The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has said that for Nigeria to regain its pride of place among the comity of nations, it must begin to consciously protect and project its rich cultural and traditional practices.

Adams gave the charge yesterday, during the 2025 wealth festival (Odun Aje) held in Orile-Agege, Lagos.

The Aare Ona Kankanfo, while establishing a linkage between the cultural revolution of the Asian nations and their economic breakthrough, said Nigeria must take a cue and stop allowing religious beliefs and practices to relegate age-long practices of our culture and tradition as a people to the background.

Iba Adams, who spoke on the essence of the festival (Odun Aje), which is being organised yearly under the auspices of the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF), stressed that the primary focus of the Aje festival was to seek blessings for wealth and economic success.

He added: “It is our belief that honouring the Aje deity brings prosperity to our businesses and financial ventures.”

“I must let you know that the more we celebrate the spirits behind Aje, the more they will pour wealth unto our land and make our people prosper. This is one of the strategic secrets of the Asians that they do not discountenance.

“Up till sometime in the 1970s, the economies of most Asian countries were worse than those of Nigeria. But when they began their cultural revolution, protecting their identity, their culture and tradition, and projecting them to the world, the result is that the world has taken notice of them.

He said that was the way to go if we must preserve our heritage, and more importantly, if we must truly prosper as a people and as a nation.

“Away from China, another good example of preservation of culture and identity was seen in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia when President Donald Trump paid state visits to those countries.

“We saw how the beauty of their culture and traditional dressing was well represented and projected through the various attires adorned by hordes of men, girls and ladies lined up as part of the welcome entourage for President Trump.

“It is saddening that if it were in Nigeria that people adorned in traditional hunters’ attire, which is part of our rich culture, were included in the welcome entourage of a visiting President, the elite may have described it as a showcase of illiteracy or backwardness.

“Our elite must stop associating the rich culture and traditional practices we inherited with backwardness or illiteracy,” Adams further said.