Alake marks 20th coronation anniversary, installs new chiefs

The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, on Tuesday, marked his 20th coronation anniversary.

The monarch celebrated the anniversary with the installation of new chiefs.

This included the conferment of the title of Ogboye of Egbaland on Chief Samuel Oluwadairo.

The Alake, who was “coronated as the 10th Alake of Abeokuta and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland on November 19, 2005,” led the colourful ceremony which drew “a large turnout of top hierarchy of Egba Obas, titled chiefs, government functionaries, politicians and business moguls within and beyond Egbaland,” a statement shared on Wednesday noted.

Oluwadairo was described as “notable among the titles recipients,” and was formally installed as the Ogboye of Egbaland, a title the palace noted as “one of the top ranked Egba Traditional Chieftaincy titles, approved by the state government and whose recipient sits with Alake-in-Council to administer the entire Egba Kingdom.”

His wife, Chief Regina Oluwadairo, was also installed as the new Erelu-Ogboye of Egbaland.

Performing the installation, the Alake “prayed for divine wisdom and vision for the newly installed chiefs in the discharge of their statutory roles and functions, as members of Alake in Council.”

He further “admonished them to be of good conduct and show leadership by example.”

In his acceptance speech, the new chief expressed profound appreciation, saying he was “full of gratitude to the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III for his fatherly advice and for considering him worthy of such big title.”

He added that the Ogboye title “is not just an ordinary title but one that comes with a lot of responsibilities and commitments.”

He said, “I feel so honoured, privileged and excited for being installed as the new Ogboye of Egbaland. This is a call to service and I am prepared, by the grace of God to live up to the expectations of our highly revered Oba Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo III, Shokenu IV, the people of Abeokuta and Egbaland. I will work towards fostering peace and unity amongst the people. I will also initiate and execute empowerment projects that will enhance economic prosperity for our people.”

He also prayed for the monarch, wishing him “many years of peaceful reign… that will witness progress, peace, unity and rapid socioeconomic development for Abeokuta and Egbaland.”

The newly installed Erelu-Ogboye, Chief Regina Oluwadairo, “expresses delight and happiness for the new title,” pledging to support her husband and stating she would “combine her new role with her former title of Seriki Iya-Abiye of Egbaland to continue to impact more on the lives of the children.”