The 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams, has been a name to reckon with in Nigeria as leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC). Meeting the Aare personally you wonder if this is really the much famed fiery and dreaded OPC chieftain. He is calm, well mannered and welcoming, as you visit his home in Omole GRA, Ikeja.
His passion for the mythical culture and tradition of the Yoruba is self evident in this ambience, but he maintains categorically that he is not a member of any secret society. He also explains away to Effects the ‘mystery’ behind his wearing white apparels.
With your new office as the Aare Ona Kakanfo, how do you spend your time now?
The level we are now is different. As a leader of OPC and OPU (Oodua Progressive Union), which already is in 79 countries, the workload is not easy. I also have a cultural platform called Olokun Festival Foundation and I have my foundation based on charity called Gani Adams Foundation. I also have my business, Donis Global Concept. With the Aare Ona Kakanfo on board now, it’s a huge responsibility. I have to brace up and make sure I meet up with the responsibility. Unfortunately, I was installed when there were a lot of challenges in our dear nation and our race. I have to be meeting some think tank. It requires a lot of financial responsibility and sometimes, it’s not about money, but about strategy and tact, the approach, the way and manner you manage the position. I have already registered the foundation immediately I got the letter of proclamation. The foundation will have its own office, which we will call Office of the Aare Ona Kakanfo. We have different departments that will be working on different issues. With time, I will not receive many visitors in my house. I had my office somewhere in Palm grove but it’s not spacious and can’t handle the responsibility of this position. So we are getting a bigger, well equipped office for this position,
Even as OPC chieftain, we have not heard scandal about you and women, how do you cope with women?
My door is open to women. You must respect them. From my own analysis, when men talked bad about you, people would not take it serious, but when women say two things about you, people will take one out of the two serious. Women have time to talk and say more things than men. Our culture says we should respect women. When they come to you, give them the respect. It’s not every woman that comes to you that will be your friend. But you don’t discard women, if you want to succeed, because they are instruments of success. Even in the spiritual realm of Yoruba tradition, when women close their door on you, you are in problem. But when you are nice to women and they feel free to come to you, that means the road is clearer. Someone who treats women very well will not have problem, but when you are a Casanova, and you treat women badly, your problem is close at your door. That was how we are trained about tradition. In any society, if you are a public figure, you will have a lot of advances but you choose what you want.
Tell us about life growing up?
I was born in Arigidi Akoko in Ondo State. I attended Army Children’s School Oturkpo. And St. Thomas Primary School in Irusu. Due to the job of my father, he is a transporter. He was in Oturkpo before he moved to Lagos. When they were moving, he brought me to my late grandmother in Irusu. Irusu is the country home of my mother. Arigidi Akoko is my own country home. Both places share boundary in Ondo State. After a while, they brought me to Lagos. I finished my primary school at Adeniji Primary School in Surulere. I went to Ansar Ud deen Secondary School in Randle Avenue. I earned a Diploma from Lagos State Polytechnic and later got a degree in Political Science from Lagos State University. I went to Ghana School of Aviation, I learnt Tourism Management. My life in the struggle started in 1993 through Campaign for Democracy. I was a PRO in Mushin Local Government. We later formed Oodua Youth Movement in 1994. Five months later, we now formed Oodua Peoples Congress in August 25, 1994, in Palm Avenue Mushin. Since then, we have been in the struggle. I became the leader in 1999 after there was a factional crisis we resolved in 2001.
What was the main aim of setting up OPC?
It was about the annulment of the June 12 election. That was what brought all of us into the struggle. It was about what happened to the June 12, 1993 election that even moved us to become activists. After the annulment, there was Campaign for Democracy. After Campaign for Democracy, every activist was thinking along regional line. Let us put our house in order and meet in the central. We went to form Oodua Youth Convent, from there to Oodua Peoples Congress.
Why are you always in white outfits?
Well, that was what I’m saying about our tradition. As a Yoruba man, you ought to know what will suit your guiding angel. Some people are having problem in the society, not because they are having much attack spiritually, but it’s because the colour they are putting on, negates their guiding angel. The foods they are eating negates their spirit. When you couldn’t discover yourself, it will be very difficult for you to grow. It goes beyond religion. You have to discover yourself, what your guiding angel wants. In Yoruba it is called Eleda. First, discover what your guiding angel wants, when you are sure of that, you have already solved 80 percent of your spiritual problem, because your guiding angel will be strong to defend you. Anything we do in this world is about your guiding angel. When you wear something that negates what your guiding angel wants, he will be weak to defend you, to even bring good things to you. That is the reason I’m always wearing white, I always say this for people to learn from it. It’s not about belonging to any society. I don’t belong to any and I have been saying it in the media that I don’t belong to any society. Some of them came after my proclamation to pray for me. I told them I don’t belong to society, because if I belong to any society, the political class would have used the society to trap me. In OPC, we swore normal oaths as Yorubas. ‘ Eni ba da le ko ba le loo’. (If you betray you are in for it) that’s the normal oath, not by blood and not in secret. We don’t hold meetings when it’s dark, unless we run the meeting to that hour. Our meetings are in broad daylight. OPC is not a society; it’s a self determination group that fights for the interest of Yoruba. We build Olokun Festival Foundation from OPC. We diversify the activity of OPC for cultural promotion.
What lessons has life taught you?
Life has taught me to be honest, to persevere and be patient. I don’t rush to issues and I don’t push myself to something I didn’t have access to. I’m always content with what God gave to me. Comparison has led a lot of people into problems and we have different destiny. God created us for different purposes and our time of triumph is always different. So, when you rush when it’s not yet your time, you run yourself into trouble. I never thought I would be the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba. I don’t even know it’s more prestigious to this extent. Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi in his lifetime always called me Generalissimo of Yorubaland, I tell him Chief leave that side, when he was alive. Lots of people said so, but I always debunked it. Today, it has come to pass. Someone encouraged me to go for the position of Aare Ona Kakanfo. The lady convinced me within a period of two hours. God just used her to convince me. She was not a lady I know. She just came to me that she wants me to mentor her; she just deviated to the issue of Aare Ona Kakanfo. That is why you should allow people have access to you. Don’t block them. She’s a young lady and within two hours I was convinced. To God be the glory today. I believe in truth, honesty, and I hate oppressors. I dislike oppressors because anything you are in this life, God gave it to you. Before you, certain people have been in the position and you will leave the position and go, another person will be there. Power is momentary, power is transient, and power is not forever.