In honour of Queen Moremi Ajansoro, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has embarked on the construction of the tallest statue in Nigeria.
The foremost African monarch stated this on Tuesday at his Ile-Oodua Palace in Ile-Ife during the unveiling ceremony of Moremi Ajansoro Beauty Pageant.
Ajansoro was a brave and pretty queen who in order to solve the problems facing her people, offered anything she had to give in sacrifice to the spirit of Esimirin River so as to discover the strength of the enemies of Oodua race.
She is a heroine who liberated the people of Oodualand from slave invaders.
The unveiling was performed by Queen Wuraola Ogunwusi (Yeyelua) as part of the activities marking this year’s EDI/MOREMI festival in the ancient town.
While extolling virtues of the great African heroine, Ogunwusi praised God for making one of his greatest dreams become reality within his one year on the throne of his forefathers.
He described Moremi as the real mother of liberty in the world, whose legacy must not be left in the oblivion.
He said: “God Almighty has given me the grace of achieving one of my greatest ambitions within my first year on this sacred throne of Oduduwa.
“Moremi Ajansoro, an Ife queen, who in her lifetime exhibited an unrivaled heroism of world’s liberty, dedicated her life to the liberation of mankind by sacrificing her only child to free the people of Oodualand from the invasion of some faceless terrorists thousands of years ago.
“We are already constructing the tallest statue in Nigeria to be known as Moremi Liberty Statue.
“This 42 ft-statue, which will be the third tallest in Africa, is being erected right where Moremi lived before she became a deity thousands of years ago, as a goddess of liberty.
“It is going to be one of the greatest achievements in Nigerian tourism and will be unveiled in two weeks time during this year’s Edi/Moremi festival, which is just a tip of the iceberg as many more tourist advancements are coming in the subsequent years.”
Speaking while unveiling the pageant, Queen Wuraola Ogunwusi (Yeyelua) urged women to emulate the brave act of Moremi, saying they needed to make themselves available for challenging roles in the society.
She explained that Moremi’s personality remained unique in the world and would continue to remain an important point of reference.
She said: “Moremi is an important figure and a great warrior worthy of emulation.
“With the pageant, we are trying to globalise and make the world know about a very important person.
“Times are changing and women are beginning to realise that we need to grow stronger, we need to show strong character in changing the society.
“I urge all women to emulate the great heroine and be saviours to others.”
On his part, the Project Coordinator for the pageant, tagged: “MOREMI AJANSORO,” Dr. Balogun Olakunle, said Moremi was part of the personalities that made Yoruba cultural history outstanding.
Olakunle commended the Ooni for re-branding the festival, saying that it would help to further enrich the Yoruba culture.
He said: “This is one great ways to celebrate Moremi.
“It is a way to further prove that she lives on.
“We sold forms to females of Yoruba origin across Nigeria and we hope that the best would emerge.”
Social Ooni celebrates Moremi Ajansoro, builds tallest statue in Nigeria
