By Gbolahan Balogun
Even by mere facts of its nomenclature, Offa and her governance has experienced good and bad times in its thrustful evolution over the years. It has been an undulating history. From Offa District Council to Offa Town Council, Oyun LG and to the present day Offa LGC.
In all, thanks to ODU, the apex pan-Offa socio-cultural group who sowed the seed of a flourishing communal entreprise almost 85 years ago. Their efforts paid off in several ways-In education, health, municipal facilities; They even fought the feudal oligarchy that had tended to keep the community in permanent shackle. Arguably, if today’s Offa is a flourishing modern metropolis and centre of commerce, it owes so much to these people whose vision, expectations and aspirations were totally for the love of Offa.
Of course there were indications of their worries and concerns, at that time, about the future of Offa. What did they do? They created a blueprint for development.
Their adoring son and fledgling politician Josiah Sunday Olawoyin, was already exhibiting those distinguishing traits that would mark him out in the future. He was just over 20 years of age when he was appointed the Administrative Secretary of ODU in 1953.
He was given the mandate to do everything that would place the community on their desired pedestal. He did not disappoint them and the community, including the surrounding towns.
When he thus became the fearless leader of the opposition in Northern House of Assembly, Offa saw in J.S, everything that Offa stood for.
Here is the Spartan in his element. The occasion was the presentation of the Offa Town Council Instrument by the Premier of the Northern Region, Hon. Alhaji Ahmadu, C.B.E the Sardauna of Sokoto on 12th April 1956.
Our Honourable Premier
On behalf of myself, His highness, the Olofa of Offa, the Ward Heads and the entire members of the Offa Town Council I have the honour to reply to your pleasantly moving speech and to welcome you and your worthy colleagues wholeheartedly to this historic town of Offa. It is also with pleasure that I welcome your Permanent Secretary and the Emir of Ilorin, we are indeed pleased to receive them.
You certainly deserve the praise of he entire community of Offa for making promises and fulfilling them like a statesman. When you visited us in October, 1954, you promised to bring the instrument establishing the Offa Town Council personally whenever the elections were held. You have now brought the instrument. You also promised that our trunk ‘B’ road would soon be tarred; the news is now being widely spread that the tarring is to commence soon and about pipe borne water, we now have a water engineer in town doing the preliminaries. You are really magnificent. May the Allah be with you, guide you and prolong your life. Permit me to inform you that we have gentlemen on this Council who could be expected to represent any town anywhere in Nigeria. We have teachers, prosperous traders, tradesmen and farmers; all of them tested and proved patriots who will put the welfare of this community, the prestige and the enhancement of the status of our chiefs above all other things. With them, honesty is not lacking.
I have the confidence of my colleagues and the traditional members in making this promise we will all try our best to work together smoothly and happily with the officials. We shall also respect the knowledge of the officials but the officials too will be expected to behave to the Councilors with the respect due to the representatives of those who elected them.
It is not my primary objective to make a long speech knowing fully well how much in a hurry you are, but as this is a rare opportunity of meeting in person our loving Premier, I beg to bring some important points to your notice in the belief that you will give them your anxious thought and kind consideration.
According to the Northern Region Gazette no. 54 of 1st December, 1955 on page 447, the two villages of Ijagbo (adjacent to Offa and Igosun about three miles from Offa are unattached.
It may not be necessary to go into the history and course of the agitation or demand of these two villages for reintegration with Offa. All the communications or records on this issue, sent to you by the Offa Descendants’ Union, Ijagbo community, league and the Egbe Atunluse Igosun are in your possession. The agitation was shelved when as a result of popular and persistent demand, the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government, Northern Region sent to the Resident of Ilorin, a letter emphasizing that the exact wishes of the villages could only be properly ascertained by the government after the result of their elections were known. A copy of the letter was handed over to the Offa Descendants’ Union delegates who interviewed him on the subject
The local elections referred to in the said letter have been held at Offa, ljagbo, and Igosun and all our candidates in ljagbo and lgosun were returned unopposed. And it is significant to note and proclaim that the question of regrouping with Offa was made an election issue.
In continuity of the popular and determined agitation for merger with Offa by almost all the villages which were until recently being administered as part of Offa district, another village, Ira, has adopted unanimously a resolution humbly requesting the Ilorin Native Authority to merge and administer her as a part of Offa district.
A copy of their resolution was forwarded to our council and we understand similar copy was sent to your office, The elected members of Ira with the active support of their traditional chiefs have refused to submit names for the Odo Ogun village Group Council up till now in spite of the persuasion by the Ilorin Native Authority.
They prefer Offa. No step could be more constitutional.
There are two other issues we would very much like to raise. It is the awareness on our part of the collective responsibility of cabinet system of government and the periodicity to the towns of the Ministers to Offa that make them appropriate to be mentioned in this occasion.
