When Chief Wole Olanipekun was installed as the Asiwaju of Ikere Ekiti shortly after the reigning Ogoga, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado, ascended the throne in 2015, many thought that it was a common gesture of handing out chieftaincy titles to the well wheeled in the society.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has executed legacy projects in his hometown to immortalise himself in the town and also thrown the gauntlet at other Ikere indigenes to come home and do something for their native land.
Olanipekun has always used his position as the President of Ikere Development Forum (IDF) to rally privileged indigenes both home and abroad who have the means to make the development of their hometown a priority.
This is in tandem with the belief of the legal luminary that the town can only be developed by her indigenes as non-natives cannot be saddled with the task.
Ikere, believed to be the second-largest city in Ekiti State after the state capital, Ado Ekiti, can be accessed by four major roads which link it to other major towns in the state and by extension outside the state and it is worthy of note that Olanipekun has, executed projects to the benefit of his kinsmen and non-indigenes alike.
The legal titan built, equipped and handed over an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Centre to the school, which also produced renowned literary icon, Prof. Niyi Osundare, in commemoration of the school’s golden jubilee (50th) anniversary in 2009.
Along Ise Road is the State Specialist Hospital which served Ikere town and adjoining communities. The hospital lacked a modern, 21st Century ward that could attend to emergencies which made residents go to places like Ado Ekiti, Akure, Ile Ife and Ibadan to seek health succour.
But the story changed sometimes in 2014 when Olanipekun built a modern, state-of-the-art Amenity Ward he named after his late mother, Madam Lydia Bosede Olanipekun. Apart from building a brand new ward equipped with modern facilities, Olanipekun also purchased a brand new ambulance to attend to emergencies to complement the new facility he had put in place.
As as a result of his undeniable passion for his beloved profession, law, Olanipekun also extended his milk of kindness to men and women of the Bar in his native Ikere by single-handedly building a Bar Centre for the Ikere Ekiti Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA (NBA) along Igbara Odo Road.
The edifice built within the precincts of the Ikere High Court and which was named after Olanipekun, has given lawyers in the town a sense of belonging and fulfilment and now hosts all Bar activities and also generates revenue into the pursue of the branch as an event centre.
Apart from the Bar Centre which was commissioned in November 2012, Olanipekun also donated a brand new 18-seater bus to NBA, Ikere Branch, to aid mobility of members to official and ceremonial functions within and outside the state.
The fourth major road in Ikere, Ado Road, appears to be the luckiest judging by the number of projects Olanipekun executed in the town with not less than five edifices attracting the attention of residents and passersby alike.
The first was the vicarage constructed in the premises of Olanipekun’s local church, St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Oke’kere area of the town which he named after his late father, Pa Isaac Olanipekun.
The need for the project, believed to be the best vicarage so far in Ekiti, was borne out of Olanipekun’s desire to give the priests, their families and aides the best residential and office accommodation to facilitate their ministry to the local parishioners.
The other two projects of Olanipekun along Ado Road in Ikere are a business plaza in Oke’kere (God’s Grace Plaza) and a residential quarter (God’s Grace Duplex) in Kajola.
Olanipekun’s most recently commissioned project was the brand new, ultramodern St. Peter’s Anglican Church building which was built to accommodate more worshippers and also give them an opportunity to enjoy modern facilities obtainable in any part of the world.
At the laying of the foundation stone performed by the Bishop of Ekiti (who has since become Archbishop of Ondo Province), the Most Rev. Christopher Omotunde in 2018, Olanipekun said it had been his desire to build a worship centre in appreciation of God’s kindness to him.
He also said that there was a need to build a bigger church that would accommodate more worshippers and make them more comfortable saying the project belongs to the church even though he was the sole financier of it.
The town throbbed with excitement and it was at a standstill for several hours on February 28 when the new church building was inaugurated by the immediate past Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh.
The inauguration was attended by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, several governors, eminent traditional rulers, renowned clerics and many other distinguished Nigerians.
The latest project of Olanipekun that is causing excitement in his hometown is a brand new digital radio station, New Cruse 92.7 FM with signals reaching states like Ondo, Osun, Kwara, Kogi, Edo and substantial parts of Oyo, Ogun, Lagos and Delta.
Olanipekun is reputed to be a friend of the press, a culture he had cultivated when he was based in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, where he practised law for 26 years before he moved to Lagos in 2002.
