News
SPECIAL REPORT: The Grass to Grace Story of Ona-Ara Lg, The Untold Story of Ilaji Group Connection
LATELY, Ona-Ara Local Government Area of Oyo state, despite its rural nature, has experienced socio-economic resurgence. In this special report, our CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, Hazeez Ayansola; unearths the factor(s) that are responsible for this rare leap in the fortunes of the council.
Hazeez Ayansola, is also, the Public Relations Officer of Ilaji Stadium & Resort Center and the Publicist of Engr. Dotun Sanusi.
In recent time, Ona-Ara Local Government, has consistently found itself in the news, albeit, for all the right reasons. Initially, it was sporting news that have been emanating from a council which have its headquarters in Akanran- a town that stirs up the Agbekoyas exploits during the military reigns anytime it is mentioned, but lately the town has played host to musicians whose ‘natural habitats’ for live performances can only be seen in cosmopolitan city like Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The likes of Alhaji Rasheed Ayinde, the Merenge Crooner; Ere-Asalatu, Sewenle-Anabi and host of others have painted Akanran, and to a large extent, Ona-Ara Local Government red with their electrifying displays on stage.
One might be forced to murmur “what the big deal is about the musicians performing in Akanran”?; after all, Akanran is the capital of a local government, the third tier of government in Nigeria and the musicians mentioned earn their living from performances of that nature. Such question would make perfect sense only if one has not been to Akanran before or better still if the fellow has never taken a tour of the council.
Trying to paint a picture of the state of development in the local government is tantamount to describing the den of pigs as dirty. One needs to visit the pigs in its abode to know the extent of dirts, filth and stenchy mud which the pigs consider as ‘ornaments’. These dirts are nothing compared to the stench and murky substances which ooze out odiferous odour that can do a permanent damage to the lungs of the inhaler.
From Olorunsogo-Amuloko-Akanran axis, the only gateway to the council’s seat of administration, the only thing that is visible to a person plying the road is despair, penury, neglect and wretchedness. The deplorable state of that major road is a perfect example of the standard of living of the people in that area.
Rumours have it that the town which is the headquarters of Ona-Ara has suffered neglect over the years as a result of the charms buried there by Tafa Adeoye, the head of Agbekoyas, and his warlords. It was reported by people in the know that the charms which were collectively created by the hunters in the town and buried in the different parts during the Agbekoya war was to fortify the town and its residents against the attacks of the government forces. But decades after the war, it seems the charms have not only succeeded in thwarting the government’s attacks, it has also succeeded in ‘thwarting’ developmental projects which hitherto ought to have sprung up in different parts of the local government.
The Olorunsogo-Amuloko-Akanran axis which stretches to about 15 km with an estimated population of over half a million can only boast of one bank (First Bank); this is a pointer to the low-level of commercial activities that are taking place in the axis. The council which has had two former ministers, top government functionaries, past commissioners and a serving commissioner has not had electricity for the past 14 years.
Having being carved out from Oluyole- an emerging industrialised local government in the state- before it was made a local government of its own in 1989 by the then self styled Military President, Ibrahim Bababangida, and couple with a land mass of 3570km, it would not have been out of sense to think that Ona-Ara Local Government ought to have had presence of few companies which would have absorbed its teeming unemployed youths but the reverse is the case as the council is only populated with petty traders, Okada riders and road sides hawkers. The resultant effect of this is a poor Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the council.
Besides, the local government being a development retard; it is also a nightmare for the residents of the council living within the confluence of Olorunsogo-Amuloko-Akanran axis whose works make returning home late a must. The council’s poor road networks and absence of electricity for well over a decade is enough to shorten the life span of those who ply the roads especially the late evening drivers whose large chunks are mostly from the organised sector- civil service and a couple from private sector.
But like an oasis in the middle of the desert, Ilaji Group which comprises of Ilaji Farms and its sister company, Ilaji Stadium and Resorts Center, established at Oloyo Village in 2012 and 2016 respectively have been sources of succour not only to the people of Akanran town but also to the council as a whole.
