Yoruba Traditional General Vows to Unite, Protect Tribe

The Are Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Chief Gani Adams, at the weekend, reiterated strong commitment to unite the Yoruba nation and make it prosperous and strong to the admiration of all stakeholders.

This, he also said, would  be of good point of reference to other ethnic nationalities such as the Hausa and Igbo among others in Nigeria.

Adams made this submission at the weekend  in Ira in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State during the annual celebration of Oya festival, championed by his Olokun festival which he started  five years ago.

He said: “After installation, my major assignment is to ensure the unity of Yoruba race, continue to promote and sustain the identity of Yoruba race  and most importantly, I will try to harness the potential of Yoruba nation and Yoruba in diaspora.

"Thereafter, I will go spiritual and pray for the Yoruba nation. This is because no matter your strategy, prayer is the key. I will continue to pray for the prosperous Yoruba race, and by then, we can have a prosperous Yoruba race we can be proud of. That is a nation within a nation in Nigeria which would be a good reference point to others.’’

He also urged the state government to build a myth around the Oya festival, make it very attractive and tar the road leading to the groove.

The Yoruba leader stated that it has great tourism potential that would be a major source of income for the government as tourists would be visiting there annually for celebrations from Caribbean countries and even local tourists in Nigeria and from the neighboring African countries.

According to him, “While I commend the present administration in Kwara State for tarring the main road leading to Ira, because it was not like this last year, I am appealing to them through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to work on the Oya groove in Ira, build and make it attractive so that we will always hold the festival there.

“The  Osun Osogbo  festival is normally held in its groove, the Oodua festival is normally held beside the groove, so we can’t continue to justify holding the festival in a secondary school.

"The road that leads to Oya groove must also be tarred and they have to build myth around Oya based on her history. The Caribbean countries in particular love Oya as a spirit, they want to associate with her.’’

 Adams further tasked the leaders to lead the followers back to their roots, saying: “The obvious disconnect from our roots in Nigeria are the bane of our current multifarious challenges such as economic recession, insecurity, religious intolerance and ethnicity,” which he noted were nowhere to be found in the olden days.