Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, on Tuesday in Lagos said it is imperative for President Muhammadu Buhari to take drastic steps that can help salvage the economy, adding that Buhari must evolve a strategic approach to save the dwindling economy from imminent collapse.
Iba Adams made this call while speaking at the 2022 edition of “Grand Mothers’ Festival (Odun Awon Iya Agba),” which took place at Water Front, Marina, Beside Ayetoro Market, in Epe, even as he decried the country’s mounting foreign loans, the recent scarcity and increase in the prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the proposed increase in the cost of flight tickets, among others, which the Yoruba generalissimo said would add to the suffering of the people if embarked upon.
Adams, while calling on the president to take drastic action at the event which witnessed cultural display and was attended by royal fathers and dignitaries, pointedly declared that Nigeria’s economy at the moment was dwindling and in a state of comatose as, according to him, nothing is working.
“Finally, I think it is very important for President Muhammadu Buhari to take a drastic step that can help salvage the economy. Buhari must evolve a strategic approach to save the dwindling economy from imminent collapse.
“At the moment, Nigeria’s economy is dwindling and it is in a state of comatose. Nothing is working.
“I think there is an urgent need for the Federal Government to evolve a strategic approach to salvage the economic doldrum facing the country.
“In recent time, Nigeria has been surviving on foreign loans and the economic hardship is hitting hard on the ordinary citizens.
“The recent scarcity and increase in the prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) can only make things worse for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“The proposed increase in the cost of flight tickets nationwide will also add to the suffering of the people.
“Now that people prefer to travel by Air as a result of the high spate of insecurity, it is very unfortunate that the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) have resolved to increase the cost of flight tickets nationwide.
“For example, economy flight tickets that sold for 30,000 or 35,000 at a flat rate has been increased to
N50,000 nationwide,” Iba Adams said.
The Aare Onakakanfo sadly said other sectors of the economy apart from the Aviation sector were also suffering, pointing out that the huge increase in import duty tariff for imported vehicles was also taking a heavy toll on businesses and the cost of goods and services, adding: “Both the Small and Medium-scale businesses are mostly affected.”
Speaking on the essentials of the Grand Mothers’ Festival (Odun Awon Iya Agba), Iba Adams posited that “our mothers are the drivers of our fate in life,” and, therefore, there was the need to celebrate them bring “at the centre of our spiritual greatness.”
This was just as the Yoruba generalissimo quickly noted that grandmothers were celebrated across the world in various forms as, according to him, the Halloween festival that is celebrated all over the world is also a replica of Grand Mother’s Festival.
“Grandmothers are like Halloween. They are placed in a high spiritual realm. So, if we don’t know or believe in them, we don’t need to abuse them. We should just leave them alone.
“A good example of this is that in the global community, Halloween festival is one of the most amazing festivals celebrated across Europe.
“The origins of Halloween are said to be in the Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
“Halloween, less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day,” Adams stated.
Iba Adams, while describing mothers as witches commonly referred to as “Eleye” in Yoruba land, who “wear their spiritual garb in White, red and black,” said they deserve to be celebrated accordingly, given their roles in both the physical and spiritual world.
According to him, “It is a fact that our grandmothers are spiritual in nature and deed.
“They are in charge of most of the circumstances surrounding the physical and the spiritual world.
“At times, God in His infinite mercies uses the grandmothers’ (Awon Iya Agba/Eleye) as instruments of favour, progress and growth.”
“They can also be used as tools or instruments of ill-luck, stagnation and even destruction.
“It depends largely on the side of the spiritual divide you are as individual or group. Our grandmothers’ are like tools for spiritual advancement and growth,” he added.
“Of all the festivals we celebrate annually across Yoruba land, Grand Mothers’ festival (Odun Awon Iya Agba) is one of the few festivals that reflect the meaning of human existence.
“We come to the world through our mothers. Our grandmothers are specially made because of the roles they are destined to play in both the spiritual and the physical world.
“There is this popular Yoruba saying that “Orisa bi Iya Osi”, meaning there is no deity like a mother. We need to appreciate and celebrate them always,” he added further.
Iba Adams, therefore, expressed hope, saying by “celebrating our grandmothers, we can easily tap into the spiritual realm by building the economic fortunes of the South-West region.”
“By celebrating this festival, we can also use the traditional means to address the various issues that affect us as a race,” he said.
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