The 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and Chief Promoter of Olokun
Festival Foundation, last week stormed Ile Ife, the spiritual headquarter of
Yorubaland for the annual Oodua Festival with a renewed strength and
determination to continue championing promotion of Yoruba culture and
tradition and defend the race.

Adams who was appearing in public for the first official assignment after
his installation as the Generalissimo of Yorubaland on January 13 by Oba
Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo, in the historical town of Oyo, in
his speech demonstrated dexterity and high level of determination to unite
Yoruba race and defend it against any form of external social cultural or
spiritual aggression.

Oodua Festival is an annual festival championed by Olokun Festival
Foundation, to celebrate the progenitor of Yoruba race and pray for more
blessings and unity in among the Yoruba, the annual event features traditional
rites, beauty pageant lectures and entertainment and it is always celebrated in
Ile-Ife. Like the previous edition, the 2018 Oodua Festival witnessed
mammoth crowd of participants and tourists from different parts of the world
and provide opportunities for business owners, transporters, Okada riders, food
vendors and others to enjoy great patronage and huge income.
The Ooni of Ife, who always declares the event opened did not go otherwise
in 2018 edition as His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja
11 declared the event open at the Oduduwa palace where Aare Gani Adams
has gone to pay him homage with his entourage.

Ooni who was meeting the Aare for the first time after his installation
described Adams as God’s choice and specially bred also offered special
prayers for the progress of Yorubaland and unity of the people of the race.
Aare Gani Adams was accompanied to the palace by the executives and some
members of Oodua Progressives Union, (OPU), a social-cultural organisation of
Yoruba people in the Diaspora, with branches in 79 countries across the
continents of Africa, Asia, Europe and America.

The Chief promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation and National leader of the
Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) started his welcome remark with what can
be termed as a reversal of Aole’s curse against Yoruba race with a special
prayer which lasted for about five minutes after which he descended on the
agent of destabilisation of Yoruba race warning and urging them to desist
from working against the interest of the race

“It is a new dawn because we have come a long way in our struggles for unity
among the Yorubas. Today, as I stand before you, great sons and daughters
of Oduduwa, I urge you all to join me in my vision and commitment to unite
the race. This is a dream not too big, and we can all make it a reality.
In the past, Yoruba race occupied a special pride of place across the world.
This was possible because of our unique tradition, cultural heritage and
intelligence. We were once a blessed race among the comity of nations, in the
past, we eulogised our gods and deities; we cherished hard work and diligence,
we appreciated truthfulness and honesty. We honored talents and wisdom,
there was a common identity between the traditional institutions and our core
values are tailored towards making us a complete man. That was what
translates to what Yorubas of those years called ‘The Omoluabi” a complete
man.
“Today, everything has changed, the good old days have gone with the winds
and our unique sense of pride had been relegated to the background and the
ugly result is what we see today, we have lost everything that we can be
proud of as a people and before our very own eyes the new generation of sons
and daughters of Yoruba have lost touch with our history, this is too bad
because our past history is supposed to be template for achieving the great
future. It is good to say it anywhere in the world that Yoruba race is blessed
with a population of over 250 million people across the world, but has that
population really helped us in anyway? Not at all.

While commending the efforts of custodians of culture and tradition including
the Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan
Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11, for the concerted efforts at different forums to promote
unity of Yoruba race Adams said “As the foremost Yoruba Obas, history has
bestowed on them the role of a bridge builder and a unifying factor, therefore, I
call on the other Yoruba Obas to join hands with them so that the Yoruba
race will take its place of pride and become one of the greatest races in the
world.”
Adams, however, urged the Yoruba people to always embrace their culture
and tradition and spend more resources to promote tourism potentials in
Yorubaland, he also appealed to politicians to align with the traditional
institutions and partner with the traditional rulers for common goal of ensuring
grassroots development

Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi, while addressing the crowd said Yoruba race is a
special race with unique features and tradition “We are not only the oldest,we
are the best, Yorubaland is the centre of the world. Our unique tradition and
culture earned us respect and a place of pride among other tribes, it is
therefore essential for us to be united and work together as a tribe, we
should continue to communicate with God through fasting and prayer and
appeasing to our gods for prosperity and progress of the land.”

Apart from the eulogy of the foremost African monarch, other custodians of
culture and stakeholders who graced the occasion including Owa of Ijeroland
lauded Adams for his consistency in promotion of Yoruba culture and prayed
for his success and long life as the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.

The guest lecturer, Professor Adisa Ogunfolakan, in his lecture said the
emergence of different pan Yoruba groups and most importantly Gani Adams
led Oodua People’s Congress is restoring hope and faith that Oduduwa as root
of our emergence and oneness should be held supreme preserved and adored.
While congratulating Gani Adams on his installation as the 15th Aare Ona
Kakanfo Ogunfolakan, who is the Director Natural History Museum, Obafemi
Awolowo University, Ile-Ife said ” You are a round peg in a round hole, indeed,
you are the Oduduwa of our time, Oduduwa did it and achieved it, I pray that
the irumole olukotun, irumole olukosi will help and sustain you to achieve
unity and oneness of Yoruba people.”

Dignitaries at the event include Owa Of Ajero, Oba Joseph Adewole, Onigbaye
of Igbaye Oba Joseph Morohunfoye, Rotimi Falola, Sangodeji, Sango of Africa
Ife traditional chiefs and others.

Tourists and participants were thrilled with fascinating performances of
different cultural troupes including Oodua cultural group, and others.

More kings than kingdom.

.

Oduduwa festival holds december, it is called Odun Idio and it is done by a very close knitted family. The festival is secretive and cannot be subjected to fanfare or media coverage.

.

This one here is a carnival, more like a fan fare because Olokun festival is much later into the year.

.