The Ibadan Discourse Group will, on Thursday, hold the first edition in the series of its talks on notable past national heroes, kicking off with a discussion on the late Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi.
The Group is imbued with the mission to take desirable steps to integrate the values of the national heroes into the national political and leadership systems.
The maiden edition of the national talks will take place at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Ibadan, with the titled Fajuyi: The Essentials For National Leadership.
The late Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi was the first governor of the Western Region who was killed in Ibadan, along with the then military Head of State, Major General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, in the July 1966 military coup.
As stated in a statement by the Group Coordinator, Mr. Clement Ige and Director of Media Strategy, Mr. Dapo Falade, the discourse seeks to bring to the fore the values of the late Colonel Fajuyi, particularly as embedded in the passion for national sacrifice and cohesion.
The essence of the talks was to highlight the core values of sacrifice for and loyalty to national integrity as exemplified by the late Fajuyi who chose to lay down his life in the cause of national unity.
“We are in a crucial stage of nation building where our values have almost vanished, and both leaders and followers have almost lost elementary national visions and goals,” the Group stated in the statement.
“At this stage,” the Group added, “we have to remind ourselves of our history for the purpose of national re-orientation which will re-engineer leadership process towards strategic national visions.”
According to the statement, Oyo State governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde, is the Chief Host; Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State is the Guest of Honour, while the Chairmen of Southern and Northern Governors Forums are the Special Guests of Honour at the maiden event.
The Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, is the Guest Speaker, while Dr. Festus Adedayo and Prof. O.C. Nwolise are discussants.
The Ibadan Discourse Group is an assembly of elder statesmen from across the South-West.
It has Dr. Yemi Farounbi as the Patron, and Chief Adebisi Adesola, a former SSG to the Oyo State Government, as the Chairman.
Other eminent members of the Group include Chief Tola Adeniyi, Amb. Ayo Olukanni, Erelu Olusola Obada, Oloye Lekan Alabi, among several others.
