Gani Adams
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Chief Ganiyu Adams , popularly known as Gani Adams (born April 30, 1970), is a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
activist, politician, traditional aristocrat and the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Oyo Town.


Early life

Gani Adams was born on April 30, 1970, at Arigidi-Akoko, presently known as Akoko north-west local government area of Ondo state.


Education

Gani Adams began his educational career at Army children's school in Otukpo, Benue state. But because of the nature of his father's job, they moved to lagos where he completed his primary education at Municipal Primary school in
Surulere Surulere is a local government area located on the mainland in Lagos State, Nigeria. It has an area of . At the 2006 census, there were 503,975 inhabitants, with a population density of 21,864 inhabitants per square kilometer. The local governm ...
area of
Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...
in 1980. After his primary education,he proceeded to  Ansar-Ud-deen Secondary School at Randle Avenue, Surulere. After his secondary education, he later went to train in furniture-making and interior decoration, which he completed in 1987.


Career

Adams thought of what he could venture into that will earn him money to cater for all of his needs. He joined Stabilini Visinoni Limited, an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
construction firm based in Apapa in Lagos, as an interior decorator. He later resigned from the company to establish his own interior business which he named “Gadson interiors”. The journey of Gani Adams as a democrat and activist started right from his early age. In 1992, he became an active pro-democrat by campaigning for democracy due to his struggle to avert military rule in the country and to make individual participation in democratic governance come into being. The struggle however, fetched him an appointment as the Public Relations Officer of Mushin local government chapter of Civil Liberties Organization(CLO) in 1993; a group that pursues the promotion of fundamental human rights in Nigeria. He was also a functioning member of Oodua Youth Movement (OYM) and a founding member of the Oodua Peoples' Congress in 1994. He was the first National Deputy Coordinator and the current Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress. Gani was the leader of a faction of the
Oodua Peoples Congress The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is a Yoruba nationalist, regionalist, and vigilante organization in Nigeria. It is also known as the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) or the Revolutionary Council of Nigeria. It is based in southwestern Nigeria ...
, a nationalist organisation based in Nigeria which supports an autonomous state for the
Yoruba people The Yoruba people ( ; , , ) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, which are collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outsid ...
. Oodua Peoples Congress was formed in 1994 as a socio-cultural group to promote the Yoruba people and their culture. Although Gani was not a founding member of OPC, he was appointed the National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress, then rose to nationwide popularity after Inspector General of Police Musiliu Smith declared him wanted in 2000 with a financial reward of N100,000 for his group's involvement in violent clashes. He was ultimately arrested on 22 August 2001, but was later released after being held in prisons in
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State located at the south western part of Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokut ...
and
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
. On October 14, 2017, Adams was declared to be the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland by Oba Adeyemi III, the
Alaafin Alaafin, or ''The custodian of the Palace'' in the Yoruba language, is the title of the king of the Oyo Empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. It is the particular title of the Oba (king) of the Oyo. It is sometimes translated as ...
of Oyo. The chieftaincy title was last held by Chief
Moshood Abiola Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (; 24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian business magnate, publisher, and politician. He was the honorary supreme military commander of the Oyo Empire and an arist ...
before his death in 1998. Gani Adams attended the 2019 edition of Elegbara festival. He delivered a speech on the regional integration of the South West of Nigeria while there.


References


Biography of Gani Adams:The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land
, naijaalways.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Ganiyu Living people Oodua Peoples Congress politicians Yoruba politicians 1970 births Lagos State University alumni Nigerian activists Nigerian socialists Politicians from Ondo State Yoruba activists Prisoners and detainees of Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian politicians