What Otunba Gani Adams Said At Olokun Festival

BEING THE TEXT OF SPEECH DELIVERED BY OTUNBA (DR) GANI ADAMS,CHIEF PROMOTER, OLOKUN FESTIVAL FOUNDATION,AT THE GRAND-FINALE OF THE 2014 EDITION OF OLOKUN FESTIVAL, HELD ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2014, AT THE SUNTAN BEACH, BADAGRY, LAGOS STATE.

Your Excellency, Gov. Babatunde Fashola, Governor of Lagos State,
Your Imperial Majesty Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo,
Mrs Sally Mbanefo, DG. NTDC,
Your Royal Majesty Aholu Menu Tohi, Akran of Badagry
All Royal Majesties Present
The Chairman of this occasion,
Guest Speaker,
Esteemed guests on the high table,
National Coordinating Council Members of OPC,
Olokun Festival Planning Committee,
Members of press,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen

I welcome you all to the 2014 edition of Olokun Festival. It has pleased God in His infinite mercy to make it possible for all of us to be witnesses to yet another grand finale of this wonderful and interesting festival.

I must confess to you all that the last one month has been one of entertainment, spiritual reawakening and beautiful experience.

And as we round-off the 2014 edition of Olokun festival, I am particularly grateful to the Almighty that for giving us the ability to organize yet another successful festival.

The last one month has been filled with beautiful testimonies of the wonders of the almighty without whom we would not have been able to achieve anything.

You must have noticed that this edition is not only rich, but at the same time a beautiful improvement on past editions.
Of particular interest was the very successful Yoruba quiz competition, which of course is part of our efforts at Olokun Festival Foundation to ensure that our children are kept in tune with our culture and traditional values.

We have always chosen themes that are expected to either rekindle the interest of our people in the cultural heritage of the Yoruba race or promote the rich cultural values of our forefathers.

This year is not going to be different in any way, It is for that reason that we have chosen the theme ‘Culture- Economic Development Nexus: Lessons for Nigeria’.

You will agree with me that culture has always played very important roles in the evolution of any human society.

From China to Russia, Britain to the Middle East, and indeed all over the world, the culture of the people play pivotal roles in how much those countries have developed.

If we must develop in Nigeria, our leaders must begin to look inward and see how to use our rich cultural heritage to develop our nation.

The traditional Yoruba textile industry, which was very famous across the globe for churning out beautiful textile materials like sanyan, etu, alaari and kijipa among several other beautiful Yoruba clothing materials, can be developed and turn into a money-spinning industry.

All over the world, the Yoruba are known for their rich and body-enriching foods.

If you recall, the now popular ofada rice was something that most of us would not touch with a long pole in those days.

But all that is now history.

Ofada rice has become the number one delicacy at big occasions and is only served to the rich and the mighty.

I wonder why we cannot seize this unique opportunity to develop our agriculture and make our ofada rice the number one food of most homes across the world.

Fashion has no doubt become a rich industry where countries make billions of dollars every year.

For instance, China makes billions of dollars from Africa by exporting fake women hair which our women buy at expensive prices to look beautiful.
Has it ever occurred to you that we can export our beautiful traditional hairstyles to other continents of the world and earn good money from it?

Hairstyles like Suku, braids and others are ideal for any black woman anywhere in the world.

In similar manner, Yoruba women sure look great and beautiful in our traditional attires than in any other dress.
Iy is rather unfortunate that our people, out of ignorance, are beginning to lose their identity.

And our elders say whoever loses his or identity will pay dearly for it sooner or later. ‘Omo to ba sole nu, apo iya lo so ko’.

It is a shame that our people now go to Cuba to learn about the tradition and culture of the Yoruba people.

While our government has continued to denigrate our culture and promoting foreign cultures above our own in our schools, most universities in the US continue to enrich its syllabus with the study of Yoruba language and culture.

Our children can no longer speak our language at home, They no longer eat Nigerian foods or wear Nigerian clothes.
Researches carried out by our organization also revealed that there is a tremendous growth in the interest of other foreign languages by our children.

I pray that we don’t lose our rich cultural heritage for a plate of porridge.

I have traveled to many countries of the world. And at each stop, especially in Europe, nowhere in any of those countries do the people toy with their language and tradition.

Despite the close relationship among all the countries, each one of them has jealously kept its language, refusing to let go.

Our language, culture and tradition are our heritage from God.

It is time we went back to the basics and begin to make use of these God-given gifts.

And until this is done, I fear that we may continue to grope in the dark in search of what was not lost.

Over the years, we have continued to stress the need to sustain the rich cultural heritage, festivals and history of our people.
Asides from forming a link and reminder of the past and history of our people, such festivals also have lucrative tourism potentials that can earn our nation the much needed foreign exchange, and provide a means of unemployment for millions of our people.

Unfortunately, most of these cultural festivals and ceremonies have either been tagged ‘fetish’ or have been overcome by ‘civilisation’.

Let me at this juncture send a clarion call to Yoruba people all over the world.

It is time we dedicate more time to teaching our children the history and religion of our people. We must not lose sight of our history and the son of whom we are.

We must also endeavour to teach our children the difference between religion and culture.

Most traditional festivals across Yoruba land are not particularly tied to any religion, but the culture and history of the people.

The only solution to all our problems is for us to look back to where we are coming from.

We should look at how our fathers solved their problems in those days.

There is great power in our culture. There is true success in our tradition

It is on this note that I call on all sons and daughters of Oduduwa at home and in the Diaspora to join hands with us and other good-intentioned children of Oduduwa to collectively restore our common heritage.

I want to seize this opportunity to call on the state and local government authorities across the south west to begin to provide funds for our monarchs to celebrate the cultural festivals of their people.

This will not only engender peace and unity among the people of the state, but will also go a long way improve the economic development of these communities, as the festivals would begin to attract both local and foreign tourists who would come to spend money to help the local economy.

I also want to once again reiterate our appeal to the Federal Government, Lagos State government and the United Nations (UNESCO) to help provide a permanent site for the celebration of Olokun Festival.

This will help to enhance the promotion of the festival.
It is no doubt that Olokun festival has grown to a status that can rival any other festival anywhere in the world.
I thank you all for your patience.
Aseyi samodun. h
Thank you once again.

Otunba(Dr.) Gani Adams,
Chief Promoter,
Olokun Festival Foundation
National Coordinator Oodua People’s Congress
Convener Oodua Progressive Union.