YEYE Oodua, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo (CON) has enjoined leaders of thoughts in Ogun State to always put the welfare of students, who are indigenes of Ogun State, first in whatever they do.

The matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty made this assertion on Friday afternoon when students of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Lagos State, who are indigenes of Ogun State, paid her a courtesy visit during their tour of the state.

Chief (Mrs) Awolowo, who was a recipient of an award of a Honorary Fellow of the institution in 2001, expressed her gratitude for the visit.

The tens of students, who were accompanied by a representative of the Ogun State Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Mr Oluwatosin Adekunle, complained to the nonagenarian that their visits to five first-class monarchs and caretaker chairmen of the state local governments were frustrated with excuses from their secretaries that they were not avalaible.

While expressing their displeasure with the development, the students’ National President, Mr Akinsanyan Adewole Oriyomi, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said their visit to the Awolowo home was to acquaint Chief (Mrs) Awolowo with the challenges students of Ogun State were facing at Yaba College of Technology and to help them encourage influential sons and daughters of the state not to always see students as their enemies.

“We have been in Ogun State since yesterday (Thursday) and our monarchs and influencial people of the state ill-treat students when they see them. They treat us as enemies. I don’t know why. Yet they complain that we indigenes do not come home. We sent letters to caretaker chairmen and five Obas and their secretaries won’t pick our calls.

“We are not beggars. We only wanted to visit them in order to receive encouragement from them academically, financially, mentally, morally, materially and otherwise,” Mr Oriyomi said.

However while responding to the allegations, Chief (Mrs) Awolowo, who apologised and regretted the plights of the students, told them to always follow up every request they make until it materialises, promising to forward their dissatisfaction to the relevant authorities.

“Sorry for all the troubles you’ve been through. As per your complaints, they will be forwarded to the government and relevant authorities. After sending a letter that you’ll be coming on a visit, you did not follow it up. This is a mistake. Next time, I think you should come back and ask whether I’ve been given the notice or not.

Everywhere you want to visit, always go back there to comfirm if your request has been acknowledged or not. That may be the reason you could not see your hosts when you called at their places,” she advised the students.

Highlights of the visit saw the students singing: Ani Mama kan, Mama ara to mo’yi omo... and Mummy o o o, wape laye... to the delight of the nonagenarian, before they were later conducted round the tourist sites at the premises of the Awolowo home after which they were entertained.

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