Olori Aderonke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, one of the wives of the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has said that women must take bold steps and get involved in leadership activities as agents of change.
In an interview with NAN, Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi urged women to emulate the heroic virtues and deeds of the legendary Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) whose festival started on October 19 and is billed to end on October 31 in Ile-Ife, Osun.
Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, who is the founder of African Fashion Week, is the great-granddaughter of the 48th Ooni of Ife, late Oba Ajagun Ademiluyi. She married the Ooni on October 20.
She said that the festival was to remember the legendary Queen Moremi, and the sacrifices she made for Ile-Ife and by extension, Yoruba people at large, to protect and free them from their foreign predators some centuries ago.
She urged the womenfolk to follow QMA’s footsteps in their roles as mothers, wives, politicians and nation building.
“I encourage women to aspire to take that bold step which Queen Moremi took in offering everything she had and represented for the love of her people.
“Our aim is to reach whatever height you want to attain, every action starts with a thought, we should think big, dream big and believe in what we can do,” she said.
Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, who is the global ambassador of Queen Moremi Ajasoro, further said: “The cultural influence on Yoruba women is very great. The roles of women can be felt in all aspects of the physical and cultural lives.
“To access Yoruba women thoroughly, we need to view their roles in women in cult, in politics, at war, as mothers, as workers, as healers and as partners in progress.
“One of such legendary women was the famous Queen Moremi Ajasoro of Ile-Ife. She was a woman of valour, a mother in a million, a unique personality.
“She was also a woman of honour, a rare gem, an epitome of motherhood and a strategic warrior, Moremi’s redemptive suffering undertook fort, the liberation of Ile-Ife.
“She is constructed, not as a warrior but as one who showed loving kindness to her people, to the extent that she agreed to suffer and die for their sake.”
Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, who is also the chief executive officer of Adire Oodua Textile Hub, produced Moremi, the musical, Orisa, and is also the author of Unspoken Yoruba Women Kings.
