Nigeria’s economy needs spiritual rebirth, says Gani Adams

The Chief Promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation, Otunba Gani Adams, on Monday at the annual ‘Wealth Festival’ held in Powerline, Agege, Lagos advised the Federal Government to seek spiritual solution to the present economic woes.
According to Adams,” Now is the time to appreciate Aje, the deity that is in charge of fortunes and prosperity. It is apparently the most sought-after in life and God, the Supreme being has created a kind of unique spiritual affinity between man and wealth.
“In the developed world, they make adequate spiritual consultations before embarking on any developmental projects. This is the truth, because they research into the spiritual realm, mainly to have a clear-cut idea of what to do, how to do it, and when to do it in the physical world. And what this means in the real sense of it is that they know for certain that they can only succeed in whatever they do by aligning first with the spiritual world, before the physical world. That is food for thought for Nigeria and Nigerians.
“It is sad that Nigeria could be in this situation, despite its huge human and natural resources that abound all over the country. It is an irony of fate that Nigeria’s budget keeps increasing annually, yet there is little to show for it. And the truth is: We have lost touch with the spiritual realm, we believe wrongly in the ability of our leaders.
“But even at that, this is my modest proposal to the Federal Government. The global economic crisis and the eventual fall of the oil prices in the world market is a strong indication that we can not continue to be over-dependent on oil. God has really blessed us as a nation, we have to explore our tourism potential by creating wealth, thus, using what we have to get what we want. Now that the present situation continues to bite hard on the people, we have to look inward.
“At a time like this, We need spiritual rebirth. We need spiritual transformation. We need to align with our roots and seek spiritual enlightenment as a nation. Let us seek the face of Eledumare and go back to our roots. Let us appreciate our God-given wealth and natural endowments. Let us revive our cultural heritage and tradition. Let us promote our local languages. This is our true cultural identities as a people, we can only make meaningful progress as a nation if we go back to our roots. God has blessed us with every thing that can help us grow as a nation, but we abandoned it, we never appreciate what we have until we lose it. That is the tragedy of our nation”.
Speaking further, Adams opined that by celebrating Aje festival, “Agege community that hosts us today will definitely experience economic boom. Aje festival celebration will definitely translates to economic growth and development in Agege and its environs. More importantly, as we celebrate Aje festival today, we are reclaiming our lost glory, at the same time, we are saying good bye to lack and poverty. As we celebrate wealth today, we are spiritually blessed with richness and abundance”.
The festival attracted members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and Oodua Progressive Union (umbrella organisation for Yoruba in diaspora).
It had in attendance HRM Oba Ambaliu Hakeem Agbedeyi1, the Alayoge of Orile-Agege, HRM Oba Adeyemi Akanbi, Oba Orisa of Benin Republic, Chief T Jaji, Baale of Allen, Chief TN Bakare, Baale of Omole, Prof. Kolawole Raheem of University of Education,Ghana, Dr. Adesanya Ahmed of the Department of African Languages, Literatures and Communication Arts, Lagos State University, Chief Akeem Muraina, Baale of Ifako, Prince Kunle Adeyemi, Akogun Gani Kayode Balogun, Publisher GKB News, Orile Agege Council of Chiefs and several others.