When a righteous man
reigns, the rat breeds joyfully in the bush fish will consummate freely like a fish inside the river while human
earns blessing from heaven, procreate
bountifully, prosper lavishly, enjoys
life abundantly and blossoms in deeds, acts and words
These have been the lots
of the indigenes and people of Oke-Ila Orangun, Ifedayo Local Government, Osun
State, since the enthronement of Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, Aroyinkeye 11
as the king of the hitherto sleepy agrarian historic town.
One of the turning points
which the town has witnessed since day one of his ascension of the throne is
the reversal of the epithet “Sleepy’ which has been the adjunct for the town
whenever it is being referred to or
mentioned in any article, the ‘sleepy’ adjunct has changed to’ vibrant town.
It is no longer Oke–Ila,
the sleepy town in State of Osun, but now Oke–Ila, one of the most vibrant
towns in Osun State.”
The vibrancy of Oke–Ila
Orangun and its emergence as 21st century development oriented town is not just
a wishful desire of momentous brain wave, but a Godly blessing and inspiration
of the personality of the fellow who the people selected and who received the
mercy of the Lord.
It also confirms the
axiom that status of a post does not matter, but the mindset of the occupier.
It is trite that when a
small man with small mind is given a house bigger than his size, he may reduce
or collapse the house to fit his frame instead of looking or hiring part of it
out to generate wealth, but when a big man is forced inside a cocoon because of
his body and mind, expands and creates more space for himself and others.
The Bible affirms that
when a righteous man reigns, the people rejoice.
Of course, the people of
Oke–Ila has causes and reasons to rejoice in having an Oba who has been able to
explore his cosmopolitan status in accentuating
their essence of life as proud indigenes and products of Oke–Ila, Who
has equally made his people reign and the epicentre of his rule. In applying his experience to
transform the rawness of the environment to vivacity of municipality, has
unveiled the socio-cultural tourism potentialities inherent in the community and
which have been covered, buried and trampled upon in the past for the glory and
respect of the people and the town.
Without missing his
focus, Oba Adedokun started with the Isinro Festival, a pre-historical
generational festival of culture, dance and tradition of the Oke-Ila people
which his people have been hosting annually since the emergence of the town,
but which its celebration has been localised and restricted.
Oba Abolarin said this
must not be. And since, it has never be, Oba Abolarin has raised the bar of the
celebration of Isinro festival from a
mere community convivial traditional festival to an international carnival of
culture, tradition and communal reunion which attracts thousands of tourists
and well wishers yearly to the town.
The internationalisation
of Isinro festival by Oba Abolarin has cultivated the attention and focus from
government and individual investors and has attracted to the town the
establishment of another petrol station in responding to the quests of
unceasing tourists as well as government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in tarring
the road network in the town.
The Ayinkunugba Waterfall, one of the most soulful and
thrilling waterfalls in Nigeria is
planted in the town by nature, but it takes the grace of God and the persistent
value added efforts of Oba Abolarin that has helped in achieving the modicum of
publicity and the cry for enhancement which this unquantifiable natural
blessing has got recently.
The good news again from
the vibrant town of Oke–Ila Orangun is the fact that Oba Abolarin’s penchant for
digging out the natural blessing of the town has again yielded a
stunning discovery of another waterfall in Oke–Ila!
This waterfall is
shielded away by a heavy, thick jungle
of Ogan Forest which is located on the right part of the Oke –Ila Orangun bound
road.
Oba Adedokun could not
hide his feeling at the discovery of the waterfall and thus, he personally led the writer and other tourism buffs including the palace
staff into the thick forest of Ogan.
Getting to the site of
the waterfall provides an insight into Oba Abolarin’s favourite tourism slogan
“RURAL TOURISM”.
For the path to the
waterfall harbours exciting ground for picnic, carnival under the canopy of
plants and romantic spots .
The evidence of the fall
was felt by our ear’s drum which was hit
by the sound of the fall on the floor.
“Kabiyesi, we are closer
to the fall “Tope Eluyefa, one of the journalists on the trip noted.
The just discovered waterfall though located
in steep gorge offers different features from Ayinkunugba.
It is only
accessible through the peak of a hill which offers a spectacular view of
a fall down the stairs but having about four naturally created swimming pool spots as it heads down
in torrents.
The waterfall in Ogan
Forest will adequately cater for picnickers and film makers who will find its
features useful for the advancement of their endeavours.
Oba Abolarin who offered
special prayers and thanked God for the blessing of the fall revealed that “It
is not that we are unaware of water here, yes, there is Ogan water, but we
never knew there is a fall here. We never knew that the fall is as beautiful as
this. We never knew that we are again blessed by Almighty God with another
fantastic natural tourism site. We never knew the magnitude of this fall, with
unique features different from Ayinkunugba Waterfall”
He disclosed “I am happy
about this. I will take the necessary step to intimate the chairman of my local
government and also inform the Governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
who has been so good to this town about
the new discovery. I thank my progenitors, the founder of this town, for
locating us in a land full of blessings and natural wonders”.
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