Ekiti elders celebrate octogenarians, canvass sacrifice, love

The Ekiti Council of Elders have honoured seven of its members in their 80s for attaining that mark. The honoured octogenarians are Bishop Joseph Odu, Chief Jacob Elekolusi, Pa Kunle Olabanji, Chief Olusola Bayode, Elder Michael Falaye, Chief Dapo Alibaloye and Pa Gabriel Omodara. A Swedish philanthropist, welfarist and social crusader, Chief Mrs Aino Ternstedt […]

The Ekiti Council of Elders have honoured seven of its members in their 80s for attaining that mark. The honoured octogenarians are Bishop Joseph Odu, Chief Jacob Elekolusi, Pa Kunle Olabanji, Chief Olusola Bayode, Elder Michael Falaye, Chief Dapo Alibaloye and Pa Gabriel Omodara.

A Swedish philanthropist, welfarist and social crusader, Chief Mrs Aino Ternstedt Oni-Okpaku, was also honoured for the role she was said to have played in the promotion of mat-making at Ogotun-Ekiti, where she regularly buys women’s mats and sell outside Ekiti State and Nigeria. The Chairman of the Council, Professor Joseph Oluwasanmi, bemoaned the “selfish acquisition of worldly materials that has become the norm” and advised the people in the society to avoid the ill.

Harping on the importance of a life of sacrifice, love for neighbours and healthy living, Oluwasanmi said, “Life without sacrifice and love is an empty one not worth living”.

The Elders Council leader, who spoke on Monday in Ado Ekiti during the group’s yearly programme, ‘Celebrating our Octogenarians 2019’, explained that the event was necessary to remind the living of the labour of the society’s heroes and encourage the people to emulate them, especially “in the aspect of selflessness and contribution to human growth.”

The event’s Chairman, Planning Committee, Dr Bayo Orire, said of the honoured octogenerians, “These people are our bank of knowledge, information and data. Their biographies must be recorded to enrich the coming generations to encourage them and set them up on the path of excellence, honour and virtue. The Ekitism in these people must be passed down to succeeding generations.”