We require a handsome sum of money or grant from the regional government to develop many other things that do not seem to fall directly under your portfolio; money to build the town market, a motor park, a town hall, grant to the Offa Community Girls’ School and money to improve and extend Igosun road to Ita-Erin market in Offa. We know that we have got to provide part of the money ourselves but we need the generous help of the government.
2. The supply of electricity to a go-ahead town like Offa is over due. The General Hospital and the Offa Grammar School have been much handicapped in their scope and expansion for lack of electricity. The townspeople too are quite prepared to pay for it for their domestic use Industrial and commercial houses would also quickly be established at Offa when electric light is installed. And as the Railway is now providing its staff with electric light in Offa, the townspeople will naturally intensify their agitation for this modern amenity.
There is one other important road that warrants your urgent attention, Offa-Irra road. The road serves many food producing villages like llemona, Iyeku, and Inaja which are now trying to grow export crops. The road will serve a useful purpose if repaired and extended to Ogbomosho.
We very much loath worrying our Premier but we will be too grateful if you could be so kindly disposed to answer the following. When exactly will the tarring of Offa-Ilorin road commence? What time will actual work start on the urban water scheme for Offa? How much will each of the two projects cost the regional government?
Once again, I say welcome, may the blessings of this Ramadan month be bestowed upon us all.
********
…….
Mr. Chairman,
It gives me much pleasure today to be invited to present to the Offa Town Council the Instrument establishing the Town Council under the provision of the Native Authority Law.
For a long time I have watched the development of Local Government practice in Ilorin Province and I have noted that the people of Offa show a very keen and praiseworthy interest in Local Government. The example se by the people of Offa in this respect will, I hope, be followed by other people all over the Region.
Local Authorities such as the Offa Town Council representative of the people of Offa town are an essential part of the process of democratic Government. One principle of democratic Government is that power should not be too narrowly concentrated at the centre; and Local Authorities, spread throughout the country, are a most important means of safeguarding this.
Local Government is not a privilege conferred by a General Government. It is the common right of the people. Any Local community willing to accept the obligations and responsibilities of Local Government, and capable of performing them, has a right to conduct its own local government affairs. In presenting this Instrument to the Offa Town Council therefore, I congratulate you Mr. Chairman, the Members of the Town Council and the people of Offa that they have been recognized as being capable of conducting their own local government affairs.
In this Instrument, some very important functions have been delegated to the Offa Town Council. I understand that in order that the Town Council may carry out these functions, the llorin Native Authority has agreed to hand over to the Town Council black grants of monies equivalent to the Native Authority’s normal expenditure on roads, maintenance of buildings, health services and other services in the Town. Offa Town Council will be responsible for administering this money and, in addition, the Town Council has the power to raise rates, to provide for the public services which are now its responsibility. This is a great advance in Local Government in this area and again I congratulate you Mr. Chairman, the members of the Council and the people of Offa town on being recognized as persons to whom those responsibilities can be entrusted.
There is one aspect of Local Government on which I should like to lay some emphasis today. Local government whether in the shape of Town Councils, District Councils, Village Group Councils or Area Councils is not an essential part of the constitutional strcture of the Northern Region Every local Governent Council in the region can be a training ground for those who wish to enter the Legislature.
This training is of the utmost importance to the Region. Local Government provides the largest school in the Region for all who are genuinely concerned in widening their skill and experience in the management of public affairs so as to make themselves fit to exercise power in the government of the Region, or to play an important part in the administration of the Region. I have no doubt that there are present here today, one or two persons who in the future will play an important part in the development and Government of the Northern Region. I hope you will bear this in mind. This is the training school in which you will learn to conduct Local govenment affairs of Offa Town Council. But Offa Town is a part of the Ilorin Native Authority Area and of the Northern Region. So I hope that when important decisions come before the Offa Town Council, members of the Towvn Council will remember that the eyes of the whole Region are on them and other Town Councils in the Region will be very interested to see what decisions are made by the Offa Town Council.
Mr Chairman, I should like here to draw your attention to one vital point. I hope that your Council will always bear in mind the great trust placed in them by the people. They should act not as party men when considering the welfare of the people. They should treat all without partiality. Following this advice I am sure you can receive reward from God. I pray that this Town Council will conduct its affairs successfully and bring much happiness and welfare to the people of Offa Town. I pray also for God’s guidance in your deliberations.
Mr. Chairman, I should like to present you with this folder which is your charter: The Offa Town Council Instrument, 1956.
(Signed) A. Ahmadu Sardauna
SPEECH BY THE PREMIER OF THE NORTHERN
REGION HON. ALHAJI AHMADU, C.B.E.
SARDAUNA OF SOKOTO TO THE OFFA TOWN COUNCL ON PRESENTATION OF THE OFFA T0WN COUNCIL INSTRUMENT 1956
12TH APR. 1956
