ŤBy Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.
Why I will not join others to welcome Remi Tinubu to Ekiti, ke?
Me?
Not me o!
Who constructed that sentence?
Who manufactured that thought?
Who carried that kind of idea and still walked freely under the sun?
Sango should interrogate that fellow!
Maybe you mean why I will enthusiastically, joyfully, openly, loudly and culturally join others in welcoming Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, Wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to Ekiti State?
Yes!
That is the proper question.
Not whether I will join.
I will not only join.
I will hire cymbals, trumpets, Boys’ Brigade and drums.
I will respectfully invite Baba Ogidiolu Alaro, the last of the titans of real Ekiti native music.
I will tell Apasco to join me at Usi Kekun, en route Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, Ado-Ekiti.
I will tell Bolarinwa Orelusi to join us with his great band, so that music will not be ordinary music, but a full cultural earthquake.
I have just called on Hon. Akin Falana, the Ifaki guy, the best tailor in Nigeria, to drape me in Ewu Etu and Agbada Nla, because one does not welcome the Mother of the Nation in casual wear.
I have sent word to my wife, Moyo Ojo-Lanre, in Ibadan, to courier my best shoes, the one kept under her bed, to Ekiti, because on the day honour enters one’s land, even the feet must dress well.
We will sing.
We will dance.
We will rejoice.
We will celebrate.
Because Olorun ko ni fi wa pamọ́ lọ́jọ́ ire Ekiti.
God will not hide us on the day good fortune enters Ekiti.
We all pray every day that ire Ekiti a ṣe ojú wa.
We pray that the good of Ekiti will happen in our lifetime.
We pray that our state will be remembered.
We pray that Ekiti will be honoured.
We pray that Ekiti will attract goodwill.
We pray that Ekiti will receive blessings from near and far.
Now, a whole Wife of the President of Nigeria is coming to Ekiti State on a working visit, and somebody is asking whether I will join others to welcome her?
Haa!
That is not a question.
That is political mischief wearing agbada.
Let the matter be clear.
Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, will be in Ekiti State on Saturday, 30th May, for a one-day working visit.
She will commission the giant and well-equipped ICT building she donated to Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, through the Renewed Hope Initiative.
After that, she will flag off the BAO Women Campaign Rally at Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, New Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti.
The time is 10:00 a.m.
The dress code is white gele on any BAO Ankara uniform.
And if you do not have any BAO Ankara, wear whatever you have, but tie your gele with joy, dignity and pride.
O ti zeh!
Ipade di Saturday!
Ekiti women from all walks of life are invited to come out joyfully and receive the Mother of the Nation.
So, tell me again: why should I not join others to welcome her?
Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is not coming to Ekiti empty-handed.
She is coming with a gift that speaks to education.
She is coming with a facility that speaks to technology.
She is coming with a project that speaks to the future.
She is coming with a visible intervention that will benefit EKSU students, lecturers, researchers and the larger academic community.
And somebody says I should not join others to welcome her?
God forbid bad things.
The ICT building is not a basket of promises.
It is not audio empowerment.
It is not political grammar.
It is a physical, practical, meaningful and future-facing project.
It is a building where knowledge will meet technology.
It is a building where students will engage digital tools.
It is a building where the children of farmers, teachers, traders, artisans and civil servants can touch the future with their own hands.
It is a building that says clearly that Ekiti, the Fountain of Knowledge, must not remain behind in a world driven by digital power.
So, why should I not welcome the woman who donated it?
Why should I not clap?
Why should I not dance?
Why should I not call the drummers?
Why should I not invite the singers?
Why should I not tie my own joy around my waist and dance into the open?
Olorun ko ni fi wa pamọ́ lọ́jọ́ ire Ekiti.
Let me confess openly.
I am not neutral on Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
I am not pretending.
I am not hiding my admiration.
I respect her.
I admire her.
I appreciate her.
I revere her public spirit.
Maybe some people do not know.
Maybe they have forgotten that Senator Oluremi Tinubu and I are products of the great Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo.
Maybe they did not read my two articles on her.
In one of them, I asked: “What Does Remi Tinubu Want?” — an article I co-wrote with my friend, Taju Kareem.
And we answered that she wants a Nigeria where no child grows up without identity, where no girl is denied education, where no mother dies needlessly, where no family is abandoned to hunger, where women can farm, trade, create and thrive, and where compassion is not a speech but an action.
We wrote that when she launched the Renewed Hope Initiative, many cynics thought it would be another ornamental First Lady project. But what unfolded was a full-scale social intervention platform anchored on agriculture, education, health, economic empowerment and social investment.
In another article, I asked: “Does Remi Tinubu Deserve a Birthday Wish?”
And there, I dragged Envy before the High Court of Public Opinion.
I called History.
I called Service.
I tendered exhibits.
