Aregbesola, Amosun, Soyinka Visit 450,000-Year-Old Village Believed To Be Origin Of Mankind

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, his counterpart from the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, in company of Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday visited Igbale Aiye, a village believed to be the origin of mankind.

Igbale Aiye community, said to be 450,000 years old, is in Apotoku, Ketu (Commune de Kétou), Republic of Benin.

Kétou (Ketu) is said to have been founded by Ede, son of Sopasan and grandson of Oduduwa, who ruled the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife in present-day Nigeria.

Speaking during the Convention of ‘The City-Headquarters of Humanism’ (Igbale Aiye), organised by Africa-Cultures International Institute and the Government of Republic of Benin, the state governors and Nobel Laureate, according to a statement by Funmi Wakama, media aide of Governor Amosun, commended the vision of Olofindji Akande, the promoter of Igbale Aiye project.

They called for concerted efforts to promote African culture and values.

Amosun promised to support the project in line with his administration’s vision to promote the African culture. He said Ogun had been associated with many firsts and “this project is first of its kind.”

Aregbesola said further research should be carried out on the link between the Egyptian Pyramids and Igbale Aiye.

For his part, Soyinka said the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding had adopted the Igba Aiye initiative because of its historical significance.

The visitors were conducted round the relics of the 450,000-year-old underground village said to host the first inhabitants of our planet world “where the builders of the pyramids of Egypt came from.”

The two governors and culture icon later planted banana trees to commemorate the 2013 Convention. [Vanguard]