Constitution of the Commissioning Committee of Replicas of Oko Plaque Following the successful unveiling and dedication on Sunday, 9th February 2025 in Yandernit, Israel, of the Oko (Ogori) language Plaque of the Translation of the Gospel of St. Mark 1:9-11 and the global acclamation it has been receiving, we wish to extend the celebration to Ogori and the OgoriMagongo Local Government in the immediate future. It is hoped that it would to comprehensively harness, show-case and ignite a communal celebration of the multi-faceted pillars and advantages (spiritual, historic, socio-cultural and socio-linguistic) of the advent of Christianity into our land in 1913 and as the third community in the old Northern
Nigeria to experience the establishment of Christianity. For a start, it has been noticed with pleasant surprise, that since the event in Israel there is now a heightened use by many people who initiate, send or end their messages with Oko!As part of the event, our family has embarked upon the production of some replicas of the Plaque in Israel for distribution and erection in and around OgoriMagongo Local Government. In order to work towards this celebration and to maximise the broad based contribution within the community, a Commissioning Committee of Replicas of Oko Plaque has been constituted.I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a member of the Committee. The Committee has the following Terms of Reference (ToR) to guide its meetings and deliberations:Suggest the format the celebration and commissioning, should take;Engender a modus operandi to involve all our communities and list the involvement of the various groups and organisations within the committee;Suggest the number of the replicas to be made and their distribution and locations for erection;Provide advice on and draft the programme; including how to recognise high-level Christian leaders who emanated from Ogori. These include the late Rt Rev Joseph Ajomo, the 3rd Catholic Diocesan Bishop of Lokoja; The late Rev Prof Cornelius Olowola, the President of ECWA in Nigeria; Primate Theophilus Olobayo, the Founder of the Evangelical Church of Yahwey; the late Prophetess Grace Aimila, the Primate & Founder of Christ the Messiah Church Worldwide.Suggest how to recognise the first set of Christians (11 of them) who, in 1913, brought the CMS brand of Christianity to Ogori (namely Anuwesi Egbadi later known as Moses Eleko, Moses Adepoju, Daniel Akerele, Adeoye Akinbitan, Isaiah Alabi, Daniel Jegede, Josiah Daramola, Samuel Akadi, Paul Bamigboye, Joseph Ogunmola, and Akande Agba); and the recognition of the advent of the Roman Catholic Mission to Ogori (led by Emmanuel Omonoba) through the St. Andrews Catholic Church in 1921.Consult as widely as possible, including but not limited to the Ogori Descendants Union, the OgoriMagongo Local Government Traditional Council, the various Christian denominations, the Muslim and other communities, the Media (both electronic, virtual and print), educational communities, etc.Suggest and Invite selected neighbouring communities, especially those who benefited and related with the advent of Christianity in Ogori, to participate in the celebration;Produce a list of those to be invited to the occasion, including VVIPs, Government officials, Religious and spiritual leaders, friends and well-wishers of the community;Identify the venue and suggest the convenient and appropriate date for the event;Determine the necessity, the kind, format and size of an after-commissioning reception; Produce a draft budget as well as how to raise the fund; andAny other matters the Committee may deem fit to include and discuss.The membership of the Committee are as follows:Rt Rev Praises Omole-Ekun (Chair)Rev Fr Philip OtoriBrig-Gen Philip Atere (retired) (V. Chair I)Mrs Petra Onyegbule (VP ODU) V. Chair II)Venerable Makanfan Adegbola;Arc Matthew OnobaMr Samuel JegedePastor Philip MosimabaleMr Michael AlaoMrs Florence AshemadahunMr LSF AwolumateMr Femi Apata, (Director NOUN CC Ogori)Mrs Eunice OjoMrs Eunice OliverMr Felix UdebuMrs Dupe Williams (nee Abisoye)The Committee has a maximum of Three (3) weeks to complete its assignment with a suggestion to, as much as possible and convenient, make adequate and full use of virtual technologies for its meetings. The Committee is at liberty to co-opt other members and groups which could be useful in the planning and implementation of this massive undertaking.While thanking you for accepting to be a member of this Committee and await your quality report as speedily as can be made ready, please accept the assurances of our highest regard and gratitude.
Olugbemiro Jegede The Ogurefa of OgoriFor the Jegede Family & Clan