Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, has decried the rising cost of food items and essential commodities in the country as Nigerians look forward to celebrating Christmas and New Year, saying such development was not too good for Nigeria as a nation as it had made life more difficult for the citizens.
The Yoruba generalissimo said the situation cannot be said to be fair, especially, now that the nation’s economy was obviously not in good shape, noting that prices of every commodity remained as they were, in developed countries of the world, even during festive seasons as there was price control mechanism put in place to address such.
Iba Adams gave this position, on Tuesday, while speaking at the 2021 edition of Ogun Festival, holding at Ikorodu Town Hall, Ikorodu, Lagos State, and attended by dignitaries and royal fathers, among others.
Adams, who noted that nothing changes so frequently like the weather, said such was not the case in Nigeria regarding prices of food stuffs, perishable items and other essential commodities.
He lamented that Nigerians had always been at the mercy of greedy traders and sellers who tended to determine the prices of their products at will, declaring that there was need for caution at this point in time and time for the country to borrow the idea of global price control mechanism as it was done in developed countries.
“We need to review the present economic situation and determine the rate at which the prices of every product increases.
“Prices of items like foodstuffs, rice, beans, Semovita, Garri, Chickens, and gifts soar high beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians. It becomes very difficult and hard to live in Nigeria and nothing changes at all.
“At this festive season, government at various levels must be sensitive to address the urgent needs of the people.
“There’s no better time other than now for the government to cushion the effect of increasing prices of products in the country,” the Yoruba generalissimo stated.
Iba Adams said the Ogun Ajobo Festival, which was being celebrated in Ikorodu was the last in the series of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) festivals calendar for the year, that kick- started in Ile- Ife, Osun State in January with the Oodua Festival.
According to him, Ogun Festivities is not peculiar to Yoruba as a race, saying it was the tradition all over the world, adding: “Everywhere in the world, Ogun remains the God of Iron and the arbiter of all technological development.”
Aare Adams, while pointing out that Ogun is indispensable to mankind and great countries like China, Singapore, Japan and Germany celebrated Ogun in their own way, described Ogun as one of the most popular deities in the world as well as the pathfinder that links the shining world of gods to the physical plane of human.
“Ogun is not only a warrior, He is also the patron deity of smiths and craftsmen,” he said.
“For instance, each of the countries that manufactured cars and other luxuries have contributed greatly to the growth of the world, but Japan and Germany brand of cars remain the best because those countries are able to identify with the spiritual nature of the deity that enhances the technology.
“And the secret of their tremendous transformation lies in the way they promote their culture, tradition and heritage.
“They are prosperous because they understand what it is to identify and promote their deities and the spirituality of their respective countries,” he added.
Iba Adams argued that celebrating Yoruba culture, heritage and tradition goes a long way in boosting the tourism sector, but lamented that religious fanatism, bigotry intolerance had also hampered Yoruba growth as a race, declaring that It was time to wake up from our slumber, so that we can restore our hope in cultural transformation.”
Citing the Lagos state initiative of food festival, Iba Gani Adams, however, urged other southwest governors to look inward and come up with ideas that can help boost the tourism potentials of their respective states.
” Other states in the South-West to should look inward and work on something similar with that of Lagos state. Festivals, whether cultural, traditional, sports, Arts, educational Movies or Music remained potent tool to interact, integrate and share valuable ideas that can be used to create jobs and wealth.
“The world is growing at a very rapid pace and we should not be left out in the opportunity to grow and harness the various opportunities that are still available for us in the tourism industry,” Adams said.
