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Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ajagungbade III, passes at 95

The paramount ruler of Ogbomosoland in Oyo State, theSounof Ogbomosoland Alaiyeluwa, Oba (Dr.) Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, CON, CFRhaspassedattheageof 95. Born on May 27, 1926 to the Gbagun ruling house of Royal family of Soun of Ogbomosoland.

 

His great grandfather, grandfatherand father, ObaOluwusiAremu (5th Soun of Ogbomosoland, reigned from1826to1840), ObaGbagungboye Ajagungbade 1 (10th Soun of Ogbomosoland, reigned from 1869 to 1871) andObaAfolabiOyewumiAjagungbade 11(15th Soun of Ogbomosoland, reigned from 1916 to 1940) respectively as monarchs of the ancient city of Ogbomoso.

 

The monarch who joined his ancestors yesterdaymorning at the ripe age of 95, had his elementary school at St. Patrick Catholic School, Oke- Padre, Ibadan and Ogbomoso People’s Institute, Aku, Ogbomoso.

After acquiring his elementary and basic education, he ventured into weaving business, trading in the popular Yoruba attire known as aso-ofi, in Ilesha, in the present day Osun State.

 

Through the lucrative business of weaving, Oba Oyewumi was able to raise capital of £4.10s and returned to Ogbomoso. He proceeded to Jos in 1944, Plateau State to live with relatives of his mother whereheenrolledforeveningeducational coaching to improve his education.

 

As a business tycoon. Oba Oyewumi continued his trading in local wares as he extended his ventures to Lagos to buy variegated merchandise for sale.

His business trips to Lagos exposed him to expatriate commercial firms and from whichhedevelopedtheresolveandconfidence to turn his attention to those of them in Jos.

 

With his zeal to excel in business, he obtained a major dealership from the Frenchcompany, CompagnieFranchise deI’AntiqueOccidentale(CFAO) in1954, gavehimthecapacitytoexpandhisbusi    nesses to include importation of beer and goods from Europe. He embarked onbusinesstripstoLondon, Ireland, and Germany to improve his exclusive Becks and Heineken beer from these countries.

 

The then young Oyewumi operated under the business name of Prince Stores, and thus made a fortune from the merchandise, and consolidated his investments by establishing, J.O Oyewumi and Co. Ltd in 1967, with vast interests in real estate, hospitality and merchandise.

The popular Hotel Terminus brand with branches in Jos, Ogbomoso and Osogbo, is a householdname, justliketheRoyal CrownHotelsremainsapartof the business empire. Oba Oyewumi ascended the throne of his forefathers in 1973 after he was nominated by the Gbagun Ruling House to Oyo State government. Upon his coronation, withthesupportof sonsanddaughters of Ogbomosoland, he built a modern palace befitting the status of a first-class monarch. At that time, it was one of the best palaces in Nigeria.

 

The contributions of Oba Oyewumi to his domain, Oyo state and Nigeria in general are  countless including creation of additional four localgovernment areas from Ogbomoso local government. Ogbomosoland has 5 LGAs now. The developments include establishment of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Federal Polytechnic, Ayede, Ogbomoso, establishment of Fed-

eral Government College, Ogbomoso; establishmentof NTA station in Ogbomoso, citing of banks, primary and secondary schools, policestations and industries, technical college etc.

 

Oba Oyewumi’s reign has brought robust development to Ogbomoso and environs, whichis obvious with the fastgrowing population and commercial activities in the ancient town of Ogbomoso. In 1995, Oba Oyewumi served as Chairman of Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs for a term of two years. He was a recipient of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR).

He was also Pioneer and Current Chancellor of Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos, Plateau State.

 

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