The legal luminary, in his 44 years of practice, knew and still knows many journalists-print and electronic-by names and still has a personal relationship with them and had assisted many of them in appreciation to the publicity he enjoyed and still enjoys from them which has turned him to a brand within and outside the country.
Olanipekun’s residences in Ilorin, Ikere and Lagos, his chambers and the premises of any court in Nigeria served as places of interviews with journalists where topical issues affecting the polity are dissected and his views made known for a possible solution.
Apart from law, journalism was another career choice that attracted Olanipekun before he settled for the former but the establishment of the radio station is believed to have resulted from his love for the media.
The construction of the radio station which is being operated under the corporate name of WOLDAB Communications Limited is located in Kajola area of Ikere and started full transmission on April 14.
It is on record that New Cruse 92.7 FM, Ikere is the first radio station established outside Ado Ekiti, the state capital and has given the town an identity since coming on air.
The station commenced test transmission on March 16 which ran for nearly a month before coming work full blast. During the test transmission, listeners were given the opportunity to call into the studio to attest to the strength of signals in their localities.
After commencing full transmission, New Cruse 92.7 FM has been receiving plaudits from within and outside Ekiti State for quality of reception, content and programming with many residents showering encomiums on Olanipekun for the feat.
The advent of the station has stimulated the economy of Ikere, attracted guests and more traffic to the town and generated employment opportunities for many people.
The station has become a new bride that is attracting more listeners daily with quality programmes, renowned presenters and guests appearing on many of its shows.
It could only have been undying love for one’s land of the nativity that could have motivated the establishment of the radio station when Olanipekun had the opportunity to have set it up in more commercially viable places like Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan or even his former base, Ilorin.
Olanipekun, in a recorded audio message run intermittently on the first day of commercial broadcast, said the radio station was established to give a positive meaning to broadcast and journalism.
Describing himself as “one of the promoters of the station,” Olanipekun said New Cruse 92.7 FM was not established to promote any political ideology but to up the ante in information, education and entertainment of listeners in an objective and impartial manner.
Olanipekun said: “We give thanks and praises to God Almighty for providing the enablement and wherewithal for us to put in place this radio station in spite of all odds. Thus we commit this radio station into His heavenly and everlasting arms on this very day of formal transmission and broadcasting.
“New Cruse FM is an urban and digital radio station with very unique features aimed at broadening and deepening intellectual discourses in diverse areas including education, politics, culture, religion, economy, commerce et al.
“We are poised to design a new broadcasting industry and journalism in Nigeria and set a standard of broadcast excellence for the pleasure and satisfaction of our listeners. Our content is palatable and sumptuous.
“Wherever you are and whatever may be your age, sex, profession, vocation, calling, faith, outlook, you are surely going to enjoy and have a veritable take away from some of our presentations.
“We are breaking new grounds and cultivating fresh ideas, you will never be bored tuning in and listening to us. We have no political interests to espouse, project or protect.
“The hallmark of our presentation in terms of news, debate, discourse and exposition will always be fair and we shall always strive to be balanced to all sides involved in our coverage.
“To attain the lofty goals and objectives, we have secured the services and assurances of seasoned and accomplished and tested professionals who are front liners in the profession of journalism while procuring very modern, digital, latest, sophisticated gadgets and equipment in broadcasting.
“Above all things and considerations, we will always serve as willing partners to the government at every stratum or any other body, institution, association, organ, body or any group at all in lifting up our people at every stage, at every stratum, at every situation in life and the society.
“Join us as we commence formal transmission while we welcome you on board.”
In a chat with our reporter, the station’s General Manager, Mr. Jide Ogunluyi, said the philosophy of the station was to break new grounds in broadcasting using urban and digital platforms to galvanise information dissemination to all nooks and crannies of the country.
Ogunluyi, who boasts of 27-year experience in broadcasting, said New Cruse 92.7 FM has brought fresh ideas in broadcasting to the airwaves in line with modern trends.
He said: “Our content seeks to provide unique but balanced news devoid of political interest or sentiments. The promoter of the station is a thoroughbred lawyer who has no political or sectional interest to protect. “To this end, programmes and news content seek to break the age-long sectional interests of radio stations in the axis. We boast of thoroughbred and refined professionals in broadcasting with vast experience.
“The man in charge of the station flaunts a 27-year experience in broadcasting having obtained certificate courses from the BBC and Voice of America apart from studying Mass Communication from the Polytechnic and a postgraduate degree from the university.” (The Nation)
