KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY OTUNBA (DR) GANI ADAMS AT ANNUAL YORUBA WEEK ORGANISED BY YORUBA COMMUNITY RIVERS STATE ON 22ND NOVEMBER 2014 HELD AT CIVIL CENTRE, PORT-HARCOURT I am particularly very happy to stand before you today. I am happy because God, in His infinite mercy, has made it possible for all of us to be part of history today. Homage to Eledumare Before I continue, I say a big thank you to Eledumare. He is the omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, benevolence, divinity and the creator. To us Yoruba, He is the Eleburuike, Atererekariaye, Eleniateka, Oba Ajoke aye and Asake orun. He is the one that created us as Yoruba and as descendants of the great Oduduwa. Introduction Many ethnic nationalities would have loved to witness a gathering like this, which I believe is an epoch event. But they are not able to do so due to one reason or the other. So for us to have gathered here, as the children of Oduduwa, to rub minds on how to move our land forward is a big step in the right direction. And I say a big thank you to all of you. For those who may not know, we are setting an agenda for ourselves and children not yet born. Therefore, I want to urge you all to remain steadfast and stick with the path of honour to work for a greater land. Advice Today, once more we are taking another giant step towards the further emancipation of our people. I particularly want to thank God Almighty for impressing it on your minds to come up with a gathering like this. I want each of you to begin to see yourself as an ambassador of the Yoruba race here. Therefore, whatever you do, you must realize that you are representing your people and must at all times behave well and respect the laws of the land. It is by doing this that your host will respect any Yoruba man they come across anywhere in the country and beyond. I want you to imbibe the age-long culture of Omoluabi, with which were trained from birth. As you are aware, the country is going through some difficult times, but in all of this, I beg you to endeavour to remain steadfast with your good upbringing and maintain the good virtue of our forefathers. I am sure that you are not unaware of the huge responsibilities your stay here confers on you. But I am also sure and bold to state here today that you shall continue fly the flag of our fatherland with pride, be good citizens and contribute to the development of Yoruba nation and Nigeria in general. Develop your home communities Having said that, I want to remind you of the need to develop your homeland a very important one. You all must forget where you come from. Our people say ‘Ile labo sinmi oko’. Therefore, you all must not forget your background in whatever you do. I want you to continue to see culture as a very good avenue to promote your heritage. I believe that you know that culture is defined as the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community or population. Importance of culture Culture is the unique possession of man. Man is born and brought up in a cultural environment. Man is not only a social animal but also a cultural being. Man cannot survive as a man without culture. Culture fulfils our needs and represents the entire achievements of mankind. Rededicate yourselves With this constantly at the back of our minds, I want you from today to begin rededicate yourselves to the promotion of Yoruba culture anywhere in the world. Our children must know their heritage, speak our language, eat our foods and wear our clothes. I have taken the time to study our history. And I have discovered that the Yoruba are not as intellectually poor or backward as some people may want us to believe. The African, particularly the Yoruba, possess a unique and robust understanding of the world long before the Whiteman stepped on our soil. From now on, I implore you, Yoruba sons and daughters to carry yourselves with pride and hold your heads very high anywhere you go because you are noble children of the great Oduduwa. I want to use this opportunity to restate it here that I have always had it at the back of my mind that if I would have to come back to this world, I pray that God makes me a Yoruba man again because of the uniqueness of our race. I want to challenge you to stand up today and be counted as one of those who would contribute to the development of Yorubaland. You can start this by making sure that you start something that will contribute to the growth of the economy of Yorubaland back home. There is nothing that you do that would be too little or too big. But I tell you, when the time comes for the history of those who contributed to the growth of Yorubaland to be written, your name would be listed among who stood up when your people need men of courage. Let us all rededicate ourselves to the clarion call to join hands with our people and see ourselves as one indivisible entity joined together by our common heritage in our progenitor, Oduduwa, for therein lies our strength to overcome whatever challenge that may come our way, both as individuals or as a group. Essence of unity The power of togetherness can never be overemphasized. Oneness is symbolized by a bunch of broom (Osusu owo). If you pick one, you can easily break it. But try and break the bunch, it becomes impossible. We must not allow people from other regions of Nigeria and the world to see us a disunited race in whatever we do. Let the people of the world know that we are one and united. Go, spread the good news and let them know that the Yoruba, irrespective of where they live, are one and indivisible. Once again, I say my special thank you to all of you for inviting me to this gathering. I promise you that I will be there for you whenever you may need my service. But before I end this address, I will like to advise you see once more on the need for you to be closer to your community. You all must ensure that you invest in your community. Our people say ‘ajo kii dun ka gbagbe ile’. If God has blessed you, you should try and make sure that your people benefit from you. Thanks for your attention Otunba (Dr) Gani Adams National Coordiantor, Oodua People’s Congress Worldwide Leader, Oodua Progressive Union, Chief Promoter Olokun Festival
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:57:44 +0000