Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 30 2024, my boss and the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, will celebrate his birthday. All arrangements have been concluded for a special birthday party coming up on May 1.
Apart from the party, which has become the tradition for over two decades now, Iba Gani Adams has decided to also touch the lives of brilliant and indigent students of some of the universities in the South West positively with cash donations.
This has been the annual tradition and the testimonies are there for everybody to see.
Many of the beneficiaries of his benevolence are doing well in their respective disciplines and they are proud agents of positive change in our society.
Iba Gani Adams’ intention with the students scholarship scheme is to give hope to the students, using his little resources to encourage and motivate them that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
So, as the Yoruba Generalissimo celebrates yet another milestone, I think it is also pertinent for us to reflect on the successful trajectory of a man whose life story is a true reflection of God’s glory.
In one of my books, titled: “Imprints of Fate,” I did an expository analysis of the life of Iba Adams and I explained deeply the rationale behind many of his actions. And I made bold as to say that even up till today, many of his traducers have never for once doubted his courage and track record.
Interestingly, the life of a leader and a torchbearer is like a book with different chapters that need to be studied from chapter to chapter. However, it is a fact that the worth of a man is in the quality of his heart and the value of his service to mankind.
Some of the qualities that made Aare Adams what he is today include that of courage and service to humanity. And he has always made this known through his style of leadership.
For instance, a few things matter in life: love for others, courage, consistency, commitment and the ability to take risk, even when it means to stand alone, with strong beliefs and conviction without looking back. He began the struggle at an age when it was very difficult for people to believe him.His courage was put to test at age 23 when he led the Oodua Peoples Congress in the struggle for the emancipation of the Yoruba race, shortly after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
At that young age, he started leading the group comprising men and women, young and old people that have made up their minds to fight for the Yoruba cause. Despite his age, Iba Gani Adams also remained committed to the struggle, giving his all to the cause even at the expense of his life.
Today, he is the living manifestation of God’s glory and limitlessness. Iba Gani Adams’ small acorn then literally turned out to become a giant Iroko tree, with branches in every aspect of life. To Iba Gani Adams, standing alone is never to be lonely. It is to live and die for a positive conviction.
And happily for him, his long years of sacrifices have always been rewarded and recognised. That is why he remains the leader of the OPC, Global Convener of the OPU, a foremost Yoruba diaspora organisation that is presently in 98 countries across the six continents of the world and he is also the Grand Patron of Yoruba One Voice convener of the South West Security Stakeholders Group and several other groups in Nigeria and beyond.
Iba Gani Adams’ ideals, vision and values as a culture aficionado is, no doubt, a source of inspiration to others. Young men of today usually draw inspiration from his lifestyle, which symbolises courage, love, consistency and generosity, making him a model to the young people and the new generation of leaders. He doesn’t like cheating and he can go all out to defend his rights and that of others.
Like his predecessor, the late Aare Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, you don’t need to be close to Iba Gani Adams to know truly that he is a soul of generosity. However, in more than five decades of his life, he had also had his own fair share of the usual vicissitudes of life. But on every occasion, he has always come out being stronger and stronger.
It is his belief that life will always throw some negative things at us, yet we need to be sure of the way we react and handle those things, knowing very well that the best is always in love and service to humanity. As a visionary leader with strong conviction, he had learned his lessons about life and he is still learning.
Today, Iba Gani Adams has been transformed to become one of the leading voices in Nigeria. He is an advocate of regionalism, a political ideology that allows every region to develop at their own pace.
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Aare is a friend of the media. He is always ready to bear his mind on current and pertinent issues. And whatever anybody may say about him, Iba Gani Adams is a self-made man with rare intelligence. He never waivers in his beliefs and can do anything to help humanity. For those of us that look up to him as our leader, the lesson here is to know that service to humanity remains the best legacy we can give to others.
Therefore, as we celebrate this great man, our leader and the Yoruba generalissimo, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, tomorrow, I think it is very important for us to learn from his many great qualities, including honesty, consistency, courage, generosity, fearlessness and love for humanity.
Finally, this Wednesday, May 1, will be the time to celebrate and party with our gallant Generalissimo and we are rolling out the drum in a special way as we celebrate another milestone in the life of our leader.
. Aderemi is the Special Assistant on Media to the 15th Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland.
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