Ilaji Farms, a multi-billion naira Agribusiness which initially started as a vegetable farm but has since been metamorphosed into a full scale poultry farm. The management of the farm has also taken a dive into other aspects of animal husbandry which include; fish farming, cow farming, pig and snail farming business. The farms, which sits on about 60 acres of land, is the major supplier of poultry eggs to the wholesalers and Retailers of eggs in Akanran town and its environs. Besides the poultry business, Ilaji Farms also has a standard feed mill; the feed mill has been a reliable market for the maize farmers in the council.
One of the pens in the farm
Eggs being bought by the wholesalers
According to Major Femi Sanusi (Rtd), the Managing Director of Ilaji Farms, the mill has been a source of blessings to maize farmers in the council as it consumes millions of naira worth of maize consistently on monthly basis for its feed production.
Since six years ago when Ilaji Farms was established, hundreds of millions of naira have been paid to its workers who are mostly residents of the council. According to Major Sanusi, not less that 50 people have been on the farms’ payroll. While some of the workers transport themselves to the farms on daily basis, the majority of the employees are given accommodation right inside the farm.
Major Femi Sanusi (Rtd), the Managing Director of Ilaji Farms
The feed mill
While Ilaji Farms, through its products and activities, nurtures and creates avenues for commercial activities for the populace in the council, its sister company, Ilaji Stadium and Resort Center, a multi-billion naira sporting and hospitality outfit, takes care of the entertainment, recreation and hospitality aspects. Though the Resort Center is yet to reach the hundred percent completion, it has singlehandedly sponsored and hosted sporting competitions gulping tens of millions of naira.
Since March of this year when the first competition, Ona-Ara Sports Festival, was staged inside stadium, the owner, Engr. Dotun Sanusi, has bankrolled two other major football competitions. While the last one, Ilaji U-15 Football Competition was organised for the boys plying their skills for some selected football clubs across the state, the first football tournament hosted by Ilaji Stadium was an inter-state competition for girls that fall within the U-17 category. It was a festival of sort during the two-week competition as over four hundreds cadet female footballers and their officials drawn across the major ethnic groups in Nigeria were camped inside the Akanran based Resorts Center.
Area view of the swimming pool section.
The main bowl of the stadium.
They gym section.
It was a mini-sports festival recreated right inside the ancient city of Akanran as the participants did not only compete for football medals, but also got rewarded for other talents displayed besides football.
Just as the Owner of Ilaji Group, Engr. Dotun Sanusi, has spread the tentacle of his Nigerian youths’ reformation activities beyond the shores of Oyo State, he has also ensured that the youths in Ona-Ara LG, the base of his companies, are not left out. It was this undying love for the youths around him to fulfil their God-given potentials and ultimately live a fulfilled life that spurred him to establish Ilaji Soccer Academy.
The academy which has three different categories, U-13, U-15 and U-17 has all the facilities (training equipment, highly skilled coaching crew, state-of-the-art gym, swimming pool, recreation facilities etcetera) that any soccer academy in any part of the world can boast of. To make sure that the academy is populated with home grown talents, the first set of players in the academy were drawn from Ona-Ara Sports Festival, an all sports competition for all the secondary schools in Ona-Ara LG.
Owner of Ilaji Group, Engr. Dotun Sanusi
According to Supervising Engineer of Ilaji Stadium and Resort Center, Engr. Hawai, construction works have been ongoing daily since two years ago when works begun on the site.
“Since two years ago that we have started work on this site, there has not been a single day that we didn’t work, be it weekends, public holidays, Salah break, Easter or Christmas breaks.
My workers have been working here daily.
“Why? this is a multi-billion naira project that requires maximum concentrations from all the workers in different departments for it to be completed at the stipulated time”, he concluded.
Mr. Hawai while responding to the economic impact the resort Center has had on the people of the council, his answer goes thus, “Since two years ago that construction works have started here, we have never had less than 30 persons working in different departments simultaneously. There were some times when we had well over 150 working here. I can say it categorically that hundreds of millions of naira have exchanged hands between the owner of this outfit and our workers who are mostly from Akanran and its environs”, he added.
As at the time of writing this report, not less than 15 people who are saddled with the responsibilities of overseeing different departments in Ilaji Stadium and Resort Center have been on the pay-roll of the owner despite the fact that the company has not commenced full scale operation.
