Wale Jagun & Mariam Akinloye
-Plans to rebuild family house
The royal family of Fadugba Ogunlewe in Igbogbo Kingdom has continued with its forward-looking tradition of providing support for members of the family especially the students by providing financial support to 42 students that are family members studying various disciplines in higher institutions.
It is designed and implemented as part of its way to encourage them to excel.
The financial assistance was presented to family students at the 5th edition of the Annual General Meeting of the family held at its family house in Itun -Nla in Igbogbo recently.
Recall that the family in 2025, provided 17 brilliant members of the family and members of the Igbogbo Students’ Union (ISU) bursary worth of N1.3mllion.
Plans to rebuild the royal family house was also unveiled at the well -attended AGM.
Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, highlighting the reason for the gathering said that the need to continue to support children of family members in higher institutions necessitated the meeting.
“What our gathering today is about is because of our children who are in universities. We don’t even know that they are as many as this. We have like 37 to 40 of them and they are still growing, which means we have children of Fadugba Ogunlewe in various universities.
“We thought about it as family that we should stretch our hands towards them for them to know that we love them and to give them some stipends for them to know that their family also helped them when they were still in university because family that refuses to care for the children, those children won’t know the worth of family when they grow up and any family that assisted them, when they grow up, they will surely remember that family and they will surely do good for the family.”
The elder statesman urged family members to avail its leadership names of other students from the family that are in higher institutions that are not on the list.
He also explained that names like Alowonle, Fasheun among others that are on the list are children of family members whose mothers are Ogunlewes but bear the names of their husbands.
He emphasised that the family is supporting its children to excel.
“We want to inform you that all of us here have you all in our minds and we want you to excel and we are ready to support you. The reason behind this is because we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
“If a family fails to have a succession plan; fails to send their children to school, they won’t be able to compete and they won’t be happy that they are members of the Fadugba Ogunlewe family.”
He charged family members to provide their children necessary support for their education and general upbringing.
Also speaking, Tpl. Toyin Ayinde, former Commissioner, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State, enjoined families and their children to learn how to speak their mother’s tongue proficiently. He stated his experience while he worked with the Lagos State Government and why it is necessary for them to master their own language.
He also urged them to make good use of the opportunity that the family is providing them with.
The former Head of Service who is also a chieftain of the family, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe in his own remarks said that the family is networking and improving its situations.
“The major reason for this gathering is for us to network because it’s very important and the failure to do that can lead to us losing opportunities.
“This gathering is also for us to know ourselves better and collect data so that we can call ourselves for assistance whenever there is need.”
He also used the opportunity to inform members of the plan to rebuild the Fadugba Ogunlewe Family House and update on the planned establishment of the family cooperative society.
Boluwatife Ogunlewe, a student in UNILAG who was one of the beneficiaries and who said that the financial support would aid her academics was full of support to the family for its good gesture.
“I am very grateful to be an Ogunlewe family member and I thank the family for its amazing contributions and support because a lot of people don’t have the resources and the capability but the fact that they came together to give us this support is commendable.
“I am really grateful because they have impacted so many lives without them even knowing but this is a way of shaping our future,” she added.
Another beneficiary, Mariam Kofoworola, a Geology student in Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), said that the support would make her focus on her studies.
“It will encourage me to focus more on my studies and help in improving our studies which is the aim of the family. It is a way of creating a brighter and better future for us.”
Many prominent members of the royal family attended the AGM.
