Residents of Owo, Ondo State have trooped out to support the demolition of the Memorial Park of the victims of the June 2, 2022 terror attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo.
According to reports, the administration of the late governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu built to immortalise the victims of the attack.
The park was reportedly pulled down last weekend after citing its location as a ‘taboo’ to the culture of the Owo people.
The protesters who converged on the front of the palace of the Olowo of Owo, explained that the demolition was long overdue after several discountenance over its site.
Some traditionalists who led the protest with youths and women, condemned Mrs Betty-Anyanwu Akeredolu, the widow of the late governor, over his utterances on Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye for backing the demolition.
It was gathered that Mrs Akeredolu, on Wednesday stormed the tomb of her husband in Owo and condemned the demolition of the park, accusing Oba Ogunoye of destroying the project and legacies of her late husband.
The former first lady described the Owo monarch as a ‘baby Oba’, claiming he was installed by the late Akeredolu.
According to The Nation, the chief of Owo, Idowu Olakunori, who spoke on behalf of the protestors, criticised Mrs Akeredolu, stressing that she was disrespectful to the monarch for his utterance.
“She (Mrs Akeredolu) disrespected the community. Whatever point she had, she should have been cautious. We cannot allow anybody to disrespect our Oba.
“She called our oba, ‘baby oba’, She has desecrated our land and culture with such language. Whoever disrespects our king won’t go free. It is erroneously bad and barbaric to be calling our monarch such names.
“I don’t want to go further by referring to one’s place of birth, but in our clime here, we respect our traditional institutions and hold them in very high esteem,” he said.
Olakunori added: “Now, she spoke about Aketi’s legacy. Aketi was never a local person. He was a national person, and he had all the legacies all over the place. Among the legacies he left behind is the Amotekun Corps, which is protecting the Yoruba race.
“So, when you are talking of some kind of a legacy, it’s a legacy that is almost without a doubt. Not the one that disrespects the culture and the traditional institutions.
“Our people have come out to show their anger. Nobody, irrespective of where you came from, should be allowed to disrespect their legacy place.”
Meanwhile, Governor Aiyedatiwa has set up a committee to relocate the memorial park to another site within the Owo community.
This was contained in a statement by the spokesman to the governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan.
The statement reads: “Governor Aiyedatiwa has commissioned a team of government officials to liaise with relevant stakeholders to make arrangements to build a new cenotaph at a location acceptable to the people of Owo.
“We understand the emotional attachment to the memorial, but the decision to demolish and relocate it was made with careful consideration of its implications.
“We must find a balance between preserving the memories of the dead and upholding the sanctity of the culture of the community.
“The state government, under Aiyedatiwa’s leadership, is committed to honouring the victims in a manner that respects the law, the rights of all stakeholders, and the culture of the land.”
