Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on Tuesday, said Yoruba race is yet to fulfil its destiny due to failure to honour and identify with the deities and ancestors of the race.
Adams said this at the 2024 edition of Ogun Festival held at the Ikorodu Town Hall in Ikorodu, Lagos, pointing out that culture is one of the best way to sustain values and pride as a race, just as he affirmed that one’s identity as well as tradition is his or her pride.
The Yoruba generalissimo, while lamenting that Yoruba race had lost its pride of place due to failure to honour and identify with its deities and ancestors, said no meaningful progress could be made if the race “continue to disrespect the sanctity of our traditional religion beliefs by using foreign religions to denigrate our culture and tradition.”
“Culture is one of the best way to sustain our values and pride as a race. Our identity is our pride. Our culture is our pride. Our tradition is our pride.
“Our culture is the totality of our being. It is about our tradition. It is about our language and we must preserve it from going into extinction,” he stated.
Iba Adams, however, called on Yoruba obas to embrace the cultural promotion agenda of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), assuring that the organization under his leadership would not relent until Yoruba regained its pride of place among the community of races.
On the festival, the Yoruba generalissimo said Ogun is one of the prominent deities that had global attraction and appeal, pointing out that he “is the god of iron, a warrior and the arbiter of all scientific and technological development who also believes in justice and truth.”
According to him, Ogun is also a spirit of wealth, whose spiritual manifestation can be also be seen both in the spiritual and the physical world, noting that the Ogun deity had the power to reduce or prevent road accidents and other calamities and as such a way that the race’s forefathers used in “seeking safety and journey mercy in the olden days.”
This was just as he quickly recalled that the crises that usually engulfed Ikorodu and its environs had reduced drastically since OPC started celebrating Ogun festival in Ikorodu.
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“Since we started celebrating Ogun festival in Ikorodu, the crises that usually engulfed Ikorodu and its environs had reduced drastically,” he said.
The Alayandelu of Odo Ayandelu Kingdom, Oba Asunmo Aderibigbe, in his remarks, praised Iba Adams for sustaining the Yoruba cultural identity through festival.
The monarch urged the traditional rulers to rise to their responsibility as custodians of Yoruba culture and tradition and support every initiative that would enhance the progress and development of Yoruba race.
“We are happy that Yoruba race is gradually regaining its lost identity. Thanks to Iba Gani Adams and the OPC in ensuring that Yoruba race is making reasonable progress,” Oba Aderibigbe said.
Chief Abiodun Awolesi said the progress experienced presently in Ikorodu was as a result of the role played by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, in driving the cultural identity of the people of Ikorodu.
Awolesi equally applauded the efforts of the OPC for celebrating Ogun Festival in Ikorodu and also ensuring that the ancient town was peaceful.
Coordinator General of the OPC in Ikorodu and the Bareejiro Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Dauda Asikolaiye, in his own remarks, expressed appreciation to Iba Adams and all the traditional rulers present at the event.
While expressing his appreciation to all the six OPC local government coordinators, Asikolaiye thanked popular socialite, Chief Lateef Eleda and others who contributed to the success of the event.
Apart from the Aareonakakanfo Chiefs-in-Council and members of the National Executive Council and National Coordinating Council of the OPC, other prominent traditional rulers present at the event include the Oniladaba of Ladaba Kingdom, Oba Nureni Ebudola Odedina Alugbin; the Alagbegishe of Agbegishe Kingdom, Oba Joseph Ikudaisi; the Olojodu of Ojodu land, Oba Olusegun Benson; the Olu of Pata Abiodun, Oba Olufemi Martins and the Alaguda of Aguda Gberigbe, Oba Moruf Olatunji, among others.
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