Retired cleric and Oyo prince, Archbishop Emeritus Ayo Ladigbolu, has described the emergence of an Oyo native, Mrs Motunrayo Folarin, as winner of a Toyota Camry star prize in the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) 40th anniversary raffle draw as prophetic and an act of God.
Speaking in an interview at his residence in Oyo, yesterday, during a courtesy visit by the star prize winner and her family, alongside representatives of BCOS, Ladigbolu, who is a leading contestant for the vacant Alaafin stool, said the fact that God chose him to pick the raffle ticket through which the star prize winner emerged was God’s way of giving Oyo people a taste of what is to come.
Ladigbolu, who was the Chairman of the event held in the premises of the Oyo State-government owned broadcast station, was given the honour of picking the ticket that produced the star prize winner, after hundreds of other prizes had been won by other ticket holders from different parts of the state and beyond, including Osun and Kwara.
The only other prize won by any Oyo native was a set of bedsheets, until the final ticket picked by Ladigbolu.
Speaking yesterday, Ladigbolu, who is also the Chairman of Oyo Metropolitan Development Association, says: “The invitation from BCOS Ibadan requesting me to pick the Star Prize at its 40th Anniversary Raffle Draw was divinely inspired.
“It came as a follow up to a recent affirmation by an Oyo Community leader that ‘there’s hardly any developmental project in Oyo without my signature.’
“God must have intended to send a symbolic message to the Oyo Community and the Yoruba Nation by guiding me to pick a Star Prize ticket whose owner is from Oyo and is directly related to the Royal family. No doubt, I am configured as a messenger of good news.”
In his remarks at the event earlier on Thursday, Ladigbolu said the mammoth audience at the grand finale was an evidence that BCOS remained a very popular TV station within and outside Oyo State.
The Executive chairman, BCOS, Prince Dotun Oyelade, expressed his delight with the successful grand finale, which was part of activities marking the 40th anniversary of the station.
Earlier, the Director of Commercial services said the raffle draw was put together to appreciate customers of the station.
The winner of the star prize emerged with ticket number 00008197.
Other lucky winners included Mrs Florence Ojo, who went home with a refrigerator and Ranti Mosopeoluwa Mobola, who won a plot of land.
