. He used the opportunity to appreciate members of the association for their innumerable contributions to society and since Pastor Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was there, he took the time to appreciate the man, more so for what is happening at the Redemption Camp on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Was there any particular comment concerning the project?
He said he wished something like that could happen in Ijesha land. He went into the history of Christianity in Ijesha land and emphasized that such a development would yield a better economic increase for the state and its environs. Noting that though he was not a Christian, he observed that each time he passed through the Redemption Camp, millions of people would always gather at least once a month and this has a huge impact on the business of all those selling various merchandise.  So, if a quarter of that population could come into the state particularly in Ijesha land, it would boost the economy. I attended that event and noted that point as a salient one. I have no personal relationship with the governor, I hadn’t met with him before then, I just saw in him an interest to help the people. So I keyed into the request and on returning home, I discussed the idea with my chiefs that if we could provide a land for such a project to be domiciled here, it would help us a lot by improving the economic status of our people. The chiefs reasoned along with me and agreed that it was a well-conceived idea. I then wrote a letter to the governor, that we are willing to donate (in view of what he said), free of charge, the required land for the project. That was how the thing started.

But what was the governor’s response to the gesture?
Few weeks later, I received a letter from the governor thanking me for my letter intimating them about the land donation, and stating that the commissioner would come around to take a look at the said piece of land. I immediately informed my community about the response from the governor telling them that we must be prepared to partner with the governor and that the commissioner is coming to see what we have to offer them. The commissioner came in the person of Muyiwa Ige and the whole community was there to welcome him and they told him that they support the free donation of the land.
Assuming other religious bodies made similar demand for worship centre, what would happen?
Ah! If they demand that kind of Centre, if I have the land, I will give it to them. The main thing we shouldn’t forget is the intention of the governor. The governor is not a Christian and his intention is that he appreciated what Adeboye is doing and the number of crowd he is pulling. He is looking at the effect such would have economically on his people among other things. If there is a Muslim community that holds meeting like that too, that attracts a large gathering of people as well, and that has such economic benefits, if he talks to me, I will give him a land too. This is because he is thinking of his people and their economic gains as well.

You stress the economic importance and gains, but does it really make sense to destroy farmlands for the construction of a worship centre?
It makes sense. I will tell you why it makes sense. These farmlands you refer to, let’s look at it. Economically, what are these lands yielding compared to the end result of building a worship centre? Some of the people who cultivate these lands do not make annual returns and if they make at all, it is so little. As the monarch, I collect Isakole (royalty) from the people ranging from N1,000 to
N 2,000 per annum and I can’t even say I take up to N100,000 Isakole (royalty) from that district per annum. So, what I told them when I met with them based on the meager Isakole that I don’t even need in the first place but have to take as a monarch, was that when the worship centre is built, it would increase their earning power compared to the meager sum they realize from the maintenance of the farmlands. Take for instance, a man whose wife sells soft drinks and in one day of meeting can sell 20 crates of such unlike what peasant farming offers them. What are they earning from this peasant farming? So, I don’t see it as destruction of farmland. What are they earning from the farm? That is the question.

You said the land was given to government free of charge but it was reported that government paid N51 million compensation for the land. What is your take on this?
The governor is just trying to be passionate and kind to my people. There is a Land Use decree that says if the government wants to use your land for something that would be of benefit to all, that it could be acquired without payment. But the government is just being compassionate and doesn’t want a situation where people will say their lands were destroyed without consideration like the question you asked about destroying farmlands. So the number of cocoa, palm tree, and all the cash crops in there were counted and paid for, nothing more. This is allowed for because when the federal government is taking your land, they pay for cash crops. For which the people were grateful.

What then is the reaction and feelings of other two religious groups, traditional worshippers and Muslim faithful?
Well, my people and I are together. We understand ourselves. No one is complaining because any decision I take, I carry them along. We meet once a month and at the meeting, we discuss a lot of things particularly on the progress of the town and what we need and so on. The Muslims, the Babalawo, Christians and everyone, we meet for the betterment of our community and we take decisions for the advancement of the community. Since two good heads are better than one, we make decisions together.

What is your expectation on the proposed worship centre and your target from the project?
My expectation is that the economic status of my community is going to be better than even that of Ijesha land. My community is a small one and I know that if the project spreads and becomes a city, it will spread beyond the whole of Ijeshaland and we’ll become giants economically. We are not talking about profit but we are looking at the benefit to our people. The government is not making anything out of it. The governor is looking at the long-term benefit to the people. Give them another 2-3 years and you will see the difference.

There was a little misunderstanding between Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) and government over the wearing of hijab and other religious regalia in public secondary schools. Are the royal fathers comfortable with this and are they planning to meet with religious leaders to resolve this?
I believe something tangible is being done on the matter and very soon, peace will return to schools.

What is your take on the educational policy of the current government; do you agree that an aspect of it be changed?
Like I said earlier, I don’t have anything against his policy, he is doing perfectly well as far as educational policy is concerned. There is nothing more one could ask for than a governor who is doing what is good for his people.

Assuming government has a change of heart on the worship centre project, will you encourage it?
I said earlier that we see the governor as someone with vision and the interest of the people at heart, so why should he feel discouraged? You know what you want, you are focused and don’t get discouraged. It’s just like someone trying to discourage me from donating the land but I know that it is for the benefit of even the generations yet unborn. So, I will say to the governor, he is a visionary leader and he should not get discouraged, just carry on with your visionary leadership and when the results show, these same people who have tried to discourage you will come back to praise the work.