By Lukman Olabiyi
Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams has decried the failure by the government to tame religious fanaticism in the country, saying it was the root cause of terrorism.
While speaking at the Elegbara Festival 2021, which took place at Shasha, in Egbeda area of Lagos State, noted that insecurity, which is now at its peak in some states, began like child play with religion colouration, regretting that government failed to tame or check its spread from the beginning. Adams, who bemoaned the negative influence of foreign culture on Africa, said many challenges currently being faced by Nigerians could be traced to the consequences of abandoning the culture, tradition and art of their forefathers.
The Activitist and culture promoter decried the neglect of Yoruba culture and tradition, said it was while the offspring of tribe were being relegated to second-class citizens in their own country. He reiterated the need for Yorubas to go back to their roots, saying there was need for them to face the reality by identifying with their culture, tradition and heritage in order for the country to attain rapid development like the developed nations of the world. Adams, who said he recently returned to the country after a two-week tour of Europe, said he discovered that certain countries in the West suffered infrastructural deficit some years ago but through the embrace of their cultural peculiarities, are now at par with most developed nations of the world.
“A country like Poland can today be easily compared with other developed countries in Europe and the entire world because of their tremendous transformation. The Poles identified the missing links in their culture, tradition and heritage. They went back to their roots and embraced what is truly important to them as a people,
“We, therefore, need to go back to our roots. We need to face the reality by identifying with our culture, tradition and heritage,” he declared.
Adams tasked Yoruba leaders in and out of government to confront the challenges threatening the tribe’s capacity for growth and advancement.
He said one of the reasons for celebrating the Elegbara Festival was to promote Yoruba culture and also to regain the lost glory of the race.
He noted that Shasha and its environs had benefitted from Elegbara Festival, both physically and spiritually, since Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) started celebrating festivals.