Image caption: Ogbomoso palace
AN URGENT NEED TO BUILD A MODERN-DAY MARKET AROUND OGBOMOSO’S PALACE AND ITS ENVIRONS
Adesoye K. OLAYODE
First, I want to use this medium to congratulate Kabiesi, His Royal Highness, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye-the Soun divinely chosen and selected for Ogbomosoland on the ascendancy of his forebear’s position. The throne of Soun is prestigious and has come to be enviously renowned not only in Oyo State, but throughout all Yoruba-speaking areas in western Nigeria and Nigeria as a whole. May God preserve our king for long.
The advent of Oba Ghandi as Soun’s selected is nonetheless the herald of all hopes for the progress and development of Ogbomoso as a city. Every son and daughter of Ogbomoso within Nigeria and outside the country believes that Oba Afolabi’s selection as Soun of Ogbomoso is a round peg in a round hole. It is, therefore, not a gainsaying that Ogbomoso has started witnessing a different thing as new Oba progresses, steering the affairs of the ancient town. Oba Ghandi’s predecessor’s reign was reckoned with landmarks that cannot be shelved in Ogbomoso’s history. Indeed, the recognition of Ogbomoso among contemporary cities in the southwest region of Nigeria is attached to the reign of Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi, Soun Ajagungbade III and his forty-eight years as Soun of Ogbomoso between 1973 and 2021 moved Ogbomoso from a glorified amulet to a fast-growing city. It is the second largest city in the western part of Nigeria. Thus, accolades will continue to be poured on Oba, late Oyewumi, for his reign that brought the likes of a Fire Fighting Unit, Post Office, Telecommunication system (Nitel), Baptist School of Nursing, Unity Schools, Lautech, four additional local governments, a senatorial district and two federal constituency units to Ogbomoso, and many others.
The selection of Oba Ghandi, however, was believed beyond cronyism that Ogbomoso would experience more development within a short period.
As a sequel to this piece, several clamours have reiterated the need for Ogbomoso to have a day market that will awaken the economic potentiality of the city. This demand has often arisen from Ogbomoso’s sons’ and daughters’ contributions to trade, investment, and developmental activities in other places where they have lived or are still sojourning. This is a result of whoever travels far and hears the saying from people outside Ogbomoso that an area may not be accommodating and economically suitable for sojourning if one does not meet an Ogbomoso, Ibo or Hausa individual available. Every Ogbomoso who had sojourned outside the city had contributed to the economic status of wherever they had travelled. To date, the strength of economic impacts Ogbomoso individuals made in places like Accra, Ibadan, Jos, Gombe, and other places cannot be undermentioned. It has been challenging, however, for every Ogbomoso indigenous person who has travelled out of the home to replicate this economic vigour at home as the spate of the city is not welcoming. Over the years, the spawning population demands that Ogbomoso is ripe for day markets that will bring other tribes to the city, as in other contemporary cities. Long live Kabiesi; I considered the motor vehicle spare parts market to be good and wanting now in Ogbomoso.
Your Majesty, many of the palaces in Nigeria have booming day markets around them, which are hubs of business activities as the markets make busy economic activities available around the palaces like what can be found in Aromolaran’s palace in Ilesa, Emir of Ilorin palace, Alake of Egba palace in Abeokuta, and many others have markets within the palace vicinity that make the location lively and as business centres that add to the economy and social life of the city. The palace area in Ogbomoso is too quiet, serenaded like a cemetery from eight at night as the local market is unwinding anything from seven at night. The local fowl sellers begin to close for business and the elewe-omo/lekuleja adjacent to the famous Ajagbon entrance of the palace when the business activities in other cities are sprawling. Aside from the early closure of industry, the market wares are not inviting to businessmen and women outside the city for investment. Most often, the adjoining business activities around Ogbomoso palace close for daily activities by eight in the evening, making the area quiet and unbusiness-like. For the development of the palace’s vicinity and appearance as a visitors’ tourist attraction, this vicinity has to witness a change during the reign of our amiable Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye. While these local market businesses survive, other business activities can be programmed opposite the Ajagbon place of the palace. To this, I surmised to pen this article.
Although, the kind of business activities I surmise may require a vast land to accommodate many which can be planned for future. But its uniqueness to being located around the palace will make everybody in need of spare parts come to the location as there may be no other place to get them except at Oja-Igbo spare parts market if it comes true—for instance, Gate vehicle parts are in Ibadan, Agaaka is in Ilorin, and Owode-Onirin is in Ikorodu, Lagos. Kabiesi, I considered if vehicle spare parts stores and shops can be erected in storey buildings considering the small portions of the space available in the adjoining land facing the Ajagbon site of the palace, outsiders like Igbo businessmen and women can be moved into Ogbomoso to trade in the business since they are better off on this. This rare opening of motor vehicle spare parts that attract other tribes into the company since the city’s existence will go a long way in solving the problem of travelling out of Ogbomoso to get vehicle wares in places like Ilorin, Ibadan and Lagos. The challenge of a major vehicle business outlet in Ogbomoso and its environs is becoming unassumingly significant with the recent growth and expansion of the city. Thus, it does not augur well that Ogbomoso dwellers have to travel miles away to get their mobility problems solved. This gesture, perhaps being welcomed and considered that Ogbomoso is long overdue for such a proposition, the state government and local government can be synergized to procure the erection of the shops’ arcade in the shortest period while both benefit from tenancy and rent dues.
Your Majesty, your ambition of transforming Ogbomoso can spring up from this gesture as vehicle assembly plants can emanate from this vehicle’s spare parts stores. It can only take time as the vehicle spare parts extend to more convenient space wherever in Ogbomoso. The purpose of starting at the palace is to revitalize the economic activities around the castle and bring social serenity to the central part of the city.
It is, therefore, my conjectural opinion that a town as big as Ogbomoso may hardly witness developmental change if it does not open up for foreigners or outsiders in business. Most grown cities today have seen a transformation of the influx of outsiders and other tribes trading and doing business. It is high time, therefore, that Ogbomoso opened up for investors from other tribes within Nigeria. For modern cities, Ogbomoso would not be an exception, inviting non-indigenes for businesses and the development of our great town. Of course, the technological nitty-gritty of the state university (LAUTECH) available will complement such investors in vehicle assembly plants since the vehicles’ spare parts outlets are already within proximity. Similarly, the agricultural produce in Ogbomoso, like cashew fruits and nuts, can be processed within Ogbomoso as industries that will process such fruits and seeds are established in Ogbomoso since the raw materials are in quantum supply. This will not only make employment opportunities that are as scarce as hens’ teeth in Ogbomoso available but also provide means of livelihood for numerous sons and daughters of Ogbomoso. Not only cashews but also Ogbomoso mangoes have made a name for the city, and they can be preserved and processed through industrialized efforts to make them available during the dry season. This can only turn Ogbomoso into a hub of finished products and markets for others across the globe. I also use this medium to avail His Royal Highness of several opportunities that can unlock the economic activities and potentials of Ogbomoso, being a gateway to the North and centrally located.
Once again, I congratulate our eminent father for standing tall and winning all cases that came up before, during and after his selection as Soun of Ogbomoso. It will not take Ogbomoso’s dwellers by surprise that the period of Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, the Orumogege the Third, shall witness sporadic development and innumerable advancement.
Long live Kabiesi, His Royal Majesty Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye
Long live Ogbomoso
Long live Oyo State
Long live Nigeria.
Olayode sends this piece via 07037617218 (desokay2000@yahoo.com)
