First F.M radio station, amusement park berth in yewaland

Damilare Adeleye (Intern)

The first radio station known as Yewa Frontier F.M alongside amusement park have been established in Ilaro town which is part of efforts to redefine leisure, media, and tourism experiences within Yewaland and its environs of Ogun State.

Penpushing reports that the twin projects strategically located along the Ilaro–Abeokuta Road were developed to serve as platforms for information dissemination, entertainment, youth engagement, and community cohesion.

The radio station and the modern recreational facility—designed for children, youths, and the young at heart—form part of the broader Yewa Frontier hospitality and leisure ecosystem.

Penpushing further reports that the historic commissioning ceremony attracted a large turnout of royal fathers, senior government functionaries, prominent indigenes, community leaders, as well as sons and daughters of Yewaland, all united in celebration of the milestone achievement.

The Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle who led dignitaries on Saturday for the commissioning in his remarks, poured encomiums on the founder of the projects, describing him as a visionary and a beacon of transformation in Yewaland.

“I want to appreciate the almighty God who has made this possible for all of us to be here today. I thank God again in the life of our brother, Engr. Afisu Olabimtan, for being an actor and pillar of transformation in Yewaland. May you live long. I want to say that you have made all of us proud in Yewaland’, he stated

Penpushing also reports that the monarch emphasized the significance of the projects in reducing rural-urban migration and boosting local pride, noting that the development has now placed Yewaland on a competitive pedestal.

“All our youths at this point, there is no need to travel to Abeokuta or Lagos. Just like it was said earlier, this place is like a small London. What we have here is not in Egba’, Olugbenle added

Penpushing reports that the first-class traditional called on Ibese leaders and other stakeholders across Yewaland to collaborate more closely in attracting development to the region, stressing that meaningful progress could only be achieved through unity, cooperation, and collective commitment to growth.

The initiator of the projects Engr. Afisu Olabimtan, speaking with journalists at the ceremony explained that his motivation stemmed from affection for his hometown and a lifelong resolve to always give back.

Penpushing further reports that Olabimtan who is the Founder of Afisu Olabimtan Foundation, who also owns Yewa Frontier Hotel, Yewa Frontier Radio, Amusement Park, and Cinema, explained that despite his long sojourn outside the town he has always have it at his mind to give back to his community

“I’ve said it many times, it has been almost 50 years that I left this land in search of good education, better life, but I always keep in the mind that I wanted to give back to my roots and that is what propels me to come in and continue to do what I am doing. That is the motivation,” he stated.

Penpushing also reports that he stressed that there was no political agenda behind the establishment of a radio station in Yewaland, saying that he personally did not have any intention to be a politician in Nigeria.

‘People should understand, I tell people that we are all made to do different things in life. My purpose in life is to be an engineer and to be an innovator. I am not cut out to be a politician and I have no intentions’, Olabimtan explained.

‘I’ve lived almost 50 years in the United States. I’m satisfied with the United States and I am comfortable there. So there’s no intent in anyone who makes the mistake that they’re going to see me involved in politics. It is gravely mistaken’, he said

Penpushing reports that Olabimtan explained that profit-making was never the driving force behind his investments, pointing out that the fulfillment derived from positively impacting lives remained his greatest reward.

“There is no intend for me to take profit, I’ve never profited from anything I’ve done in Nigeria. There is never a need for. There is that endless opportunity. My return is what people appreciate and their feelings and the fulfillment that I get from it,” he said.

Penpushing further reports that he lamented Nigeria’s persistent underdevelopment, identifying poverty and inadequate infrastructure as the nation’s most pressing challenges, while debunking the belief that corruption alone is responsible for the country’s woe.

“Well one of the things that has happened with Nigerians is that there was a myth in the beginning that we are rich and I’ve always told people, you’re one-source country and you’re not rich’.

‘I live with the rich people. I know what rich is, and this is not rich. But for a long time even when I talked to my comrades back in the US, they would say oh the only problem is Nigeria is corruption I said no that’s not your problem, your problem is poverty’.

‘There is not enough source to feed Nigeria. When I left this country, I think Nigeria was a population of 57 million people, now we are 200 plus million people, and the resource is not enough, so they blame people’.

‘It’s not all about corruption, it is the lack of infrastructure. When I left this country, Nigeria, China and India, we were all called third world countries. Look at where we are now. We are going downwards; they are going up. We are here because our planning was poor. People did not have vision and like they say in the Bible that without vision the people perish. That is what happened to Nigeria.”

Penpushing also reports that Olabimtan while acknowledging the ongoing economic reforms under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, urged the government to strategically position Nigerians to compete on the global stage.

“Government cannot be the answer to everything and I’m very applauded by what the current President is doing. If you think about it, it’s a sort of what I call shared stupidity when you have oil, you export it and then you refine it and get it back’.

‘It has happened for too long. But the problem with this is look at the price of oil now. Before I left the US, the price of gasoline was selling for under 2 bucks in some places. That means the dependency of oil is going down’.

‘Everybody is looking for a whole new source. If Nigeria wants to succeed, it is to begin to find. The world is a table, if you don’t have a seat at the table, you won’t be in the comfort of the table. We need to find a way to bring our people to the table.”

Penpushing reports that wife of the senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Mrs. Temitope Adeola, in her remarks described the radio station and amusement park as laudable projects, praising their quality, scope, and maintenance standards.

“This is very laudable. It is a very big project. While I was coming in, I said, this is little London. That the people in Yewa are enjoying because where I am from, which is Abuja, we don’t have all this, and I think this is big and I want to thank you sir for bringing this here and it’s one of its kind’, she stated

Penpushing further reports that on the newly established radio station, she urged residents to deploy the platform responsibly as a tool for positive engagement, cultural promotion, and community development.

“Let people hear our voice, let them hear our culture, let them hear what we believe in. We should change the narrative out there because most of the time they think Yewa is not doing anything, but we are doing a lot as a community’, Adeola stated.

‘So, please let’s use that as a medium to communicate to the world not only Africa, not only Nigeria, but to the world what Yewa can achieve as a community. Once again I thank everybody here for supporting him because if we are not supporting him as a community, we wouldn’t enjoy all this’, she added.

Penpushing also reports that the colourful ceremony, which showcased rich cultural performances, traditional dances, Ewi renditions, and a guided tour of the facilities, climaxed with merriments as guests celebrated with music.

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