Ondo govt replies Catholic Church on Owo Memorial Park demolition

•The demolished Memorial Park

Ondo State government has replied Ondo Catholic Diocese on its concern on the demoli­tion of the Memorial Park con­structed in honour of victims of Owo massacre, saying it’s meant to restore cultural dig­nity of Owo kingdom.

In a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, yesterday, it was explained that “the demolition of the Memorial Park in Owo was a necessary step taken to restore the dignity of Owo’s culture and the original purpose of the site. This was done after due consultations with the people of Owo, as represented by the Olowo-in-Council.

“The land used for the Memorial Park originally be­longed to AgroMore Limited (of No. 1, Oke Ogun Street, Owo), a company owned by Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye before he became the Olowo of Owo. In 2010, the Olusegun Mimiko adminis­tration acquired the land from the company for public use to make way for road dualisation. In January 2021, the Akeredolu administration re-allocated the land to its original owner, Agro­More Limited.

“However, at the time of constructing the cenotaph, there was no record of offi­cial revocation of the land from AgroMore. The state government later realised the procedural errors made in taking possession of the land for the construction of the cenotaph.

“Aside from the official complaints from the Palace of the Olowo, there have also been protests by various seg­ments of the people of Owo against the location of the Memorial Park, as it was said to be against the culture of the land to site a cenotaph at the heart of the town and in front of the palace.

“Although no bodies were buried at the site, it was con­structed in the replica image of a cemetery, complete with insig­nia of the dead and inscriptions of the names of all the victims. This, the Olowo-in-Council and the people of Owo frowned upon and protested against as a taboo.

“We understand the emo­tional attachment to the memo­rial, but the decision to demol­ish and relocate it was made with careful consideration of its implications.

“We must find a balance between preserving the mem­ories of the dead and uphold­ing the sanctity of the culture of the community.”

Assuring construction of another Memorial Park in hon­our of the victims of the mas­sacre on the Day of Pentecost, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo, June 5, 2022, the state government said a com­mittee has been inaugurated by Governor Lucky Aiyedati­wa for the relocation and con­struction of a Memorial Park within Owo.

The statement also reads: “There had been ongoing dis­cussions between the Palace of the Olowo and the state gov­ernment on the possibility of relocating the Memorial Park before the unfortunate demise of the former Governor, Ara­kunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu. Some former gov­ernment officials had taken advantage of the then absence of H.E. Akeredolu (due to ill health) to ignore those discus­sions and rush to complete the cenotaph, which was never commissioned till today.

“The engagement between the Olowo-in-Council and the government continued after Governor Aiyedatiwa assumed office. The governor then di­rected officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Lands and Housing, and the Owo Local Government to re­visit the issue with a view to relocating the Memorial Park.”