Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has appointed the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Lekan Balogun, as the Chancellor of the Kano State Government-owned Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education, Kumbotso.
The revered Yoruba monarch received the appointment letter at his palace in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, on Thursday, April 13, OsunDaily News understands.
While presenting the appointment letter to the traditional ruler, Ganduje, represented by the state Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, said the decision to honour the royal father with the appointment was borne from the desire to maintain the cordial relationship between Kano and Ibadan.
Garba visited the monarch in the company of his Islamic Affairs counterpart, Angama Lafia and the Oba Yoruba of Kano, Muritala Otisese.
“What prompted the government to honour our revered royal father was his role in the years back in Kano. He was in Kano before as MD of Triumph Publishing company, years back, during the Abubakar Rimi administration.
“The cordial relationship has been there all this while. So, his appointment as Chancellor is well deserved,” Garba explained while presenting the letter to Olubadan of Ibadanland.
Responding on behalf of the Olubadan, the Osi Balogun of Ibadanland, High Chief Gbadamosi Adebimpe, who appreciated the government for the honour, said the monarch was optimistic that greater development would come to the town in no distant period.
Also speaking, the Senator representing Oyo South, Kola Balogun, remarked, “Today’s event is historical because Ibadan sons and daughters, high chiefs, members of Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, past president of the council are here. What you will read on their faces is excitement. The excitement you will notice on their faces is a pointer to how the entire Ibadanland is feeling about the event.
“You know Ibadan is one unique family, and that is why we have a peculiar traditional institution which is different from what we have in other Yorubaland. When things like this are happening in the life of any monarch, it calls for celebration and thanksgiving,” Balogun said.
Reacting, the Oba Yoruba of Kano, Otisese, said the people of Kano are peace-loving and accommodating, hence the need to maintain a cordial relationship between the two ethnic groups.
