On Thursday, October 30, 2025, The Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, sent a powerful message that could reshape the direction of development efforts across Ijesaland.
By calling on Ijesa elites and associations to establish independent development platforms, the monarch is promoting a new era of healthy competition, innovation, and collaboration in community advancement.
Speaking at the official launch of the Ijesa Development Fund (IDF) — an initiative of the Ijesa Community Development Assembly (ICDA) under the leadership of Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, Owa Haastrup maintained that the progress of Ijesaland should not rest solely on one organization. Rather, he said, multiple initiatives should work side by side, each contributing its own ideas and resources to the growth of Ijesaland.
The monarch’s statement, seen by many as both a challenge and an inspiration, could spark a wave of renewed participation among Ijesa sons and daughters at home and abroad.
During the launch, Owa Haastrup donated ₦1 million each to the IDF accounts of the six local government areas of Ijesaland, while Olori Victoria Haastrup contributed ₦500,000 each.
The ICDA complemented these gestures with ₦10 million each to the IDF executives in the six local governments.
The Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland commended Asiwaju Fasuyi and the ICDA for their numerous achievements — including the renovation of the Owa’s Palace, establishment of the Ijesaland Geriatric Hospital, and educational sponsorships for indigent students at the Federal School of Science and Technology and the Leventis Foundation Agricultural School, both in Ilesa.
He charged the IDF executives to manage the funds with transparency and integrity, warning against any misuse that could, in his words, “incur the wrath of the ancestors.”
The Ijesa Development Fund, conceived by Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, aims to finance projects in healthcare, education, infrastructure, and economic empowerment, marking a new chapter in Ijesaland’s development story.
Earlier in his address, Asiwaju Fasuyi disclosed that the Federal Government plans to adopt the IDF model across all 768 local government areas, six area councils, and 8,809 polling units nationwide under its Community Development Project, with Ijesaland serving as the pilot model.
He reaffirmed that the development of Ijesaland is a collective responsibility, calling on all Ijesas, both at home and in the diaspora, to contribute to its transformation.
The launch ceremony drew notable dignitaries, including members of the Iworamefa, the Agba Nla, Agba Ijesa, Yeyesogba, youth leaders, traditional chiefs, and Ijesa indigenes abroad, who all made generous contributions to support the initiative.
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