Vice President Osinbajo attends Awolowo daughter’s burial
By Cyril Okonkwo, Ibadan
Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, were in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday for the funeral of the late Mrs. Omotola Oyediran (Nee Awolowo) who died on October 16 this year.
The late Mrs. Oyediran was the first daughter of one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalist leaders and Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and aunt to the wife of the vice president.
Until her death, she was the Chairman of the African Newspapers Nigeria PLC, publishers of the Nigerian Tribune titles.
Among other notable persons that attended the service, which took place at the All Saints Church, Jericho, Ibadan, were Governors Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Akeredolu, and Babajide Sanwolu of Ekiti, Ondo and Lagos states respectively.
Delivering the sermon of at the service, Retired Archbishop of Ilesa, Methodist Church of Nigeria, Ayo Ladigbolu, said that the late Mrs. Oyediran had the attributes of women that makes them leaders in society.
Archbishop Ladigbolu, whose message was titled: “Celebrating saintly womanhood as a tool for nation building,” said women should be recognised for the leadership roles they play in the development of society.
“Women are in charge of us and even when we try to deny it, when we try to suppress them, when we try to oppress them, when we try to press them down, they are still in charge of us,” he stated.
The archbishop said the late Mrs. Oyediran got her leadership attributes from godly parentage, admonishing parents to ensure that they take their duties of bringing up their children seriously.
Going back in history, Archbishop Ladigbolu reeled out the names of women in the history of Nigeria that made indelible contributions to the development of the Nigerian society.
He pointed out the prowess of such women as Princess Idolorusan of Itsekiri Kingdom, who ruled and ensured the stability of the kingdom for about 88 years; Moremi Ajasoro of Yorubaland, Emotan of the Ancient Benin Kingdom, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, among others.
Archbishop Ladigbolu also called for the appointment of a female bishop in the Methodist Church.
He said: “That day is coming, whether we like it or not, when women will stand in their right places in the church in Nigeria,” adding that Jesus created the church “upon the equality of the sexes without any discrimination.”
Ladigbolu said women should be allowed to play their roles in the church.
Earlier, Vice President Osinbajo visited the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, whose mother, late Mrs. Abigail Mankinde was also buried on Friday.
Confidence Okwuchi
