Kunle Adelabu
The Chairman of the annual Igbogbo Day celebrations, Mr Gbenga Faniyi, has stated that this year’s edition will be used to bring about the rebirth of ideas on how to move the ancient community in Ikorodu Division, Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria, forward.
In a brief interview with THE IMPACT at the Adeboruwa palace on Tuesday (yesterday), Faniyi also stated that Igbogbo Day 2020 will be a low-key affair.
On the proposed ultra – modern town hall for Igbogbo community, he said that the focus of the orgainsers of the yearly annual event usually organized to bring indigenes, residents and others together to promote development, is still about the achievement of the project.
He added that the body will be laying foundation for the project before next year’s celebration.
“We are going to be having our normal programmes but in a low-key manner. We have devised a method of reducing crowd at the programmes lined up for this year’s edition. For instance, at the grand finale, we are expecting three representatives each from associations, societies and other bodies that were used to be invited as a whole. They are now limited to three representatives”, Faniyi said.
“There is going to be space in the sitting arrangement inside the hall on that day. We are not using open space where everybody will get access, rather, we are restricting ourselves to a big hall”.
Speaking on the agenda for this year’s programmes, Faniyi said that organizers resolved that there is need to review activities of the annual day celebration in the last 31 years, propagate unity and community advancement through a summit where stakeholders will be able to give their views on what has been achieved so far through the yearly; its present status, and way forward.
“We have realised that development is mostly what people bring into the community. What can benefit us this year is the upliftment of our people; rebirth of ideas. We have been thinking of unity and development and we really want to emphasize, discuss and do an anatomy of the problems facing our community. That is the purpose of this year’s summit”, he emphasized.
“We are trying to gather everybody, to bring in their opinions on how to move Igbogbo forward”, Faniyi added.
Also speaking on the progress made so far on the proposed ultra – modern town hall for Igbogbo community almost twenty years after the idea was muted, Faniyi, who took over as the Chairman of the Igbogbo Day Planning Community last year, said:
“We have been making progress concerning the ultra-modern hall. Although, the project is long overdue, we are focused on achieving it”, he said.
“One thing is to have an idea and another thing is not to go back on it. The issue is not achieving it immediately but being focused on it. We have been trying and presently, we are like 25% into it. I said that because the issue of the land and part of the fund for the construction has been resolved.
“If not for this lowkey celebration due to the COVID – 19 pandemic and our desire to build unity in the community, we should be laying the foundation for the project this year. God willing, we will be laying the foundation for the project before next year’s Igbogbo Day celebration and the progress will be there physically for all of us to see”, he said.
Meanwhile, organisers of the annual cultural event, traditional institution and other stakeholders have appealed to sons and daughters of Igbogbo Kingdom, both home and in diasporas, as well as friends of the town to support the annual celebration morally, financially and materially towards achieving its aim of fulfilling the dreams of its founding fathers.
