VIDEO: The Ijesaland Cooperative Society launching
How the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland Turned a Long-Standing Economic Challenge into a ₦128 Million Grassroots Empowerment Initiative
As part of his 10-year stewardship record, the First Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi, conceived the establishment of the Ijesaland Cooperative Society (ICS) as a strategic response to the economic challenges confronting indigenous entrepreneurs, traders, artisans, farmers and small-scale business owners.
The initiative, one of the 25 milestones documenting his decade of service, reflects a fundamental principle of his leadership: sustainable development begins with identifying a problem, conceiving a workable solution and taking responsibility for bringing it to life.
For Fasuyi, the story of the Ijesaland Cooperative Society did not begin with fundraising, the distribution of cheques or the formal launch of a programme. It began with the recognition of an economic challenge and the conception of an institutional solution capable of addressing it across the 64 wards of Ijesaland.
The Idea Before the Funding
Across Ijesaland, indigenous businesses had faced declining competitiveness and diminishing participation in commercial activities within their homeland. Many entrepreneurs and artisans also struggled to obtain affordable capital to sustain existing businesses, expand their operations or establish new enterprises.
These challenges had existed long before Fasuyi's installation as Asiwaju of Ijesaland. Yet, according to the stewardship documentation, the decisive intervention came when he applied his vision and problem-solving capacity to developing a structured response.
Rather than treating the problem as an isolated need for financial assistance, Fasuyi conceived a cooperative institution that would organise indigenous business operators, strengthen their collective economic capacity and provide access to revolving loan facilities.
The objective was broader than giving people money. It was to create a sustainable platform for enterprise development, financial inclusion, wealth creation and employment generation, bringing economic opportunities closer to communities at the grassroots.
This initial stage of conceptualisation deserves particular recognition. Without the original idea and the determination to develop it, there would have been no initiative around which to mobilise resources, no programme to plan and no structure to implement.
From Concept to Community Partnership
Deputy Governor of Osun State, Prince Kola Adewusi and the Commissioner for Cooperatives and Empowerment, Prince Adebayo Ogungbangbe
Having conceived the initiative, Fasuyi, as Chairman of the Ijesaland Community Development Assembly (ICDA), moved to the next phase: translating the idea into an actionable programme.
Strategic engagements between the ICDA and the Osun State Ministry of Cooperatives and Empowerment helped advance the proposal. Consultations with the Ministry and the endorsement of the Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III, provided an institutional and traditional framework for the initiative.
The proposed cooperative was designed to serve entrepreneurs, artisans, traders, farmers and other vocational practitioners across the six local government areas of Ijesaland.
The plan was to establish a network of cooperative societies across all 64 wards, enabling community members to participate in an organised economic system rather than depend solely on individual efforts or occasional assistance.
Mobilising Resources for the Vision
With the concept established and the necessary partnerships pursued, attention shifted to resource mobilisation.
Under Fasuyi's leadership, the ICDA mobilised ₦64 million as seed funding for the cooperative initiative. The Osun State Government subsequently announced a matching contribution of another ₦64 million, bringing the combined funding arrangement to ₦128 million.
The development demonstrated how an initiative conceived to address a community problem could attract wider institutional support when backed by a defined structure and a practical development objective.
The funding arrangement was intended to provide a foundation for cooperative financing across Ijesaland, with the resources serving as revolving loans rather than one-off grants. Beneficiaries would be expected to use the funds for productive ventures and repay them according to agreed terms, allowing the resources to support further economic activity.
Fasuyi also acknowledged the financial contributions of ICDA members and the support of the traditional institution, the Osun State Government and the Ministry of Cooperatives and Empowerment.
His approach reflects the leadership-by-example principle associated with his stewardship: accepting responsibility for initiating development and helping to mobilise the resources required to make it possible.
Planning for Grassroots Reach and Sustainability
Resource mobilisation was followed by the practical work of organising the cooperative for implementation.
ICDA embarked on sensitisation campaigns across the 64 wards, encouraging communities to establish cooperative societies and complete the registration requirements for participation.
The registration process provided a framework for identifying eligible cooperative groups and preparing them to receive seed funding. By the time of the formal launch, 29 wards had completed the required registration process and qualified for the first phase.
