Date: 2018-04-03

About 14 communities in Offa and Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State have agreed to live in peace.

The communities, under the Ibolo Kingdom of old Oyo Empire, include Offa, Erin-Ile, Ijagbo, Ipee, Ira, Igboidun, Aohgbada, Igosun and Ilemona.

Others are Ojoku, Igbana, Igbotele and Ikotun-Ile.

These communities have been fighting over land.

At their maiden peace parley in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun council, the communities pledged to keep to the agreement reached.

The Olofa of Offa, Oba Mohammed Mufutau Gbadamosi, said the meeting was a milestone to develop Ibolo kingdom.

The monarch, who was represented by Funsho Oladipo, said: "We know that with the gathering of great minds, great things come out. We have come to let you know that we love peace.

"With all humility and strength of mind, we tender our unreserved apologies for all our real and imagined wrongs. I must say that we have lost a great deal of human and material resources and to pursue peace, we have to let old and new wounds heal.

"By this, we of Offa will pursue peace with all our hearts. Offa is willing and ready to do it. Therefore, we are advocating a borderless Ibolo land; we believe that our joint economies will blossom with that."

The Onipe of Ipee, Oba Muftau Adebayo Lawal, who was represented by Sunday Ogunwuyi, said: "We are gathered here today because we want peace in Ibolo land. We can only have peaceful co-existence through open-mindedness and complete forgiveness".

"This is a forum that I believe God has ordained for Ibolo land, and we should use this avenue to tell ourselves some bitter truth with open mind and genuine love for one another."

The keynote speaker and ex-Afenifere Secretary-General, Ayo Opadokun, attributed the disunity in Ibolo land to its contact with imperialist powers.

He said: "The disharmony in Ibolo Kingdom over the years was caused by fifth columnists, who want to feed from where they did not sow. There has been no time when Offa was the aggressor; we are contented with what God has given to us.

"Our concern is that our progress should not be a thing that will be condemned by those with whom we have been destined to live together. None of us can decide to relocate; we are here already and God has destined that we live together.

"As Offa is the largest community in this area, any progress that happens to Offa will certainly percolate and extend to the surrounding communities. Therefore, there is no need for us to create dissention."