It may be a surprise that we are identifying with a sect of women that people perceive as being esoteric beings. This is because we know that they have crucial roles to play in the restoration of peace in our country. The long rejection of these great women brought illness on country.Chief Gani Adams, the national coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress and chief promoter of the Olokun Festival Foundation, made the above submission in his speech during the maiden edition of Grandmothers Festival in Lagos recently.Adams gave an insight into the anxiety, worries, and expectations of the thousands of people who had gathered at the grand finale of the three-day event, which took place at the Oworonsoki Recreational Centre in Lagos State.The festival began with a Yoruba quiz competition among secondary schools in Lagos. It afforded the foundation the opportunity of arousing the passion for the learning of Yoruba Language in the secondary school students.Adams, while speaking at the quiz competition, charged teachers and parents to pay more attention and dedication to the study and teaching of Yoruba, while also calling on government to formulate policies that will aid the development of the language.Notable Yoruba artistes including Abija; Fadeyi Oloro (Ojo Arowosafe); Ogunjimi and others were present at the event. Their presence drew a large ovation from the crowd.Drama series with thematic focus on witches and their supernatural powers as well as their importance to mankind gave the true picture of the essence of the festval.The OPC chief stated that the long rejection of these great women brought illness on our country. They have taken away our economy and have put our leaders under hypnosis. They have taken away sympathy and fairness from our leaders, because we abandoned them.He also advised government at various levels to pay attention to women, because you cannot identify those who belong to the covens among them. Thus, general recognition should be given to women at all levels of governance.Adams averred that the Nigerian witches have taken away our economy and given it to another country. They meet every year to determine, countries which they would help. They always direct their help towards countries that recognise them.Dr Adebisi Ademakinwa, a lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, who was the guest lecturer at the event, also commended the roles of supernatural grandmothers, describing them as natural and primordial.The traditional ruler of Oworonsoki, Oba Bashiru Oloruntoyin Saliu, while speaking on the occasion, commended the grandmothers for their motherly roles, and gave credit to the organisers of the event for trying to find solutions to some of the problems in the country.
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