Imeko, a border community in Ogun State, has used its 2026 cultural festival to renew calls for improved education, infrastructure and economic development, with the Onimeko of Imekoland, Oba Benjamin Oyeditan Alabi Olanite, urging the Federal Government to establish a Nigeria Customs Service training school in the town.
The monarch made the call on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, during the Imeko Agbinrekoti Festival, held at the Imeko Conference Hall as part of activities marking Imeko Day.
The celebration, themed “Preserving Our Heritage: Fostering Love, Unity and an Empowered Future,” brought together traditional rulers, indigenes, community leaders and other stakeholders to celebrate the town’s heritage and deliberate on its educational, cultural and socio-economic development.
Oba Olanite said Imeko had played a significant role in Nigeria’s frontier administration, stressing that its historical and strategic location made it suitable for a specialised training institution for the Nigeria Customs Service or Nigeria Immigration Service. He said the community was prepared to support the establishment of such a Federal institution by making land and other necessary assistance available.
The monarch also renewed his call for greater attention to education in the border community, recalling concerns raised during an education summit organised by the administration of former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. He said the shortage of teachers and inadequate facilities had previously reached a critical level, with some schools operating with only a few teachers handling several responsibilities and subjects.
Oba Olanite, however, commended the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, for responding to the situation by deploying additional teachers to schools in Imeko. He said the intervention demonstrated the importance of sustained government attention to border communities, but stressed that more remained to be done in education, healthcare, roads, security and other areas of infrastructure.
The monarch further urged the Federal and Ogun State governments to intensify development interventions in Imeko, noting that the challenges confronting border communities had implications beyond their immediate residents. He said greater investment in such areas would strengthen human capital, economic opportunities and security while contributing to the broader development of the country.
Also speaking, Professor Anthony Asiwaju urged governments at all levels to pay greater attention to communities along Nigeria’s international borders, particularly in education, infrastructure, security and economic development. He called on the Border Communities Development Agency to expand its interventions in Imeko, saying residents needed to feel more of the impact of programmes established to develop border settlements.
The former House of Representatives member for Imeko/Yewa North Federal Constituency, Dr Dele Ogunsiji, commended Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola for sponsoring a bill seeking the establishment of a Federal College of Frontier and Border Studies in Imeko. He appealed to the National Assembly and Federal Government to support the initiative, saying education and human-capital development remained critical to addressing the challenges confronting the border community.
The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee for the Agbinrekoti Festival, Otunba Anthony Adewale Ajibode, represented by the committee’s Secretary, Dr Tunde Aninkan, said the annual celebration was designed to preserve Imeko’s cultural heritage while promoting love, unity and community development. The event also featured traditional activities, including the planting of maize to promote the community’s agricultural heritage, and ended with renewed calls for collective action by the government, traditional institutions, indigenes and other stakeholders to advance the educational, cultural and socio-economic development of Imeko.
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