The projects include gated fence, worth N18 million; a full size bronze statue of the founder, Rev. Father Fabian Cloutier, N5.1 million; modern toilets, N12.5million; library renovation, N5 million and renovation of two blocks of classrooms at N15 million.

While the gated fence was funded from the purse of the association, individual sets and philanthropic old students facilitated the renovation of facilities.

Among the old students who sponsored projects is Engr. Ayodele Alabi, whose bronze statue of the founder welcomes visitors to the main grounds of the school.

The statue, atop a marble structure, is 4.3m (13ft) in height. Besides, Ayodele also renovated a wing of a block of classrooms.

Another old student, Senator Iyiola Omisore donated a computer class and generator while Senator Babajide Omoworare renovated the administrative block.

The 1973/77 and 1976/81 sets renovated blocks of classrooms while the 1979/84 set renovated the library.
Publicity secretary and former Lagos State Commissioner for Information & Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan said the association will also confer on the governor and the monarch the Grand Patron awards of the association to appreciate their contributions to educational development of the state.

Established in 1962 by Reverend Father Cloutier, a Canadian Catholic missionary, the school has graduated no fewer than 9,112 students.

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The event, held at the Iru palace on Victoria Island, was marked with a parade of royalty and culture.

A roll call of VIPs, administrators and politicians, led by Leader of the All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu graced the occasion, which was also attended by traditional rulers within and outside of the State, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi and the representatives of Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu.

First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, was also at the event.

The reception, which was initially suspended due to the State’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols, came three months after Oba Lawal formally received traditional staff of office and instrument of appointment from Gov. Sanwo-Olu to ascend the Iru throne.

At the event, Oba Lawal, a three-time member of the State Executive Council, unveiled his economic development plan for the kingdom, Let’s Develop Iruland Together condensed in acronym “LeGIt”. The blueprint, the monarch disclosed, is tailored to reflect key deliverables of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of the Sanwo-Olu administration.

The Governor, in his remark, described traditional institutions as “indispensable branch” of Yoruba society, stressing that the socio-economic growth witnessed in Iru kingdom in the last two decades had contributed in no small measure to the development of Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, commended the monarch for keeping peace and for sustaining the effort to unite members of the royal families after ascending the throne.

The Governor said he looked forward to more rewarding development activities in Iru land, but urged denizens to rally round the Oniru and maintain peace in order to achieve the monarch’s outlined objectives.

Sanwo-Olu said he had absolute confidence in the leadership ability of Oba Lawal to transform the kingdom into a 21st century city of commerce and culture, urging him to bring his wealth of experience in public service to bear in the administration of Iru land.

He said: “I have absolute confidence in the ability and capacity of His Royal Majesty to bring about greater transformation that will benefit everybody and further reposition Iruland within the metrics of development in Lagos State.

“During the installation ceremony in June, I enjoined the Oniru to strengthen the existing bond of unity within Iruland for the overall development of peace and progress of this kingdom. Two months on the throne, I’m pleased to note that the monarch took this advice to heart as exemplified by his very impressive actions characterised by wisdom, knowledge and large heartedness.

“My advice to all citizens of this great kingdom, as well as residents, is to continue to stand firm and united behind the king in order to advance the development and prosperity of this kingdom for the benefit of all.”

The APC National Leader said the event should signal an end to the tussle and controversies that trailed the selection of Oba Lawal as Oniru, saying it was time the kingdom moved on.

He vouched for the leadership qualities of the monarch, pointing out that Oba Lawal has enormous capacity to endure, learned and listens.

Tinubu, who described the Oniru as a son, said the Oniru was a good choice for the kingdom and urged members of ruling houses in the kingdom to rally round the Oniru for the progress of Iru land.

Tinubu, however, urged the monarch to show good character as key component of his leadership, noting that his effort to move the kingdom forward would be futile without character.

Oba Lawal described the event as “another significant chapter” in the annals of the kingdom, thanking Governor Sanwo-Olu for approving his selection by the kingmaker and the support since his installation.

He specially praised Asiwaju Tinubu, whom he called a mentor and father, for giving him the opportunity of his shots in public service.

The monarch said the priorities of his leadership would focus on socio-economic development of the kingdom, disclosing that the palace had established an independent nonprofit organisation – HRM Abisogun II Foundation for Peace and Development (HAIIF) – with the objective to drive multi-stakeholder partnerships for peace and prosperity of the kingdom.

He said: “The burning desire to proffer pragmatic solutions to challenges facing Iru land has led to the initiative called LeGIT. This will be a rallying point and clarion call to all stakeholders to work with me to develop Iru into one of the most sustainable communities in Lagos. Our plans are in line with development agenda of the Governor.”

The monarch, thereafter, unveiled the traditional insignia of the kingdom, which reflects Iru culture and its dominant means of livelihood. The insignia depicts fishermen, newbouldia leaves and the iconic Iru crown in golden hues.

The event was resplendent in royal fascination, with various culture troupes and drummers entertaining guests with rendition of folk songs and poem.

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Ogunwusi disclosed this when executives of the Nigeria Tour Operators (NATOP) visited him at his palace.

The monarch said the land on which the resort was built, was home to wild animals. He explained that the animals had, however, been appeased and had moved further into the bush to make the area safe for operations and tourism.

According to him, in his quest to beautify the place and transform it to a world class tourist site, a waterfall that beats human imagination was discovered and remodeled.

“This is a mysterious waterfall that has just been discovered. It elicits about seven colours of water including red, blue, green and so on.

“We are still doing some work on the site, and when the project is complete, the whole world will marvel; and this is one of the things that will sell our country internationally.

“The resort has been under construction for two years now; and when we are done, there will be nothing like it in the world,” he said.

According to Ogunwusi, since he assumed the throne of his ancestors, he has made many discoveries that were beyond human imagination and beats world science.

He described the discoveries as metaphysical things which truly attested to the myth that Ife was the cradle of mankind.

”We have too many discoveries in Ife that defy science; and which will blow the minds of tourists.

“Most of these mysterious discoveries are what we need to sell to the world because we cannot continue to shroud them in secrecy, which is the reason I decided to rebrand our heritage sites in Ife.

“This is a very ancient palace of more than 10,000 years; I have buildings of 300, 400 to 500 years within the palace and they have all become monuments which many people come from around the world to see.

“As a trained real estate developer, I have blended tradition and modernity in terms of design and concept of the palace,’ he said.

The monarch called on Nigerians to stop depending on the government to groom tourism, but to rather tap into the tourism potentials at the grassroots.

He said this would create massive employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths and reduce crime in the society.

“We all must stop blaming government on the state of the tourism sector in Nigeria, let us take advantage of the huge tourism money spinners around us,” Ogunwusi advised.

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Prominent Yoruba language scholar, Professor Akinwunmi Ishola, has been earmarked as one of the guest speakers at the occasion.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Education under whose jurisdiction the summit is being organised, Honourable Lanre Ogunyemi disclosed this at a press conference he addressed to herald the event..

According to the lawmaker, the event is being organised to promote the use of Yoruba language and ensure it does not go into extinction.

Hon. Ogunyemi stated further that the House is determined to implement the provision of the National Policy on Education which stated that it is compulsory for students to learn the language of their base in which case it is Yoruba in the southwest region.

He stated further that the House is committed to making teaching of Yoruba language in all private and public schools in the state. “In fact, we are going to make the teaching of the language compulsory in all tertiary institutions in the state,” Ogunyemi said.

The lawmaker stated that the House will monitor and ensure that the recommendations agreed upon at the summit are implemented to the letter.

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