The Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has urged President Bola Tinubu to go after those undermining his efforts to stabilize the Nigerian currency.
Iba Adams made this statement in Orile Agege during the 2024 edition of the Odun Aje Festival.
Addressing the depreciation of the Naira, Iba Adams emphasized the importance of halting its continuous decline, noting that certain individuals are hindering the country’s progress.
He called on President Tinubu to take action against any person or investor working against his administration’s efforts to strengthen the local currency.
He also urged the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, and other financial institutions to do everything possible to stop fraudulent transactions and round-tripping between the dollar and the naira to protect the nation’s economy.
Adams pointed out that the free fall of the local currency, with the dollar selling for N1650 as of Tuesday, is primarily due to the illegal activities of saboteurs.
He reiterated the urgent need to strengthen the naira and halt its daily decline.
Iba said: “Today the naira is sold at N1650 to a dollar. It is a fact that the naira is weakened by the illegal businesses of the saboteurs. There is an urgent need for us to strengthen the naira from daily free fail. Now is the time for the Federal Government to go after those who are bent on sabotaging the efforts of this administration.
“I will appeal to the President, the Central Bank Governor, as well as all government financial institutions to go after any individual or investor that is working against the Federal Government’s resolve to strengthen the naira.
“The fraudulent transaction of dollar to naira and round-tripping must be stopped to save our economy. The Nigerian economy is in serious trouble, and there is an urgent need for a better approach to save the naira.”
Speaking further, Iba Adams also lamented that Nigeria was losing much of the respect of the global community because of the weak status of her currency, pointing out that by global standard, every country gets the respect of others as a result of the strength of her currency.
According to him, a country with a very viable and strong currency will naturally earn the respect of others, adding that a country with a weak currency would continue to look up to others for both social and economic survival while the power or the strength of a country’s currency also translates to how much respect the citizens of that country get among the citizens of the world.
“As our naira continues to fall, there is no doubt that Nigeria will be at the mercy of other countries that have strong value for their currencies. Even global investors would not take a country with a weak currency seriously economically.
“Let me say also that a weak currency will always affect local production. Especially, in a situation where most of the materials needed for the production of the local products are not made in Nigeria. A weak currency will certainly affect the economy. The cost of living will surely be high and the inflation will continue to bite harder and harder.
“Weak currency will also promote corruption and further sink the country deeper. Therefore, I am appealing to President Bola Tinubu to make sure that the naira bounces back and regains its strength against the dollar and other global currencies.
“It is not impossible for us to have our naira gaining strength and bouncing back to at least N500 to a dollar, within the next one year. The government has the capacity and the wherewithal to change the ugly narratives of the Nigerian currency. The government should be ready to go after the saboteurs. It is an irony of fate to say that the Nigerian currency today is now 50 percent weaker and below the Cefars.
“I remember in 2014, when we traveled on an official tour of Togo, Benin Republic, and Cotonou for the inauguration of Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), the Cefar was just 28 percent of the naira.
“But today, the N1000 to cfa in Cotonou 421,64500 is a huge gap. The difference is too obvious for us to know that our naira has lost its value,” he added.
Speaking on the importance of Odun Aje Festival, Iba Adams also described it as unique, saying that it was a celebration of the deity in charge of wealth and one of the tools that binds the world together.
He said one of the reasons the group headed by him had continued to celebrate Odun Aje “is for us to regain the lost glory of the Yoruba race, adding that another important reason “is to change the narratives of our poor past and also to keep the hope alive.”
He, however, said with excitement that the efforts were now yielding results, noting that part of the great testimonies of such was the success Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) recorded by promoting Yoruba culture and tradition.
“For instance, we started celebrating the Odun Aje Festival in Onigbongbo, Ikeja, Lagos. But today, Orile Agege is now the host community.
“And since we started celebrating the wealth festival here in Orile Agege, we have recorded various testimonies as an organization. The host community is also benefitting from the good gesture,” he said.
Guest Speaker, Prof. Ayo Yusuf from the Department of Linguistics African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos (UNILAG) spoke on the topic titled: “Concept of Aje Olokun,” who also spoke about the importance of wealth (Aje) as the major drivers of the economy, adding that the best way to preserve it was by being prudent.
Yusuf, who was represented by Abolade Daud of the same department, harped on the need to promote the growth of Yoruba culture most especially by parents, saying findings indicated that some individuals living abroad found it difficult to speak their native languages.
“If we consider individuals living abroad, we notice difficulty in speaking their native languages. I hope our parents can support this to promote the growth of the Yoruba culture,” he said.
Apart from the royal host, who is also the Alage of Orile Agege, Oba Akeem Ambaliu Agbedeyi; the Onimapara of Mapara Kingdom, Oba Lateef Amodemaja, other prominent members that graced the event were the Aareonakakanfo Chiefs In Council including the Osi Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, Chief Gani Balogun, the Parakoyi Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Prof. Kolawole Raheem, Baale Orile Adesan Mowe, Chief Abiola Aremu, Baale Tabon- Tabon Orile Agege, Chief SO Itogbe.
Others were members of the National Executive Council (NEC) and National Coordinating Council (NCC) among others.
THE NATION