The economic and social buzz which Ilaji Group has engineered since they were established have not gone un -noticed by the first citizen of the local government, Hon. Buliaminu Ogundele. The LG Chairman talked about this vital contributions which Ilaji companies have made to the socio-economic development of Ona-Ara Lg in a public gathering organised to Flag-off the resuscitation of electrification project in Amuloko-Akanran and its environs which coincidentally was sponsored by Engr. Dotun Sanusi.
Ona-Ara council chief, Mr Buliaminu Ogundele.
Hon. Ogundele declared that Ilaji Group has been a blessing to the LG. According to him, his visit to Ilaji Farms shortly after he was appointed as the care-taker Chairman of the council two years ago when he solicited for the assistance of Engr Dotun Sanusi in the area of road’s rehabilitation has opened a floodgate of developmental projects which were solely sponsored by the companies.
The claim that youths’ nerves have been calmed through employment of the indigenes of Ona-Ara LG as workers in the two Ilaji companies was also corroborated by the Divisional Police Officer in Akanran, S. P. Amos Olaoye. The police sheriff in the town noted that normalcy has now pervaded the atmosphere in Akanran town and its environs as the youths who were hitherto unemployed have been occupied with one function or the other. He, however, maintained that Akanran Police division will be more vigilant now with a view to safeguarding the multi-billion naira outfits.
Divisional Police Officer, Akanran, S. P. Amos Olaoye.
No doubt that the recent economic and social buzz in Ona-Ara Lg have thrown up a pertinent question; why would someone leave the city, despite the inherent business opportunities, but instead go to the ‘bush’ of Ona-Ara to set up a multi-billion naira hospitality and sporting outfit? In the words of Engr. Dotun Sanusi, “it is the work of the God of wonder who has chosen the place of wonder to perform His wonder just as the name of the LG implies (Ona-Ara).
By Hazeez Ayansola
(Contributing Editor, Mega Icon Magazine)
The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish state police services across the country, a major milestone in ongoing efforts to decentralise policing and tackle Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
The proposed legislation introduces a dual policing framework comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, effectively replacing the existing structure under which policing is exclusively controlled by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Police Force.
The bill was passed after Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, presented its general principles on the floor of the Red Chamber.
It subsequently scaled second reading, underwent a rigorous clause-by-clause consideration and was passed for third reading after securing the support of more than two-thirds of the senators.
A key provision of the constitutional amendment empowers governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly.
Clause 17 of the bill provides that a State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor on the recommendation of the National Police Council and confirmed by the House of Assembly of the state.
The proposed law further defines the operational relationship between governors and state police commands, allowing governors to issue lawful written directives of a general policy nature to Commissioners of Police on matters relating to the maintenance of public safety and order within their states.
To address widespread concerns over possible abuse of the proposed policing structure, lawmakers incorporated safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.
The bill expressly states that a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any individual, political party or group merely for criticising the government, except in accordance with the law.
The provision is intended to prevent state police formations from being used to intimidate political opponents, activists, journalists and other dissenting voices while ensuring that all actions taken conform with due process.
The amendment also empowers the Federal Police Service to temporarily intervene in the internal security affairs of a state where there is an actual or imminent breakdown of public order or public safety which the state police are unable or unwilling to contain.
Such intervention must be authorised in writing by the President, who is required to state the grounds, territorial scope, functions and duration of the operation.
The President must also notify the governor, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, the National Police Council and the National Assembly within 48 hours of the commencement of the intervention.
The bill further provides that no federal intervention shall continue beyond a period to be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly unless approved by a resolution of the Senate.
The Senate’s approval came barely a day after President Bola Tinubu transmitted the bill to the National Assembly as part of his administration’s efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture.
According to the President, the proposed amendment is designed to provide a legal framework for a dual policing structure that would allow states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the federal police.
Tinubu said the proposal is a critical component of ongoing efforts to reorganise the country’s policing system, enhance security and better protect citizens, adding that communities, municipalities and local government areas would play more active roles in policing responsibilities under the new arrangement.
The renewed push for state police comes amid growing concerns over insecurity, banditry and mass kidnappings across parts of the country.
Supporters of the proposal argue that decentralised policing would strengthen grassroots intelligence gathering, deepen community-based security initiatives and ensure quicker responses to crimes and emergencies.
Critics, however, have cautioned against possible political interference by governors, funding challenges and the risk of exacerbating ethnic or communal tensions.
