An Address By The Leader Asiwaju (Dr) Sunday Adedayo Adewusi, IG (rtd) GCON

The 9TH Annual General Assembly of The Ogbomoso Community Foundation (OCF) At the Ogbomoso Recreation Club, Ilorin Road
Saturday, 13TH November, 2010

PROTOCOL

Dear Compatriots,

We give praises, honour and glory to God Almighty for His grace on us to be here again this year. We had our last Annual General Assembly (AGA) on the 14th November, 2009 at this same venue.

Today, we all shall have reports of activities of the Ogbomoso Community Foundation (OCF) in the past one year, review them and strategize on ways of improving the well-being of our people through OCF activities in the next one year.

I want to seize this moment to appreciate our members and all our sons and daughters in the diaspora for their concern and positive intervention on issues relating to the progress of Ogbomosoland. I appreciates the efforts of the various individuals that have intervened in ensuring that the OCF website is not lost but revived to ensure that it is a credible channel of information dissemination on Ogbomosoland to the global audience. I recognize in particular the concern shown and the positive steps taken by Dr. Kale Oyedeji; Dr. Usman G. Akano; Mr. Tunji Mafolasire and others for their doggedness and for their “we can” spirit and approach that led to the recovery and revival of the website (Website www.ogbomoso.net). I therefore wish to call on others to join the struggle and contribute in cash and in kind to uplift our Society. Let me recall here the feat and the exploits of the Medical Resources International (MRI), U.S.A facilitated by Dr. Dada from Osun State, Nigeria in collaboration with the OCF and the Oyo State Government in Ogbomoso in May, 2005. During the period of the medical intervention, over one hundred and twenty four (124) patients were operated upon while over three thousand (3,000) others were received and seen at the clinics. The feat is now an historical precedent which our people in the diaspora should emulate and build on. The field is wide and ripe for harvest. You should therefore come to “Macedonia” and help out.

I thank you for attending the AGA and congratulate you all for this privilege and grace of God for His protection over us. Your support and dedication to the cause of Ogbomosoland is appreciated. Your commitments shall not go unrewarded. We shall continue to move from glory to glory.

The past year has witnessed a lot of challenges and one of these has been a paucity of funds. OCF has a lot of programmes that would improve the well-being of our people but could not be executed due to lack of funds. I may, at this point, make a passionate appeal to all of us to support our OCF financially. OCF needs funds.

OCF has continued to be relevant to our people. On health, we have carried out HIV enlightenment campaigns, hernia harvest and eye test. I wish to inform all of us that OCF paid fully for the first 100 persons who were given glasses (lenses) and subsidized others highly.

On education, OCF has continued to assist our youth. Leadership life skills and sexuality training was organized for our adolescent in public secondary schools in Ogbomoso Educational Zone. All five Local Governments were covered. Over 500 students have benefited from this programme which was conducted twice this year.

I want to seize this opportunity to inform you that a lot of progress have been made to recover the land allocated to us for our OCF Secretariat. OCF will soon have the titled ownership of the land. Our website is functioning very well. We sincerely appreciate the support and true commitment of our sons in the diaspora, Dr. Kale Oyedeji, Mr. Tunji Mafolasire and Dr. Usman Akano. They are true sons of Ogbomosoland. The website is www.ogbomoso.net. We implore our clubs and societies to send adequate information about happenings in their clubs/societies to OCF to be put on the web. The best way to appreciate the effort of these trio is to make the website active.

Dear Compatriots, on the 10th April, 2010, OCF organized an Interactive Session with the Governor, His Excellency, Otunba (Dr.) Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, JP, PSC, to rob minds together about the development of Ogbomosoland. All clubs and societies, prominent sons and daughters of Ogbomosoland were invited, and also attended.

The Governor also came to the Session with all political office holders who were Ogbomoso sons and daughters. Every aspect of developmental programmes of Ogbomosoland was frankly discussed with acceptable responses from His Excellency. The Session was very successful and OCF was responsible for all expenses. In all, 110 participants attended the Interactive Session.

I am delighted and proud with the efforts of our own son, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Otunba (Dr.) Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala in the development of the State.

I recall with sadness the demise of our prominent sons and daughters within the year.

May their souls rest in perfect peace.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to be with you and to welcome you to the 9th Annual General Assembly of our beloved Foundation. God be with you and bless you all.

Thank you.