10/09/2025
"𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗨̀𝗕𝗔́ 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗬, 𝗜𝗕𝗔 𝗚𝗔̀𝗡𝗜́ 𝗔𝗕𝗜́𝗢́𝗗𝗨́𝗡 𝗜̀𝗚𝗘̀ 𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗦 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔̀𝗔̀𝗥𝗘 𝗢̣̀𝗡𝗔̀ 𝗞𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗙𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗨̀𝗕𝗔́ 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗”__KEMI AMUSAN (Lady Kay)
Hate him, love him, admire him, villify him – whatever your feelings towards this person – you cannot take the fact away from him that he is an enigma.
The 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Ganiyu Ige Abiodun Adams, is a man worthy of keen study.
From his rise from the rubbles of ‘Oduduwa Progressive Union’ of the old, to the newly-formed one that has more than 5 million members in Yoruba land, you cannot but doff your hat for this hero.
Yes, I call him a hero : Do you know his humble beginnings? Do you follow his trajectory in life? Always involving and evolving, and building himself to be one of the topmost Yoruba today. Apart from his personal evolvement, he has made his mark in Yorùbá land by being a force to be reckoned with in the area of security.
He is greatly underrated and undervalued.
I remember a day he was speaking to Members of ‘Oodua Progressive Union’ in Canada (OPU), one of the branches of the over one hundred and thirty branches worldwide, he brought out a map, showing where all the bandits were hiding in Yorùbá land.
He spoke of the intelligence gathering capacity of his gallant ‘Oòduà Progressive Congress (OPC)’, the proof of a parallel security infrastructure – driven by self-reliance and nationalism – to secure Yorùbá land if only Federal Government would allow same. He is a man with a mission, purpose, care and deep love for Yorùbá land. The question then is : “Why is this man not celebrated and recognized for his contributions to Yorùbá land and Nigeria as a whole?”
Apart from organisational skills, Adams has proven himself in the notoriously-unstable security environment in Nigeria. Underestimated so frequently, he has placed himself consistently as a defender of Yorùbá interests in a scenario where banditry, terrorism, and communal crises have stretched the very fabric of society to its breaking point.
But for such documented influence, Adams is Ni
"𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗧𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗠𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗨̀𝗕𝗔́ 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗬, 𝗜𝗕𝗔 𝗚𝗔̀𝗡𝗜́ 𝗔𝗕𝗜́𝗢́𝗗𝗨́𝗡 𝗜̀𝗚𝗘̀ 𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗦 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔̀𝗔̀𝗥𝗘 𝗢̣̀𝗡𝗔̀ 𝗞𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗡𝗙𝗢 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗨̀𝗕𝗔́ 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗”__KEMI AMUSAN (Lady Kay)
Hate him, love him, admire him, villify him – whatever your feelings towards this person – you cannot take the fact away from him that he is an enigma.
The 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Ganiyu Ige Abiodun Adams, is a man worthy of keen study.
From his rise from the rubbles of ‘Oduduwa Progressive Union’ of the old, to the newly-formed one that has more than 5 million members in Yoruba land, you cannot but doff your hat for this hero.
Yes, I call him a hero : Do you know his humble beginnings? Do you follow his trajectory in life? Always involving and evolving, and building himself to be one of the topmost Yoruba today. Apart from his personal evolvement, he has made his mark in Yorùbá land by being a force to be reckoned with in the area of security.
He is greatly underrated and undervalued.
I remember a day he was speaking to Members of ‘Oodua Progressive Union’ in Canada (OPU), one of the branches of the over one hundred and thirty branches worldwide, he brought out a map, showing where all the bandits were hiding in Yorùbá land.
He spoke of the intelligence gathering capacity of his gallant ‘Oòduà Progressive Congress (OPC)’, the proof of a parallel security infrastructure – driven by self-reliance and nationalism – to secure Yorùbá land if only Federal Government would allow same. He is a man with a mission, purpose, care and deep love for Yorùbá land. The question then is : “Why is this man not celebrated and recognized for his contributions to Yorùbá land and Nigeria as a whole?”
Apart from organisational skills, Adams has proven himself in the notoriously-unstable security environment in Nigeria. Underestimated so frequently, he has placed himself consistently as a defender of Yorùbá interests in a scenario where banditry, terrorism, and communal crises have stretched the very fabric of society to its breaking point.
But for such documented influence, Adams is Nigeria’s most underappreciated man. His name, too often, is reduced to agitation clichés or dismissed by critics resistant to look in beyond appearance.
But history will be no such simplification.
His cultural work, from fighting for Yorùbá celebrations, to imparting identity to a new generation’s awareness, has been vital in protecting heritage in the era of globalization. His extreme activism is now being interpreted as prudence in the context of Nigeria’s pervasive governance’ problems.
The question, therefore, is not whether or not to celebrate Iba Gani Adams, but why he has not been more extensively celebrated for his contributions to security, culture, and the Yorùbá Renaissance? In a nation where patriots are all too frequently celebrated too late, there is danger in leaving it to history to validate Iba Gàní Adam’s efforts.
One thing is certain : time will deflate propaganda, prejudice, and politics off the surface, and only the truth will be left behind. And when that truth is written, the books of Yoruba land will remember him not just as an activist, not just as a keeper of culture, but as a Generalissimo who did not shrink or shirk when many did. A warrior who did not blink when others were snoring – a man that acted when others shrank into cowardice corners.
Iba Gani Adams is a man of more than a moment : he is a man of history.
Kemi Amusan (Lady Kay) writes from Toronto Canada.
