Even before his birth on April 30, 1970, certain happenstances before that day foretold that the baby in expectant mother, Dada Adams’ womb is an ‘Akanda.’
The story, as told by his mother, before her death in 1993, was that there was a time, while in state, she was crossing the river in Otukpo, Benue State, by boat and the water became troublesome and the boat almost capsized, the sailor, who was also a reputed soothsayer in the locality, told Dada Adams that “the child you are carrying in your womb is the cause of this trouble. He must be a special child. The enemies have foreseen the destiny of the baby, that’s why they don’t want him to come to life”
So also, it happened on the day of his birth, blood flew ceaselessly from her mother. All efforts to arrest the situation failed. The whole of Arigidi Akoko new there was a stubborn birth. It was a herbalist from Omuo-Ekiti that saved the situation. But then, the herbalist also foretold the greatness of the baby being born.
‘Akanda’ is Yoruba word for ‘God’s special creation’ and Ganiyu Abiodun Ige Adams, the newly Appointed 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, by his track records, has lived up to that prediction.
He began his journey to national consciousness in the aftermath of the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election and within a very short time, he has etched that name on marble so much that in present day Nigeria and in over 50 countries of the world where he has preached the gospel of Oodua Peoples’ Congress and Oodua Progressive Union, no one will ask: Who is Gani Adams? A measure of his popularity? The Aare Ona Kakanfo title is his 56th from across Yorubaland and may be the final because it is supreme.
Over time, he has built a very strong cult followership. An indication that Gani Adams will not be an Aare Ona Kakanfo without troops is the massive loyalty he enjoys from members of OPC. One needs to run into an exodus of Gani Adams’ faction of OPC in their very long convoy of vehicles fact is that; they are the dominant, Gani Adams is the live wire of OPC.
No other Yoruba man alive is deserving of the title of Aare Ona Kakanfo, the Generalissimo or Chief of Defence Staff to the Alaafin, the C-in-C of Yorubaland more than the Arigidi-Akoko born human right fighter and Yoruba nationalist.
His humble beginning started from his antecedent as a defender of Yoruba interest since the emergence of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) as a means to stand up for Yoruba’s interest following the annulment of the June 12 elections won by the immediate past Aare Ona Kakanfo, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
The larger than life image bestowed on him after successfully fending off the Hausa/Fulani quest for dominance of the popular Mile 12 market in 2001. As a man destined for the Aare Ona Kakanfo stool, Gani Adams, right from that early stage displayed an uncommon fearlessness and courage that only a wartime general can be attributed. He stood against a the Hausa/Fulani ‘invasion’ deceitfully emboldened by long years of lopsided Hausa/Fulani’s oligarchic domination of political power at Nigeria’s equally lopsided centre.
Gani Adams heroics at Mile 12 catapulted him to a national figure. He was declared wanted by the Olusegun Obasanjo led Federal Government with a one million naira bounty on his head. He later surrendered and the rest as they say, is now history. His feat did not only win the war of dominance at Mile 12 for the Yorubas, it equally sent a warning signal to other ethnic nationalities who had the wrong notion that Yorubas are a weakling tribe who were scared of defending their territories.
An untrained ‘army general’ led his equally untrained army to fend off very ruthless tribal warlords and a partisan state authority to restore the pride and dignity of the Yorubas home and abroad. Otunba Gani Adams is a worthy Generalissimo and the cap fits.
Now, the war is modernised. The battle field has shifted to intellectual discuss, display of very rich Yoruba culture and festivals. He established the Olokun Foundation as a multi-faceted vehicle to promote Yoruba cultural festivals and the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU) with membership presence in about 50 countries to serve as a rallying point for the Yorubas in the diaspora. He has no intra tribal wars to fight for the Alaafin. The battle now is Yoruba unity and he must beware of that banana peel called politics.
Ganiyu Abiodun Ige Adams is a modern day Aare Ona Kakanfo and the first to have his ‘troops’ in every Yoruba community on the planet including over 50 countries where he has planted the Oodua Progressive Union. He joins such eminent and valiant Yoruba sons who were his predecessors as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. They are: Kokorogangan of Iwoye, Oyatope of Iwoye, Oyaabi of Jabata, Adeta of Ajase and Oku of Jabata. The list also includes: Afonja of Ilorin, Toyeye of Ogbomoso, Edun of Gbogun, Amepo of Abemo, Kurunmi of Ijaye, Ojo Aburumaku of Ogbomoso, Latoosa of Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola of Ogbomoso and Moshood Kashy Olawale Abiola of Abeokuta. And the 15th, he is Gani Adams of Arigidi-Akoko. L’oogun o fe o.