The other side of Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi
Ever since his coronation, the revered monarch, Ooni Adeyeye Babatunde Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has ensured he does things differently as the spiritual head of the Yoruba race. When on Wednesday December 7, Oba Ogunwusi marked the seventh anniversary of his coronation and the ascendance of the throne of his forebears as the 51st Oonirisha, he made the ancient city of Ile-Ife feel a fresh gust of summer wind.
Rather than roll out the drums for revelry, Ooni decided to use the occasion of his anniversary to put smiles on many of his subjects’ faces particularly some victims of human trafficking who were recently rescued and repatriated back to Nigeria by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters, NAPTIP.
Through his House of Oduduwa Foundation and MakeMee Elegant Foundation—led by Mrs. Kehinde Adelaja Okoroafor— Ooni trained and empowered those victims of human trafficking in conjunction with the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NAPTIP), Ministry of Women Affairs and other government agencies.
During the six-day training programme, the rescued survivors were empowered with skills in the making of Adire, wigs, bags, shoes, cosmetics, stoning, and sewing. At the end of the programme, they were later given machines to aid their various skills alongside cash. Later, Ooni and one of his queens, Olori Temitope organized an award ceremony for staff of the palace where worthy and hardworking ones were appreciated for their steadfastness with award plaques, letters of recommendation, cash prizes, and car gifts. Ooni also launched the OjajaWomen Entrepreneur Programme to cater to women across the South-West who want to be entrepreneurs to equip and empower themselves.
-the sun
