Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday inaugurated a multimillion-naira cinema house in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and has warned miscreants not to turn the entertainment centre into their hideouts.
Branded ‘Aje place’, the arthouse is an off-shoot of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Cinemas located at Oke-Mosan, in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Obasanjo in the company of the top Egba monarchs like; the Olowu of Owu kingdom, Oba Saka Matemilola; and the Agura of Gbagura, Oba Subree Bakre, alongside the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon Adijat Adeleye and other personalities graced the inauguration of the cinema house at Mercy Road in Abeokuta.
Speaking with the newsmen, the Chairperson of the OOPL Youth Development Centre, Dr Bisi Kolapo confirmed that Obasanjo approved the establishment of the “Aje Place” as an offshoot of the OOPL Cinema because the main cinema could no longer accommodate customers trooping into the centre.
She said that the new arthouse would boost the socio-economic activities of the neighbourhood and catch the attention of the government.
Kolapo warned miscreants not to turn the cinema into a hiding place, saying Obasanjo who is the chief promoter does not condone indiscipline.
“We are appealing to this community to please help us. We don’t want trouble here, we don’t want miscreants, we want this place to be very decent and we want to make it a very good environment.
“In addition, we seek to promote peace in this neighbourhood and there is no hiding, everybody knows that the chief promoter is Baba Olusegun Obasanjo himself,” she said.
The Commissioner said the cinema would be a boost to the tourism sector in the state. She commended Obasanjo for his foresight and commitment to youth development across the state and Africa.
“Before, when people come to Ogun State, they go to Olumo Rock, OOPL and other places, but there are limited numbers of places they visit. This place has come to add to the tourism sector of the state. We now have more places to go to and as commissioner for Culture and Tourism, I appreciate the people behind this concept,” she said.
