Text of Speech delivered by Otunba (Dr) Adams at the Grand Finale of annual 21-Day Eledumare Festival, held at National Art Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos on March 30th. 2017

BEING THE TEXT OF SPEECH DELIEVERED BY OTUNBA (DR) GANI ADAMS CHIEF PROMOTER OLOKUN FESTIVAL FOUNDATION AT THE ANNUAL ELEDUMARE FESTIVAL HOLDING TODAY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017, AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE, IGANMU, LAGOS.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this year’s celebration of the annual Eledumare festival.

The annual event, which is the fifth edition organized by the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF), began exactly 21 days ago, with various activities rolled into one mainly to celebrate the Almighty God.

Today, as we roll out the drum to celebrate the Supreme Being in a special manner, I have no doubt in my mind that Eledumare is sincerely happy with our callings.
Over the years, we have demonstrated a high sense of courage and purposefulness in the pursuit of our dreams as an organization and we have proved to all Nigerians, irrespective of their religious beliefs and associations, that our foundation is totally committed to promoting Yoruba cultural heritage and tradition.

As we gather here today, I am sure that many people will agree with me that we are still on course.

Looking back at the journey so far, Olokun Festival Foundation, under my leadership, has made tremendous progress in all areas of human endeavours to keep our tradition and culture alive.

This we have done through the innovative instinct of the group.

As a foremost organization, I know for sure that we are only witnessing the beginning of greater things to come.
I say this purposely to correct the wrong impression people may have about our foundation and to deliver a message of hope that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

For those who doubt our transformational agenda, today’s activity is an eye -opener that our motivation is not for any economic and political gains, we are motivated by the ideals of a genuine cultural organization.
So the question is: Why do we celebrate Eledumare? We gather here today for two reasons;
First, we are here to glorify the highest God, who is the creator of all creatures.

He and He alone is the creator of all things and to Him we shall all return.

Again, Olokun Festival Foundation, no doubt, remains the foremost organization that celebrates Yoruba culture and tradition in the country.

We deem it good that, as we celebrate our cultural heritage and traditions, we should also play significant roles in identifying with our creator, as a race.
From all accounts, there is no doubt that Eledumare is the Supreme Being that controls both the earth and heaven.

Believers of various religious denominations believe in the supremacy of God, the omnipotent and the omniscience.

For the Muslims, Eledumare is called Allah, the Christians call him Jehovah and in the Yoruba parlance we call him Eledumare.

As the Supreme Being, He is awesome and he has the unique knowledge of both life and death.
That shows the supremacy of God to all creatures.
The Yoruba race holds Eledumare in high esteem. That is why they call him Eledumare, Oba Ajiki, Eledumare Oba Ajige,Oba ti o ju gbogbo Oba lo; meaning the foremost king that deserves all adoration.

Eledumare is the first and the last; Alpha and Omega.
He is in the best position to determine the fate of the entire world.

As His creature, the best we can offer him is praise because His powers transcend our understanding.

Eledumare gives hope when people are hopeless, He opens doors where there is no way, he is the author and finisher of our lives.

It is true that all religions, set aside some days of the week to worship God but it is sad that hardly do we find time to really celebrate Eledumare- the most high.

This we have set to do under the platform of OFF.
I passionately appeal to the Federal government to set aside a day for us to celebrate Eledumare our own way, just as all other prominent religions in the country celebrate him at their chosen time.

As much as I emphasize the celebration of Eledumare Festival, I also appeal to both the state and the federal government to harness the tourism potential in the country.

Nigeria, no doubt can become the tourism destination in the world if the government could tap into the various tourism potentials that are abound in various parts of the country.
This is very important at a time like this when oil dependency seems to be leading us to nowhere.

The need to tap at every resource for the better life of the ordinary citizen is important and tourism is one huge asset for the country, especially now that the sector is becoming a huge business in the world.

For this reason, I’ m appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari, to use tourism as a veritable tool for national development and progress.

All the historical monuments across the country should be renovated, and new ones built.
Security has been a major challenge in our country.

I believe if we can win the war against terrorism, we can make our country safe and conducive for tourists.

Educational and medical tourism should also be improved upon.

All bills, including medical, educational and others should be made affordable for tourists.
Our culture is our pride.

At this juncture, I must commend the courage of other state governments in the south west who share in our dream to make teaching of Yoruba Language compulsory  in our schools,( both public and private schools), particularly the Lagos state governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.

This is a step in the right direction and I believe it will go a long way in reviving our lost glory as a people.

Yoruba Language is sacred to our cultural development as a people and we can hardly make any meaningful progress if we continue to disregard our Languages.
On this note, as we celebrate this year’s Eledumare festival, I leave you with one message.

The message is that we should remain commitment to the ideals of our foundation.

I say it with joy from the bottom of my heart that today’s anniversary offers us the rare opportunity to move closer to God.

As we move closer to Him, we definitely stand the chance to enjoy every benefits associated with being under His guidance.

Eledumare will not let you down, He will provide all your needs according to His glory, and He will lift you up.

He will protect and prosper you.
Thanks for listening and God bless.

Aseyi samodun o

Eledumare a gbe wa o!

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