The programme also established conditions intended to protect the purpose of the intervention. Beneficiaries were required to be Ijesa by origin, use the revolving loans exclusively for productive ventures and comply with periodic monitoring and evaluation.
These arrangements were important to the long-term objective of the ICS: ensuring that the initiative would not end with the presentation of cheques but would develop into a continuing mechanism for supporting indigenous enterprise.
June 29, 2026: The Vision Takes Off
The Ijesaland Cooperative Society was formally launched in Ilesa on Monday, June 29, 2026, marking the transition from conceptualisation, mobilisation and planning to implementation.
The ceremony attracted traditional rulers, government officials, ICDA leaders, cooperative representatives, community stakeholders and other prominent sons and daughters of Ijesaland.
The Deputy Governor of Osun State, Prince Kola Adewusi, represented Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke as Special Guest of Honour. The Commissioner for Cooperatives and Empowerment, Prince Adebayo Ogungbangbe, also attended with officials of the Ministry.
Chief Akin Olatunbosun, Chairman of the Ijesaland Cooperative Society, coordinated the programme, while Fasuyi delivered the keynote address.
In explaining the origin of the initiative, Fasuyi linked its development to concerns about the declining participation of Ijesa indigenes in commercial activities within their homeland. He emphasised the need to strengthen local businesses, improve access to finance and reposition Ijesaland as a centre of enterprise, productivity and shared prosperity.
The high point of the ceremony was the presentation of the cooperative's Certificate of Registration and the symbolic distribution of ₦1 million seed-fund cheques to each of the 29 qualifying wards.
A total of ₦29 million was disbursed during this first phase. The remaining wards were expected to benefit after completing the necessary registration formalities.
The ceremony therefore represented the beginning of the implementation phase, with the revolving loan facility expected to support business expansion, vocational development and enterprise growth among qualified cooperative members.
The Five Principles Behind the Initiative
The conception and execution of the ICS also illustrate the five leadership principles highlighted in Fasuyi's 10-year stewardship documentation.
Leadership by Example: Fasuyi championed a practical institutional response to an economic challenge, demonstrating that leadership requires action and responsibility, not merely appeals for development.
Vision: The cooperative was designed as a continuing economic institution with a 64-ward reach, looking beyond immediate financial assistance towards sustainable enterprise development and employment creation.
Integrity: The cooperative model depends on trust, responsible management and the commitment of members to use and repay the revolving funds in accordance with the programme's objectives.
Transparency: Community sensitisation, registration requirements and stakeholder engagement provide an organised framework for participation. The stewardship documentation also states that ICDA project funds are subject to general-house approval before disbursement or expenditure.
Accountability: The conditions governing the use of the loans, together with monitoring and evaluation, are intended to connect the resources provided to measurable business and economic outcomes. Fasuyi's stewardship record further states that projects under his leadership are regularly audited, with auditor reports published on the ICDA platform.
These principles are particularly relevant to a cooperative scheme whose long-term success depends on responsible participation, the repayment of loans and the continued availability of resources for other beneficiaries.
Beyond Cheques: Building an Economic Institution
The Ijesaland Cooperative Society represents an attempt to address a long-standing community challenge through an organised and potentially sustainable economic structure.
Its significance lies not only in the ₦128 million funding arrangement or the initial ₦29 million disbursement, but also in the idea of bringing indigenous entrepreneurs together under a cooperative system that can strengthen their access to finance and expand their participation in commercial activities.
For the 29 wards that qualified for the first phase, the launch marked the beginning of an opportunity to convert cooperative financing into productive economic activity. For the other wards, registration remained an important step towards participation.
The wider ambition is to extend the initiative across all 64 wards and help restore the economic strength of Ijesa entrepreneurs over time.
As one of the 25 milestones documenting his decade of stewardship, the ICS places Fasuyi's role in its proper sequence: identifying the challenge, conceiving the initiative, mobilising support, organising the programme and advancing its implementation.
The central achievement begins with the idea itself. Before the funds were raised, the wards were sensitised or the cheques were distributed, someone had to recognise the problem and conceive a practical solution.
In the case of the Ijesaland Cooperative Society, that initiating role belongs to Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi. Recognising it is essential to an accurate record of how the initiative originated and how it progressed from an idea into a community-wide economic empowerment programme.
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