Tinubu had earlier described state police as inevitable in addressing the nation’s security challenges and urged lawmakers to fast-track constitutional amendments aimed at bringing the proposal to fruition.
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police as part of efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture.
The proposed legislation, contained in a communication dated June 15, 2026, was read during plenary on Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Tinubu said the bill was aimed at providing a legal framework for a dual policing structure that would allow states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
According to the President, the proposed amendment forms a key component of ongoing efforts to restructure the country’s policing system to improve security and enhance the protection of lives and property.
He explained that under the arrangement, communities, municipalities and local government areas would play more active roles in policing, enabling local authorities to detect suspicious activities and promptly relay intelligence to security agencies.
Following the presentation, Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review and directed it to report back on Wednesday.
Speaking on the importance of community-based policing, the Senate President said local authorities were better placed to identify security threats and support proactive responses by law enforcement agencies.
“You will know when foreigners infiltrate Nigeria and alert security agencies so they can react proactively rather than reactively,” he said.
Akpabio expressed optimism that sustained collaboration between the executive and legislative arms would ensure the successful passage and implementation of the initiative.
He disclosed that the process would be undertaken in phases through constitutional amendments and subsequent Acts of Parliament.
“We will do it in two phases through alteration and an Act of Parliament. There will be a lot of safeguards; let us come and do this important task. It is extremely important that we come tomorrow,” he said.
The Senate President also informed lawmakers that plenary would not entertain other major business following the death of a member of the House of Representatives, Yahaya Tongo of Gombe State.
Similarly, the Senate Leader urged senators to attend the next sitting, stressing the significance of the proposed state police framework.
“We need a minimum of two-thirds of members to vote on constitutional alterations. The issue of state police is non-partisan and cuts across geopolitical zones and interests,” he said.
The latest development came barely two weeks after the Senate passed an executive bill on state police for second reading.
Akpabio said the fresh Constitution Alteration Bill transmitted by the President builds on the earlier proposal and seeks to provide the constitutional foundation necessary for the establishment and operation of state police services across the country.
The family of the late veteran actor and scholar, Chief (Prof.) Adekola “Kola” Oyewo, has expressed deep appreciation to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, among other Nigerians, for their messages of condolence and support following the death of their patriarch.
In a statement issued on Saturday by Dr. Adewale Oyewo on behalf of the family, the bereaved household said the overwhelming show of sympathy, prayers, visits and acts of kindness from across Nigeria and beyond had served as a strong pillar of comfort in their period of grief.
The family described the late Oyewo as a respected community leader, accomplished academic, devoted family man, and traditional title holder whose life was defined by service, integrity, and unwavering commitment to societal development.
According to the statement, the tributes received in his honour reflect the far-reaching impact he made on students, colleagues, cultural practitioners and the wider society.
The family particularly appreciated Governor Ademola Adeleke for his condolence message and prayers, noting that his support had been deeply comforting.
It also expressed gratitude to the Ooni of Ife, whose words of encouragement were described as uplifting and consoling during the mourning period.
The statement further acknowledged the Oloba of Oba-Ile, Oba (Prof.) Adekunle Ashamu Oyeyemi (Tewogbade I), the Oloba-in-Council, and other traditional institutions for their fatherly support and solidarity.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was also commended for his message of sympathy, which the family said brought reassurance in their moment of loss.
The family extended appreciation to professional bodies including the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) and the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), as well as academic communities of Obafemi Awolowo University, Redeemer’s University, Ekiti State University, and Elizade University, where the deceased served.
They also thanked friends, associates and well-wishers who stood by them with prayers and support.
“As we continue preparations to honour the life and legacy of our beloved patriarch, we humbly seek continued prayers and support,” the statement added, praying for the peaceful repose of his soul.
-
News5 days agoKola Oyewo’s family to Adeleke, Ooni, Atiku: Your condolences are our pillar of strength
-
Opinion1 week ago
The Silent Thief in Nigeria’s Petrol Stations | By Solomon Oroge
-
Politics7 days ago
Oyo APC rejects Makinde’s planned December LG poll, vows boycott
-
News6 days ago
Govs Back State Police, Power Reform, Nutrition Drive, World Bank Partnership
