The Aare Ona Kakanfo-Designate, Dr. Gani Adams, has warned youths in the country not to compromise their future and that of the country by monetising it.
Adams also prescribed the reversal to regional system of governance for the challenges of the country Nigeria to abate.
Adams made the plea in Lagos on Friday when he played host to members of the Nigeria Ethnic Nationality Youth Leaders Forum in his Lagos home.
In a statement made available by the Director of Media and Communication to the Aare-designate, Femi Adepoju, the Adams submitted that the future of the country lies in the hands of the youths, adding that all over the world, youths are taking over and Nigeria should not be an exception.
He said: “Our future lies in our hands.
“The youths hold the future.
“Who will say we can’t lead because of our age when youths are taking over the leadership even in the civilised world?”
Warning that the youths should not compromise their future because of money, Adams said it is important for them to be focused and dedicated so that they can reap the fruit of their commitment to their race in no time.
He said: “All over the world, youths are making the difference in positions of leadership.
“Ooni of Ife ascended the throne at 41.
“I started the struggle at the age of 23 and I did not allow money or material things to derail me.
“And at 47, I am the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.
“I can see the hand of God in my life because I wont compromise on my stand not to mortgage my future and the future of my people.
“They labelled me stubborn, but the stubbornness is working to my advantage now.”
Registering the need for the restructuring of the country to enable an healthy co-existence of the diverse ethnic nationalities in the country, Aare Adams said the Yorubas have spoken through their summit last September in Ibadan, Oyo State that the country should revert to the tested 1963 Constitution, which prescribed regionalism.
According to him, there must be justice and equity to attain unity in the country and this he believes could be attained if the country reverts to the 1963 Constitution.
Adams said: “We got independence in 1960 on the basis of Federalism.
“In 1959, it was agreed that for us to live together, we must adopt Federal system of government, but this was truncated by the Military through Aguyi Ironsi.
“Since the end of the Civil War, we have been struggling to coexist, living with ourselves with suspicion and for us to be sincere with ourselves, we must agree on how to live together so that we can have a better nation.”
The youth leaders, who spoke one after the other, recognised the leadership qualities in the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo and submitted that there is no one who suits the position in Yorubaland better than Adams because of his antecedent as an activist, right’s defender and unrepentant promoter of culture.
“On behalf of all ethnic youth leaders in the country, we congratulate Dr. Gani Adams as the new Aare Ona Kakanfo and His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo, for a well posited decision,” the team echoed.
The visiting leaders were Alhaji Shettima Yerima, Northern Youth Leader; Comrade Maxi Izigusoro, Ohaneze Youth Leader; Comrade Eric Oluwole, Yoruba Youth Leader Worldwide; Comrade Esimaje Awani, Itshekiri Youth President/ Niger Delta Youth Leader.
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