By Gbenga Olarinoye

THE Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II has embarked on the construction of the tallest statue in Nigeria in honour of Queen Moremi Ajasoro, who died a heroine in Ile-Ife several decades ago.

•Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi and some ladies during the unveiling ceremony of Moremi Ajasoro Beauty Pageant in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

Moremi Ajasoro 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 was a heroine, who liberated the people of Oodua land from faceless invaders who sought to enslave them.

The Monarch stated this during the week at his Ile-Oodua palace in Ile-Ife while unveiling ceremony of Moremi Ajasoro Beauty Pageant.

The unveiling performed by the monarch’s queen, Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi (Yeyelua) is part of the activities marking this year’s EDI/MOREMI festival in the ancient town, believed to be the source of mankind.

While extolling virtues of the great African heroine, the Ooni Ogunwusi praised God for making one of his greatest dreams come to reality within his one-year on the throne of his forefathers.

He described the heroine (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 Ajasoro, 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 Oodua land 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 42ft-statue which will be the third tallest in Africa is being erected right where Moremi lived before she became a diety 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 advancement are coming in the subsequent years.

Speaking while unveiling the Pageant, Olori Wuraola Ogunwusi urged females to emulate the bravery act of Moremi, saying women needed to make themselves available for challenging roles in modern society.

She explained that Moremi’s personality remained unique in the World and would continue to remain an important point of reference.

“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 them to emulate the great heroine and be saviours to others”, Olori Ogunwusi explained.

On his part, the Project Coordinator for the pageant tagged, “MOREMI AJASORO”, Dr. Balogun Olakunle, said that Moremi was part of the personalities that made Yoruba cultural history outstanding.

“This is one great way 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,” Dr Balogun added.