OODUA PROGRESSIVE UNION WORLDWIDE

Speech delivered by Iba (Dr.) Gani Abiodun Ige Adams.

Text of speech delivered by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland/Global Convener, Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams at the 2025 edition of OPU Europe Summit in Napoli, Italy, today Saturday, September 27, 2025.

I am very delighted to stand before you today at this summit, organised by the Italy chapter of our great organisation.
I thank the leadership of the OPU here in Italy for their courage and for standing firm to the ideals of the organisation.
I appreciate the OPU Europe coordinator, Alhaji Ganiyu Oshidele Wahab, all the Europe OPU executive, and all country coordinators and executive for keeping the dream of OPU alive.
I equally thank all our guests for finding time to be part of this programme. I pray God continues to grant our prayers in all our endeavours.
Going back in history, OPU was established in 2011 as a diaspora socio-cultural organisation to promote the cultural identity of Yoruba race.
It is our intention to promote the unity of Yoruba race, and create a bond that enhances personal and organisational growth, economic and business networking.
In doing all these, our focus is to instill in all our members, an undiluted interest in the progress and development of the Yoruba race.
It is our focus also to discover great potentials of the Yoruba in the Diaspora.
For instance, the OPU structure in all the 103 countries of the world offers the best opportunity for us to explore the great potentials of the people in the diaspora. We have been able to achieve this laudable feat because of the formidable OPU structure abroad.
Through this organisation structure, we get vital information from our members about how best we can tap the hidden treasure and potentials that are inherent in our members.
This structure also makes it easy for us to know and identify people of like minds with great potentials that can be used to impact the world, while also being useful to Nigeria and Yoruba land in particular.
Today, Nigerians in the Diaspora is not a community of people that can be underrated back at home.
This is more so as Diaspora remittances have become a major source of foreign exchange and economic support for Nigeria, with figures fluctuating but generally staying in the billions of dollars annually.
In 2024, remittances increased to $20.93 billion, though the World Bank reported a slight dip to $19.5 billion in 2023. These funds help alleviate poverty, improve living standards, and boost local economies, making the Nigerian diaspora a significant economic force.
This year's Europe Summit is the 11th edition. With the exception of the COVID-19 period, the summit has been held physically since its inception in 2015.
I salute the passion and commitment of our members in Europe to organising the summit annually in spite of its huge demands in terms of finances and time. I must state unequivocally that this annual summit has been the driving spirit behind our growing membership across Europe.
For the records, in 2015, the inaugural edition was held in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2016, Amsterdam, Netherlands was the host. In 2017, Gothenburg, Sweden hosted the summit. In 2018, it was the turn of Hamburg, Germany, while Zurich, Switzerland hosted the event in 2019.
In 2020 and 2021, because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the summit was held through Zoom Conferences. In 2022, the physical summit resumed in Paris, France. In 2023, Amsterdam, Netherlands took the baton, while in the 2024, London, United Klngdom was the host.
Today, the 11th edition of the OPU Europe Summit is being held in Napoli, Italy. We thank God who has kept the organisation in unity till today.
Europe remains strategic financially and politically to the global village. It is one key reason why many international agencies and organisations have their headquarters in Europe.
As such, in every decision making that would affect the world, the interest of Europe is always protected. It is this kind of influence that we want to reflect in the structure of OPU Europe.
We want the reflection of unity, cohesion and strategy within OPU Europe. We want members to be good ambassadors of Nigeria and the Yoruba race wherever they are in Europe.
Our cultural evangelism should be the selling point of our organisation. This is just as emphasis should be placed on the issue of networking and unity, which will drive the interests of the members.
ITALIAN-NIGERIAN TIES
Italy is one of the first countries where OPU was established. Napoli was the city that hosted us when we launched OPU. Italy is a strategic European nation. It is home to the Vatican, the seat of the Catholics where the Pope, a revered global religious leader, resides.
Italy's economic strength include its status as the second-largest manufacturing country in Europe, a globally leading role in luxury goods, and a well-developed industrial sector, especially in the north.
Its key industries such as pharmaceuticals, construction, precision machinery, automotive, fashion, and a significant tourism sector contribute to its economic power. The country also boasts strong entrepreneurial spirit, innovative companies, and a positive trend in foreign direct investment
