The Exalted Members of the Osibogun Family
Letter of Intent for the Esteemed Stool of the Awujale of Ijebu Land
I greet you all in the name of our Lord God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
To my beloved elders, kinsmen and kinswomen, chiefs, and every member of the Osibogun family,
With profound gratitude, humility, and deep reverence, I address you my anchors, mirrors, counsel, and strength through life’s seasons. As I reflect on nearly seventy blessed years on Mother Earth, I thank God and you all for the love, guidance, encouragement, and prayers that have carried me thus far. It is from this spirit of thanksgiving, respect, and filial devotion that I write.
I am Otunba Giwa Frederick Ayodeji Adekunle Osibogun, son of the late Otunba Olufunmi Osibogun and Chief Mrs. Olayinka Abiodun Wright Osibogun (Tunwase lineage). Grandson of Josiah and Jacob Osibogun, I am a direct descendant of Oba Jadiara (Fusegbua lineage) and the valiant Ijebu warrior Balogun Onafowokan (Otubu). By blood and blessing, I am connected to the Odedina, Shote, Ogunsina, Banjo, and Subomi Balogun families, and through my mother, to the Tunwase and Bobade houses, a convergence of royal streams that has shaped my identity and vocation.
These roots are not merely genealogical facts, they are responsibilities, a call to service, memory, and continuity. My forebears embodied sacrifice, education, courage, and community virtues I have sought to honor through word and deed.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, my career entered public service and media. My Theatre Arts training at the University of Ibadan and early broadcasting initiatives during NYSC set the tone for a life devoted to communication, cultural advocacy, and entrepreneurship.
In 1986, I founded Creazoni Nigeria Limited, providing broadcast and production equipment nationwide. Later, I helped establish media platforms including Space FM 90.1 and AfroSpace TV, amplifying Ijebu and Yoruba voices. My enterprise has always been intertwined with community purposes, training youth, equipping others, and preserving cultural heritage through media.
When I heeded the call to return home, a call affirmed years ago with our late, revered Oba S.K. Adetona, I committed to walk among our people, learn from elders, and serve where service was needed. Joining my age group, Egbe Bobagbimo, was not a retreat from the world but a deliberate rooting in our soil and identity.
As Giwa of Egbe Bobagbimo (born 1953–1955), we insisted that every installation leave a living legacy. At my 2004 installation, we commissioned projects that continue to benefit our community today:
- Refurbishment and handover of Etitale Police Post, destroyed during the 1994 MKO Abiola unrest, restored and computerized to strengthen local security.
- Launch of a computerization and monitoring initiative enhancing public safety.
- Functional borehole at Gbelegbuwa Street (Gboguja) for residents, supported by Otunba Oredipe.
- Roof repairs for the Muslim school in Etitale and a 5.5KVA generator for the Customary Court at Odosenlu Alaro.
- Donation of street solar lights to improve safety and night-time commerce.
- Establishment of Ule Egbe at Plot H3, Tam Balogun Street, GRA, Igbeba, Ijebu-Ode, serving as a permanent home for our Egbe.
- Operation of a registered cooperative society providing soft loans and financial support for members.
These initiatives were undertaken not for accolades but for our people to relieve suffering, strengthen institutions, and leave Ijebu better than we found it.
I have long supported the Ojude Oba festival, sponsoring live broadcasts and working with our age group to uphold its pageantry and dignity. Egbe Bobagbimo’s three-time success in the parade reflects our pride, discipline, and cultural excellence.
Together with the Council of Otunbas, Council of Chiefs, and Regberegbe Council, I contributed to establishing the Ijebu National Museum of Arts and Artefacts, a birthday legacy for our Kabiyesi, birthed by the generosity of friends and well-wishers. Its inauguration on Kabiyesi’s 80th birthday remains a source of pride, providing a permanent home for our artefacts, histories, and artistic expressions, recognised as a cultural landmark.
Throughout life, I have sought guidance from faith, humility, service, integrity, and unity. I have endeavoured to make decisions prioritising public welfare, promoting education and enterprise, and protecting traditions while allowing principled progress.
It is with these convictions, projects, and memories that I humbly present to you my decision to pursue, with God’s help, the custodianship of our heritage, the Awujale throne, should our family and the divinely guided Fusegbua process deem me worthy. This is not a pursuit of personal glory but a call to duty, to preserve customs, foster cohesion, advance development, and ensure the throne remains a stable and faithful voice for Ijebu people.
I respectfully seek from my family:
- Your prayers and spiritual support for wisdom, humility, patience, and God’s guidance.
- Elders’ counsel and correction to strengthen areas of weakness.
- Unity within our family, resolving disagreements privately under elder guidance.
- Dignified representation in public affairs, maintaining decorum and honor.
- Practical assistance with formalities, outreach, and mobilization where appropriate.
A family council to pray, deliberate, and set a principled approach under elder guidance.
If called to serve as Awujale, I pledge to:
- Lead with humility, integrity, and accessibility.
- Promote education, security, cultural preservation, and economic opportunity.
- Protect the dignity of all ruling houses and foster unity among families.
- Ensure development projects are purposeful, sustainable, and inclusive.
- Preserve sacred customs while advancing initiatives that uplift our people.
- Lead with accountability, prayerfulness, and unwavering commitment.
You have walked with me through joys and pains, cheering and guiding alike. If I have erred, forgive me; if I have honored our name, share in that pride. This step belongs not to me alone, but to the Osibogun family, to elders, and to all who have guided me.
I am conscious of my limitations, but leadership is stewardship, not ownership. I submit to the family’s counsel, the elders’ guidance, and God’s will.
May Olódùmarè bless our family, grant our elders long life and sound judgment, protect Ijebu land, and guide hearts toward what is best for posterity. May our ancestors watch over us, Kabiyesi’s legacy be strengthened, and the Fusegbua be divinely guided.
I thank you, mothers who prayed, fathers who disciplined, siblings, cousins, and in-laws who supported, for your gifts, counsel, labor, and love.
So help me God.
With profound respect, filial love, and unwavering commitment, I remain your son and servant,
Otunba Giwa Ayodeji Adekunle Osibogun
Otunba Oba Loja of Ijebuland
Giwa, Egbe Bobagbimo (1953–1955)
