Photo: HRM Oba Adewale M. Abdul (L) giving his opening remarks; in photo with a student of Baptist Model High School (R) holding a copy of the novel ‘Like Butterflies’ at the book reading competition / © TheAfricanDream.net
His Royal Majesty Alayeluwa Oba Adewale M. Abdul, Olofin Ajaye of Orugbo-Iddo Kingdom, Epe, Lagos State, Nigeria, hosted a Book Reading and Playlet Competition based on the historical fiction novel, Like Butterflies by Abeeb Lekan Sodiq, on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, to encourage reading culture, creativity and youth development in the community.
The competition, held at the Ajebo Primary Healthcare Centre, Orugbo-Iddo, Epe, Lagos State, was powered by Gender Alive Foundation as the final-day event of the four-day International Leadership Academy Bootcamp (I LEAD 3.0), which HRM Oba Adewale also hosted.
The four-day bootcamp ran from August 2 to 5, bringing together more than 40 young participants aged 12 to 18 for an immersive leadership experience featuring skill acquisition, intellectual development, networking, games, and other impactful learning activities.
Presiding over the book reading competition were three distinguished judges: HRM Alayeluwa Oba Adeleke Akibu I Adengbin Okiriboto II, Oba of Lepia Kingdom, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State; Prof. Oba Bright Adetola, Professor of Sociology and Development at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; and Madam Adefuye Abiodun Mosunmola, representing Dr Idowu Olufunke Oyetola, Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary of Education District IV, Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, Oba Adewale expressed gratitude to God for making the programme possible and acknowledged members of the community for believing in and supporting the vision behind the initiative.
“I thank God for making this programme possible, and I thank the entire Orugbo-Iddo for believing in this vision and supporting what we are doing for our young people,” he said.
The event reflected the traditional ruler’s interest in supporting literacy, education and youth development within the community, while providing a platform for students to develop their intellectual and creative abilities.
A total of 14 schools participated in the book reading competition: Baptist Model High School, Agbowa; St. Ben Academy, Ajebo; Trich Ville School, Itokin; Great Jubilant Noble College; Ajebo Junior High School; Ajebo Senior High School; Lifeline Comprehensive College; Agbowa Community Junior Grammar School; Lagos State Model Senior College, Agbowa; Chited College, Itokin; Community Senior Academy; Ayorise Academy, Agbowa; Lagos State Model Junior College, Agbowa; and Ota Ikosi Junior High School.
The author of Like Butterflies, Sodiq, thanked HRM Oba Adewale for supporting the novel and for using his position to develop Orugbo-Iddo Kingdom.
“I am deeply grateful to Kabiyesi, Oba Adewale M. Abdul, for supporting Like Butterflies and giving the book a platform among young people in this community,” he said to TheAfricanDream.net. He described the king’s support as extending beyond the book itself, noting its significance for education and literacy.
Other distinguished dignitaries in attendance included heads of participating schools and community leaders such as Chief Oriyomi Owolabi Salako, CEO of First Yiyo Ekun Hotel & Suites Ltd.; Chief Adebisi Adejiya, Custodian of Egbe Jagumolu Okunrin Akile-Ubebi; TPL Dr. David Olawale, Principal Partner of Tade Planning Services Limited, Lagos; Chief Olusegun Tanimowo, Baale Magbamogbo, Orugbo-Iddo; Chief Ahmed Akilo, Baale Ojuberi, Orugbo-Iddo; Chief Sanusi Fatai, Asipa of Orugbo-Iddo Land; and Chief Adebola Soyemi, Baale of Dongodaji Village, Orugbo-Iddo.
The competition ended with winners receiving a collection of awards and prizes that included glass awards, plaques, cash prizes, dictionaries, mugs and bags. The prizes served both as recognition of the students’ performances and to encourage them towards reading and learning.
“What makes this particularly meaningful to me is that Kabiyesi is using my book to encourage a reading culture among young people and also to build their interests towards history and culture”, said Sodiq to TheAfricanDream.net.
The choice of Like Butterflies for the competition provided students with an opportunity to engage with Nigerian history and questions of freedom, identity, power and resistance through literature. The historical fiction novel is set in the 19th-century Oyo Empire and follows Sisi, a young royal princess whose life is transformed after she is abducted and sold into slavery.
The story explores the experiences of enslaved people within Africa, the structures of power that enabled the slave trade, and the struggle for freedom and human dignity. Its narrative moves through historical locations connected to the wider West African slave-trading era, including Oyo, Dahomey and the Gold Coast.
At the centre of the story is Sisi’s determination to survive and resist oppression. The butterflies on the front cover represent transformation, freedom and the possibility of breaking away from circumstances designed to keep people captive.
Former United States Ambassador Pamela E. Bridgewater, who served as U.S. ambassador to Benin, Ghana and Jamaica and as Consul General in apartheid South Africa, reviewed and endorsed the manuscript before its publication. She described the novel as a fast-paced journey through the realities of the 19th-century Oyo Empire’s slave era and highlighted its portrayal of the human spirit’s determination to be free.
The Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture has also endorsed Like Butterflies. Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Idowu Johnson, recognised the novel’s cultural and historical significance and described it as an insightful work.
Another royal endorsement came from HRM Oba Ibrahim Olasunkanmi Lawal-Bello, Aremo Olofin Ogunfunminire (Olanwa 1 Olofin V) of Isheri Olofin Kingdom, who praised the novel for its engagement with tyranny, leadership and the struggle for freedom.
The novel has also received recognition within Nigeria’s literary and bookselling space, with Rovingheights Books describing it as a story of freedom and resistance centred on Sisi’s struggle against a system that seeks to strip enslaved people of their identity and humanity.
Written by Oral Ofori for TheAfricandream.net
