The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has said that women, as nation builders, deserve support and investment from the society to fulfill their God ordained destinies.
Adeyeye made the assertion on Friday in Lagos at the official presentation of the book, “Unspoken”, a Chronicle of Women Kings in Yorubaland” (Oba Obirin), written by Princess Ronke Ademiluyi.
Ademiluyi, the author of the book is a lawyer, cultural ambassador to the Ooni of Ife, Vice Chairman of House of Oduduwa Foundation and promoter of women gender.
The 51st Ooni of Ife, said women should rise up and join governance, make their voices heard because they make the world go round.
He said that women were destiny changers as God had given them greater grace to manage everything manageable.
“Any deal with women is very assured, so why do we not give them recognition? We haven’t celebrated women enough; let’s begin to do so because they keep the world going.
“This is mirrored in the book ‘Unspoken’. It challenges us to speak out about our women, things they had done in the past, present and future anticipations.
“We must borrow a leaf from our mother, Erelu of Lagos, Abiola Dosumu, a woman that has been relevant for the past 50 years.
“I also thank our chairlady, first lady of Kwara state, Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, a very smart and refined lady.
“I commend Princess Ronke Ademiluyi for her exceptional intelligence. Powerful women in Yoruba land are referred to as witches, but they are positive ones because they are progressive in thoughts and deeds as Princess Ademiluyi,” Ogunwusi said.
Also speaking, the wife of the governor of Kwara, Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said that the quality of our society greatly depended on the standard and investment in our women.
“Mothers are the central building block of the success of any society through the family and therefore should be a focus for national support.
“We had powerful women in leadership as Iyalode, Erelu and lots of other female chiefs but their reign declined with the coming of the colonial era.
“This patriarchal reign of projecting the men and pushing the women to the background altered gender administration and participation thereby pushing them to background,” she said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Erelu Kuti of Lagos, Dr Abiola Dosumu, in her keynote address, commended roles of past female obas and urged women to rise above their current limitations.
“As was in the days of old, we are challenged to rise up and return to our former pride of place as showcased in the book, “Unspoken”.
“They did it successfully, we can also do better when we collaborate and energise one another as Princess Ademiluyi, with the assistance of our Ooni, is currently doing.
“I encourage other women to push out their potentials because our historic women succeeded and so we too can succeed,” she said.
Earlier, in her welcome address, Princess Ronke Ademiluyi, the author, said that the book was aimed at inspiring young talented women to rise up and do great things.
Ademiluyi said the book highlighted the responsibilities of African women– community responsibilities, contributions and how to combine maternal roles with leadership roles.
“The 123 page book, which I started in 2018, shows that our culture does not relegate women to the background. It sheds light on women who ruled over Yoruba kingdoms centuries ago.
“My aim is to wake up the giants in our young women into going into key positions in our nation’s polity,” she said.
Princess Ademiluyi- an illustrious daughter from the Lafogido royal family in Ile-Ife affirmed that women were given range of power and authority to carry out certain leadership roles.
She earlier published the book on ‘The legendary Queen Moremi’, that was adapted into ‘Moremi: The Musical’, a musical drama of the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro of Ile Ife.
“Women take up unique positions such as Iyalode, Iya Oba, Olori and these women through their actions, counsel, and advice, played vital roles in different spheres of the Yoruba scenery,’” said Princess Ademiluyi.
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Among those in attendance were: Toyin Saraki, Mr Yemi Candide Johnson (SAN), Mr Dele Adesina (SAN), Mr Muyiwa Ige and Mrs Khairat Okunnu-Lamidi, Mrs Yemisi Ransome- Kuti and Omolara Wood.
