The Olota of Ota in Ogun State, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, has said the annual Odun Omo Iganmode festival was conceived to stimulate communal understanding.
Obalanlege, who spoke at his palace in Ota, noted that some security challenges confronting the country can best be solved at the communal level.
He said: “The theme of this year’s celebration, ‘Communal Security and Patriotism’, could not have been more apt, especially as we are challenged by what now appears to be intractable insecurity…
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“For me, it is in our collective interest to tackle insecurity with everything in our arsenal. We cannot look on while our economic, historical and spiritual antecedents and heritage are pillaged by a few of our social misfits called armed robbers, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, area boys, cultists and killer herdsmen take us for granted and assault us. They are not spirits and we must fight them to a standstill. We cannot fold our arms and allow them a free rein. You and I have a responsibility to stop them before they stop us.
“Culture is a strongly underrated element in security policy and architecture. For some time we dismissed the importance of cultural differences, particularly since we seemed to be moving towards a globalised world where such differences were likely to disappear.
“I want Odun Omo Iganmode to help to remind us that as Awori people, our origin is an essential component for stimulating communal understanding, love and unity and for augmenting steady progress, peace and development of the larger community. This edition is particularly important because of the theme we have chosen. It fits very well into my vision of a unique Awori City with a cosmopolitan outlook that will be the envy of others.”