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OPC New Era Frowns At Plan By Gani Adams To Celebrate 30th Anniversary Of OPC

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The plan by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), has been described as a slap on the faces of founding fathers of the organisation.

The National Publicity Secretary of OPC New Era, Comrade Adesina Akinpelu, said that Iba Adams is not in the position to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the group.
Chairman of OPC 30th Anniversary Planning Committee, Professor Kolawole Raheem, last Thursday unveiled the programmes of activities lined up for the anniversary.
According to Professor Raheem, the eight -day long activities would climax with a grand reception to be held in Lagos on Thursday August 29, 2024.
But reacting to this, the spokesman of OPC New Era described the planned anniversary as another attempt by Aare Gani Adams to obtain money from Yorubas both at home and in the diaspora.
Comrade Akinpelu insisted that Gani Adams can only celebrate the alleged disunity he caused among OPC members as there are four different factions of Yoruba socio-cultural group today.
He listed the factions to include; Fasheun Faction, New Era Faction, Gani Adams Faction, and Reformed OPC Faction.
According to him, Gani Adams can only celebrate the anniversary of his own faction of OPC, and not the anniversary of the OPC co-founded in 1994 by the late Dr. Fredrick Fasheun and a few other respected Yoruba leaders.
Comrade Akinpelu maintained that if truly Gani Adams has good intentions for planning to celebrate OPC’s 30th anniversary, he should reach out to the leaders of other factions of the group.
He, therefore, urged Yoruba traditional rulers, politicians and other well-meaning sons and daughters of the race, both at home and in the diaspora, to disregard any invitation or request for financial support concerning the proposed anniversary.
Going down memory lane, Akinpelu recalled that Gani Adams was declared as the leader of OPC on March 1, 1999 at No. 19 Olusoga Street, Mushin, Lagos in a rebellious manner against the leadership of the late Fasheun.
He said, “We, the masses and youths in the OPC, laid down our lives to support Gani Adams because we thought that he was a youth like us. We know how many OPC members that died on that day.
“But instead of using the position to fight the cause of the Yoruba race, Gani Adams has continued to use the name of the OPC to enrich himself and cause disunity among members of the group. Those professors and elders that are still following Gani Adams around know the truth, but they cannot say it to his face.
“The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Arole Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja 11) has long called for unity among all OPC Factions. Gani Adams has not allowed that to happen. He is now planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of a group that is largely divided, contrary to the dreams of its founding fathers.”
He noted that if Iba Gani Adams is interested in the progress of the Yoruba race and OPC in particular, he would have worked towards by ensuring unity among the members of the group as instructed by Ooni Ogunwusi.
 “When the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, wanted to install Gani Adams as the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Dr. Fasheun did not oppose it, he supported him. But when Fasheun was sick and eventually died and even till today, Gani has not visited his family. We are talking of one of the founding fathers of the organisation,” he added.
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