Their all-white flowing agbada costume, complemented by uniform caps, stood them out inside the capacious hall, hosting the monthly meeting of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) yesterday.
Hence, their unusual presence drew attention of Ibadan clubs’ representatives seated to participate at the meeting traditionally held every first Friday of each month.
That was image of members of Ibadan Core Club, who were in the Ibadan House headquarters of the CCII to formally get admitted into the long list of socio-cultural associations under the CCII’s auspices.
However, the admission rite would not be performed soon; the programme was tucked in the middle of agenda of the highly participatory meeting, indicative that the Core Club members would need to exercise patience until the clock tick to their allotted hour.
Apparently sensitive to the fact that some of the members were not passing the night in Ibadan, Chairman, clubs’ admission committee of the CCII, Dr Tirimisiyu Oladimeji, rose from his seat, picked microphone, announced the presence of the members and promptly invited them to step forward first for recognition and secondly for official admission.
Oladimeji, a retired provost of a college of education until 2020, proved his mettle as a tested coordinator of that assignment, reminiscing his visit to the club and his impression, leading to the approval of its application to be sheltered under the roomy umbrella of the CCII.
Essentially, taking on oath by the visiting club members was administered by Financial Secretary of the CCII, who doubles as a legal practitioner and also a retired Banker, Barrister Oludare Adewale, after which President-General of the CCII, Prince Oluyemisi Adeaga delivered what sounded like keynote address.
Adeaga, who was elected the president-general less than a year ago, started his remark on a jocular note, querying the club for seeking admission behind time despite its 32-year-history.
“You people ought to have been part of the CCII and made contributions to its development. That you failed to join early, you are going to pay a fine of N500, 000. On a serious note, I am happy you eventually made it here today, which means we are becoming stronger, especially with the caliber of members of your club.
“We shall ensure that you are productively engaged to offer your best service to the CCII because service is our collective duty to sustain the status of Ibadan and take it to higher pedestal,” he said in admixture of Yoruba and English Languages.
While reacting to Adeaga’s address, President of Ibadan Core Club, Mr Ademola Omotosho (Number 006), who was resplendent in a cream colour fabric, expressed gratitude to the CCII for its earlier visit to the club and eventual admission, promising to live up to expectations in due course.
“There is no doubt that this a landmark in the history of our club founded in 1990. It may interest you to note that this club passed through some metamorphoses before it finally became what it is today. We first started as a gathering of youths, coming from different places of origin.
“But later, we realized need to make it an all-Ibadan indigenes for a proper cohesion and understanding of one another. We thank God that we have reached an important state today with this historic admission. We are no longer a minor club henceforth; and we are not going to disappoint leadership of the CCII. We are going to make our presence felt for good reasons,” he promised.
Shortly before the proceeding was wounded up, Adeaga smartly made a case for supply of chairs and upgrading of the high table platform of the hall. That request interestingly received a quick attention of the members as The Tabloid.net would later gather.
No sooner had the members stepped out of the hall than they met briefly at car park during which they reviewed the ceremony and drew a road map on how to prioritise the request and make it a reality in the next three months.
Confirming this, Omotosho said, the club did not have a choice than to set the ball rolling and ensure the request was met on time. “I guess you saw us after we had left the hall; we spoke on how we were going to provide the platform, and we are definitely going to do it without delay,” he assured.
To the immediate past President, Mr Mojeed Olaniran (Number 004), the ceremony was his dream come true, having piloted the club for a decade till January 2021 and contributed his quota, which led it to “today’s achievement. I congratulate the incumbent president for making history, and it is our wish that he will achieve more during his tenure.”
Another member, Mr Adetunji Busari (Number 010) was equally ecstatic by the accomplishment, hoping that the ongoing club house would be completed to consolidate its current status among notable clubs in Ibadanland.
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