Afurugbin Ola : Ooni to install IITA’s boss, Nteranya Saginga Saturday

The installation of the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga as Afurugbin Ola of Ife (Lead Sower of Wealth and Prosperity of the Source)  by the Arole Oduduwa & Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II has been fixed for Saturday, 11th December 2021.

Contained in a statement  issued on Wednesday by his Director of Media & Public Affairs, Moses Olafare, Ooni Ogunwusi who doubles as Co-chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN) found Dr Sanginga worthy of the prestigious chieftaincy title in recognition of his unquantifiable contributions to food security and Agro-economic development in Africa.

According to the African foremost monarch,  Dr. Nteranya Saginga, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who had spent a large part of his career in Nigeria, is the first African to lead IITA in its 50 years of establishment.

“In furtherance of his Africa Must Unite Mission, the Ooni of Ife and Natural Head of the Oduduwa race worldwide, Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II after wide consultations will on  Saturday 11th December 2021 honour the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, a globally respected African citizen from Democratic Republic of Congo with a prestigious chieftaincy title as the Afurugbin Ola of Ife (Lead Sower of Wealth and Prosperity of the Source).

“Since his assumption as the IITA’s Director General in 2011, he has served creditably with exceptional commitment to initiatives which has placed the African continent on the global stage especially in the agricultural arena.

“Over the past 50 years, IITA Ibadan through its various programs, provided farmers in the continent with innovations that promoted food and nutritional security and safety, increased food production, raised yield of major food crops, reduced poverty levels, decreased postharvest losses, promoted mechanization of agriculture, and generated job and wealth creation for young people and women in the agricultural sector, among others”, the statement said.

The international Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa.