27/08/2025
Text of speech by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, at the 2025 Kakanfo Festival, holding today, Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at CNUD Primary School, Ikorita Meje, Olose, Ifo, Ogun State.
I am delighted to welcome you all to the celebration of the 2025 edition of the Kakanfo Festival.
I welcome our royal father, the Olu of Ifo Kingdom, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Oba Samel Atanda Oladipupo, Ayerounwi 1; our royal host, the Olu of Orile Ifoland, HRM Oba Abdulsemiu Adewale Ogunjobi, Arolagbade 1; our co-royal hosts, the Alagbegise of Agbegise Kingdom, HRM Oba Adesina Ikudaisi Joseph; and the Olu of Ibogun land, HRM Oba Ifakayode Anikinnikun, and other royal fathers here as our guests.
I express my sincere appreciation to every other our guests who are here to honour us.
I appreciate all members of the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) for their presence and commitment to this great cause, which the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) has been advancing progressively over the years.
Together, we have come a long way in using cultural promotion activities to bridge the gap between the Yoruba race and other races of the world. I commend everyone of you for your courage, untiring spirit and the ability to sustain the ideals of the organisation. May God continue to strengthen us as we fulfill the destiny of our race.
WHY WE ARE CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF KAKANFO DEITY TODAY
We want everyone to know that Kakanfo is a deity. The person sitting in the stool is the Aare Ona.
In the wisdom of the Alaafin Ajagbo, after creating the Aare Ona Kakanfo’s office, he looked for the bravest person in Yorubaland, which was Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye, a Nigeria boundary community to benin republic.
Kokoro Gangan (the scorpion of Iwoye) fought seriously for Yorubaland. He died at the age of 123 years, about two weeks after returning from the Ibariba war. Aare Oyatope was the second Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, succeeding Kokoro Gangan.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland goes beyond titles. It is about standing as a shield, fighting unseen battles, and safeguarding the dignity of the Yoruba people and stabilising Yorubaland.
However, when there is no war, the Aare Ona Kakanfo as a fashion-oriented person will always socialise.
Using the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF), we understand the worth of the Kakanfo deity. We are committed to honouring and celebrating the Kakanfo Festival with pride.
The celebration of this festival stands as a vibrant testament to our rich heritage, valor, and the enduring spirit of our people.
The Kakanfo Festival is not merely a cultural event; it is a solemn homage to the legendary warriors whose courage and leadership have shaped our history and identity.
IMPACT OF AARE ONA KAKANFO IN YORUBALAND
The Aare Ona Kakanfo is a historical Yoruba title, essentially a Field Marshal or Supreme Commander of the Yoruba armies, established by Alaafin Ajagbo of the Old Oyo Empire.
It signifies a peak of military leadership, bravery, and strategic prowess. The titleholder is entrusted with the defense of Yorubaland and given command of all its forces.
According to history, the creation of the title of Aare Ona Kakanfo was the direct consequence of the ideas of a former ruler of Old Oyo Empire, Alaafin Ajagbo, in 1530.
His predecessors, from Ajaka, who succeeded Sango (the god of thunder), to Aganju, Kori, Oluaso, Onigbogi, Eguguojo, and Orompoto to Abipa and Obalokun, all suffered incessant attacks by neighbouring states.
Aare-Ona-Kakanfo Ajagbo had a twin brother, Ajampati, and like the Biblical Jacob and Esau, Ajagbo was an outdoorsman, while Ajampati preferred the comforts of the royal court. As a result, Ajagbo, as a prince was part of many military expeditions to fend off invaders, and grew up a warrior, all the while nurturing ideas on how best to deal with military aggression against his kingdom-state.
One of the direct results of his ideas when he became Alaafin was the creation of the office and title of Aare Ona Kakanfo in 1530, meaning Field Marshal, or Generalissimo of the Yoruba armies. Since then, the title is usually conferred on a brave person among the Yoruba people.
After creating the Kakanfo title, he invested the holder the command of all his forces, outside Oyo town, for the defence of the Alaafin and Yoruba land.
For the benefit of people who think the title of Aare Ona Kakanfo is just mere title, let me give you insights into what five out of the past 14 Aare Ona Kankanfo have done for Yorubaland.
1. Aare Ona Kakanfo Toyeje fought eight wars to defend Ogbomoso and environ, and by proxy Yorubaland. He prevented the Fulani Ilorin to invade Yorubaland through Ogbomoso.
Aare Toyeje resisted the Fulani incursions on two occasions before consulting the Ifa oracle on what to do to stop the invasion permanently. He was asked to sacrifice two of his children, which he did. Afterwards, the Fulani attempted the invasion five more times and failed.
When they could not invade Ogbomoso, they took another route to Osogbo. But Balogun Oderinlo, who was Balogun of Ibadan and the Gbonka Aare Ona Kakanfo under Aare Ona Kakanfo Toyeje, led his army to defeat them and push them back to Ilorin in 1840.
It is sad that historians do not mention Balogun Oderinlo as Gbonka Aare Ona Kakanfo when he achieved this conquest under the instruction of Toyeje.
2. Aare Ona Kakanfo Afonja too was a brave fighter. He fought many wars to defend the Alaafin and Yorubaland before he had a misunderstanding with Alaafin Aole, there is no war that Afonja fought and did not win.