I reminded the bitter ones that this woman did not just appear from nowhere.
She endured the storms of NADECO.
She endured the loneliness of exile.
She endured political hostility.
She endured public attacks.
She passed through the furnace of struggle.
Yet, she did not come out bitter.
She came out useful.
She came out graceful.
She came out compassionate.
She converted proximity to power into service to the people.
She turned influence into intervention.
She turned visibility into value.
She turned the office of First Lady into a workshop of hope.
So, after writing all these, you now expect me to hide on the day she is coming to Ekiti?
You expect me to pretend?
You expect me to sit at home?
You expect me to fold my arms and watch from a distance?
No.
Not me o!
Olorun ko ni fi wa pamọ́ lọ́jọ́ ire Ekiti.
Let us also understand the deeper meaning of this visit.
Senator Oluremi Tinubu is not only coming to commission a building.
She is coming to validate a relationship.
She is coming to honour a bond.
She is coming to strengthen a bridge between Abuja and Ekiti.
She is coming in support and honour of our own First Lady, Her Excellency, Prof. Olayemi Oyebanji.
And that is important.
Prof. Olayemi Oyebanji has carried herself with uncommon grace.
She has brought intellect to compassion.
She has brought dignity to service.
She has brought calm influence to womanhood.
She has shown that the office of the First Lady is not for noise, glamour and empty photographs, but for purposeful advocacy, partnership and human development.
No wonder the First Lady of Nigeria finds her worthy of trust.
No wonder Ekiti is benefiting.
No wonder this giant ICT building is standing in EKSU today.
Behind every meaningful national relationship is credibility.
Behind every serious intervention is trust.
Behind every gift of this magnitude is respect.
This visit tells us that Ekiti is seen.
Ekiti is respected.
Ekiti is trusted.
Ekiti is remembered.
Ekiti is loved.
And this did not happen by accident.
It happened because Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has made Ekiti a state of peace, order, credibility and partnership.
He has governed without noise.
He has led without arrogance.
He has worked without drama.
He has brought stability to the state.
He has created an atmosphere where goodwill can enter.
No serious visitor goes joyfully into a house where confusion is the landlord.
No serious partner embraces a place where bitterness is policy.
But Ekiti under BAO is peaceful.
Ekiti under BAO is decent.
Ekiti under BAO is welcoming.
Ekiti under BAO is working.
Ekiti under BAO is attractive to partnership.
That is why the Mother of the Nation is coming.
That is why EKSU is benefiting.
That is why Ekiti women are rising.
That is why the BAO Women Campaign Rally at Ekiti Parapo Pavilion will be more than a political gathering.
It will be a celebration of women.
It will be a celebration of gratitude.
It will be a celebration of service.
It will be a celebration of performance.
It will be a celebration of a governor who has given Ekiti peace.
It will be a celebration of a First Lady who has given womanhood dignity.
It will be a celebration of a national mother who has remembered Ekiti with a landmark gift.
So, when they say, “Will you join others to welcome Remi Tinubu?”
I laugh.
Join?
I will lead songs if they permit me.
I will dance if my legs agree.
I will beat drums if my hands remember rhythm.
I will carry joy openly.
I will celebrate without apology.
I will not allow political bitterness to rob me of cultural gratitude.
I will not allow partisan blindness to make me insult development.
I will not allow the anger of others to steal my own sense of appreciation.
Because when good comes to one’s land, a well-brought-up child does not hide.
When a mother comes with a gift, a sensible child does not lock the door.
When honour enters the compound, only a person at war with destiny pretends not to see it.
Olorun ko ni fi wa pamọ́ lọ́jọ́ ire Ekiti.
As Director-General of Tourism, I must also add my own prayer.
After commissioning the ICT building and after the women’s rally, may Her Excellency find time, even briefly, to behold the beauty of Ekiti.
Let her visit Ikogosi Warm Spring and other tourism sites
Let her know that Ekiti is not only the Fountain of Knowledge, but also the fountain of nature, culture, history, hospitality and tourism.
One visit can open another window.
Let those who want to chew bitterness chew it without sugar.
But as for me and my household, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, is heartily welcome to Ekiti State.
Welcome to the land of honour.
Welcome to the Fountain of Knowledge.
Welcome to EKSU.
Welcome to the BAO Women Campaign Rally.
Welcome to Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, New Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti.
Welcome to the home of BAO.
Welcome to the embrace of BAOress.
Welcome to the state where peace is working.
Welcome to the state where women are not sleeping.
Welcome to the state where development is not noise but evidence.
God bless Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
God bless President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
God bless Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji.
God bless Prof. Olayemi Oyebanji.
God bless EKSU.
God bless Ekiti women.
God bless all Ekiti sons and daughters.
And may God never hide us on the day good fortune enters Ekiti.
Amen.