In terms of Nigeria-Italy relations, Italy has deep ties with Nigeria, rooted in decades of Italian settlement and businesses in Nigeria and the significant Nigerian diaspora in Italy.
Nigeria is Italy's main trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria providing raw materials like crude oil and Italy exporting finished products such as machinery and petroleum products.
In the construction industry, they once held away for decades in Nigeria. Italian construction firms were responsible for building a lot of public infrastructure in the early years, with a company like Stabilini Visinoni Construction Limited, where I once worked for a few years, playing a huge part in the construction works.
Italian business merchants have also been very active in Nigeria's leather, wood finish and fashion industries, leaving indelible footprints.
Today, both countries keep strengthening relations through economic initiatives like Italy's Mate Plan and agreements on issues like human trafficking and mutual legal assistance.
Some of Italy's initiatives in Africa includes Mate Plan, a multi-billion dollar initiative, which aims to boost investment and development in African countries, including Nigeria, focusing on infrastructure, renewable energy, and human capital.
I am profoundly honoured to stand here to address this esteemed gathering at the OPU Europe Summit 2025.
Today, we converge under the vital theme: "The Importance of Language in Preserving Yoruba Culture: Efforts to Revitalise Yoruba Language." Our guest speaker would do justice to this theme.
However, I believe that the theme resonates deeply not only with the Yoruba people but with all who cherish cultural identity and heritage.
Examples of this could be seen in how the Jews and Arabs cherish and identify with their culture everywhere they reside or exist.
Language is the lifeblood of culture. It is the vessel through which traditions, values, history, and collective memory are transmitted across generations.
For the Yoruba people, one of Nigeria’s richest ethnic groups, the Yoruba language is much more than a means of communication — it is a repository of our worldview, philosophy, and social norms.
However, like many indigenous languages worldwide, Yoruba faces challenges in the modern era. Globalisation, urbanisation, and the dominance of foreign languages in education and media threaten the everyday use and transmission of Yoruba, especially among younger generations.
Recognising these challenges, various efforts are underway to revitalise and promote the Yoruba language.
It is in line with these efforts that cultural festivals, which our organisation, the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) has been vigorously promoting, have become vibrant tools and avenues through which Yoruba language, culture and tradition are celebrated and passed on.
For OPU, as stakeholders in cultural preservation, we must continue to advocate for policies that support Yoruba language education at all levels, encourage media content in Yoruba, and foster environments where the language thrives naturally in the diaspora homes and communities.
RESTRUCTURING, KEY TO NIGERIA'S CHALLENGES
The main challenge with Nigeria is that the country is too centralised. Without restructuring in Nigeria, there is no way we can have a good nation.
Nigeria was plunged into crisis since the military incursion into administration in 1966 after which Aguiyi Ironsi changed our Federal Constitution to Unitary Constitution.
A nation of more than 250 million population cannot be using this sort of Unitary Constitution, an over-centralised Constitution, that dictates that resources before States and Local Governments go to the centre. This has ensured that States and Local Governments can not develop at their pace, without relying on handouts from the centre.
Besides, this current unitary system of government encourages massive corruption and impedes good governance. I will advice that we return to regional system of government where the six geopolitical zones can develop at their pace.
I urge you all in the diaspora to join the call for restructuring of the Nigerian nation.
You must demand for restructuring as the only way the country can move forward. You can drive the cause peacefully on the basis of ideology.
We do not have any other nation. So we must join in proferring solution to the hydra-headed challenge to Nigeria's nationhood.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Yoruba language is an irreplaceable treasure that embodies the identity and spirit of its people. Its preservation and revitalisation are essential not only for cultural continuity but also for enriching Nigeria’s diverse ethnic nationality.
I urge all OPU members across the world to commit to safeguarding this heritage through education, innovation, and collective action.
As ambassadors of OPU in the diaspora, you must all key into the dream, by promoting the ideology, the aims and objectives of OPU wherever you are in all the six continents of the world.
Thank you all for your attention.
Signed: Iba (Dr) Gani Abiodun Ige Adams (FCIA) the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Global Convener OPU Worldwide.