Alaafin Aole instructed Afonja to attack Iwere Ile. But the Baale of Iwere Ile reminded him of the curse of Alaafin Ajagbo that whoever attacks Ile-Ife, Oyo and Iwere-Ile would not end well. This pitched him against Alaafin Aole, making Aole to curse him. This ultimately led Afonja to begin to act irrationally and eventually contributed to why Yoruba lost Ilorin to Fulani.
3. Aare Ona Kakanfo Oyalabi, if not for him, there would have been a different history about Oyo today. This is because Bashorun Gaa had committed some sinister acts that affected four past Alaafin, including an Alaafin Princess, Agbonrin, before Alaafin Abiodun went to call Oyalabi from somewhere close to Ikoyi Port Novo, which is Benin Republic now, to come to their rescue. It was Oyalabi that eventually defeated Bashorun Gaa sometime in the 17th century.
It was also Oyalabi that went to assist the Oninana people in Ghana under the instruction of Alaafin Awobiade, who at the time, were being threatened by the Efe people. Oyalabi was the one who defeated them to give Oninana people sense of belonging till today.
4. Aare Akintola was another brave Aare Ona Kakanfo, who was installed in 1964. Despite the political difference between him and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he still followed the five cardinal programmes of the Action Group, ensuring there was continuous and progressive governance.
In spite of the political crisis in Action Group, he did not compromise the manifestoes of the party. Part of the development in the old western region and stand-out projects by the Odua Investment Group, were done under the leadership of Aare Akintola till 1966 when the military incursion ousted them.
5. In Aare Ona Kakanfo MKO Abiola’s case, when the military was reluctant to relinquish power and were playing all manner of games with elections, Aare Abiola, the 14th Aare Ona Kakanfo, was the one that challenged the military.
With his clout in Nigeria, he contested the Presidency and won the election. They withheld his mandate, but he challenged them again, leading to his detention.
They tried to make him compromise his mandate by giving him conditional bail, but he refused and chose to pay the ultimate price, sacrificing his life for the sake of democracy that we are enjoying today. It was after his death that Nigeria returned to democracy.
With the impact and achievements of five past Aare Ona Kakanfo, I believe many would now understand that holders of the title have been of great contributors to the development of the society.
In my case as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo, since my installation in January 2018 by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, I have focused on cultural revival and promotion, defending Yorubaland, and fighting for peace and unity to be entrenched in the region.
Today, through the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), which is 103 countries of the world, I promote Yoruba culture and tradition and its renaissance. Through Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), I have been at the forefront of ensuring adequate and effective security across Yorubaland, seeking collaboration with all stakeholders including government to secure lives and property of our people, and put an end to all forms of security threat.
NEED TO STAMP OUT INSECURITY IN OUR NATION
In recent times, the level of insecurity across the country has reached an alarming level, with many citizens unable to go about with their daily activities without fear.
Without mincing words, insecurity has become a matter deserving the utmost urgent response from governments at all levels.
The safety and security of Nigerians are fundamental to the prosperity, stability, and development of this nation. Without peace and security, our efforts towards economic growth, social cohesion, and democratic governance will continuously be severely undermined.
Today, insecurity manifests in incidences of banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, communal clashes and the like. The recent attacks by suspected bandits in Babanla area of Kwara State leading loss of lives is a fresh reminder of the urgent need to put a stop to all shades of insecurity across the land.
We need to urgently do something about what is happening in Kwara and Kogi States and parts of Ondo, Oyo and Ogun States. We need do something drastic about what is going on in Igbomina area of Kwara, and in parts of Oke-Ogun area, Akoko area in Ondo, and some border towns in Nigeria State.
The governors must be ready to collaborate on the issue of security. All hands must be on deck to ensure we tackle insecurity decisively and flush out criminal elements.
We do not need to make too much of noise in the social media before we tackle the criminals in our environment.
Security is about strategy, structure, and strength of your team that can meet up with the geographical spread of the area you want to secure.
Security is about the level sincerity and commitment of the team you are leading, and which you can trust to lay down their lives for Yorubaland.
Security is about the cohesion that you have in the organisation that you are leading. Security is not a job you can give to a stark illiterate. It is a job for someone with the intellectual capacity, that knows how to use modern equipment, that knows how to keep Intel within the hierarchy of his group.
The criminals we have now are sophisticated and can use rocket launchers, sub-machine guns, and aircrafts. Security is not about hyping yourself in the social media.
If the southwest governors are ready, we are also ready. If the Yoruba people are ready, we are ready.
We have written more than three letters to the authority on the need for collaboration. If the governors are ready, we are equally ready. We cannot just intrude into the security framework of Yorubaland except we have the clearance to do so, otherwise such a person would be turned into a common criminal.
With the Southwest Security Stakeholders Group, we have the network and intelligence necessary to support the current security framework in the region to achieve the utmost result. But we are being careful. It is not on the basis of cowardness or fear, or because we have grown beyond sacrificing for Yorubaland.
Addressing insecurity also demands that we tackle the root causes such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, and lack of access to education.
FINALLY
In closing, I encourage everyone to partake fully in the festivities—the displays of traditional arts, the performances, the cultural exhibitions, and the rich narratives that bring our history to life.
Let these experiences deepen our appreciation of our heritage and strengthen the bonds of unity among us.
May this festival serve as a beacon of cultural pride and a reminder of our collective duty to preserve and promote our heritage.
Once again, welcome to the 2025 Kakanfo Festival. Let us celebrate together in peace, harmony, and progress.
Thank you all for being part of this remarkable celebration.
Kakanfo a gbe waa lagbara eledua.
Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land
