President, Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi has accepted to be the consultant to the Ogidi History Project, an initiative of the Ogidi Development Union of Ogidi-Ijumu, Kogi State.

National Publicity Secretary of the union, Mr. Oladipo Akande, who made this known in a statement at the weekend said Prof. Akinwumi, would provide academic oversight for the project and would be the special guest of honour at the inauguration of the Ogidi History Project Team in Ogidi on September 20.

Akande added that a prominent community development activist and former lecturer in Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, and Dr. Duro Oniemola would deliver the keynote address at the inauguration.

The Ogidi History Project Team headed by a former General Manager in the West African Cement Company Plc, Chief Abiodun Ehindero comprises 14 prominent members of the Ogidi-Ijumu community charged with conducting research into the oral tradition and documented materials on the history of Ogidi and publish it into a book.

He said the project was also aimed at preserving the community’s cherished identity, give future generations a good grasp of who the Ogidi people truly are and enable others to fully appreciate them and their history.

In accepting the appointment, Akinwumi praised the Ogidi Development Union for its courage in taking the initiative which he said was a major step in the community’s search for accelerated development. He expressed regret that many of today’s youths do not have a proper understanding of the nation’s past because of a deliberate effort by education administrators to de-emphasise the study of history in the nation’s schools.