Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has called on Nigerians to hold the cultural identity of the nation at high esteem and not to devalue it at any point.
The former Military General declared that because of the current developments around the world, it had become imperative for Nigerians to jealously guard their cultural heritage.
He gave this advice at the presentation of a book, A Life of Excellent Service: Biography of Oba Salami Adewunmi Ajibola yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.
The book is a 208-page biography jointly authored by renowned Jurist and former World Court Judge, Prince Bola Ajibola, and Oladipo Yemitan.
OBJ, as he’s fondly called said that the easiest way to destroy a man was to snatch his cultural identity from him.
He said, “I always emphasise this, because the best way to oppress any group of people is to make them lose their identity. How can you take a man who is Adewunmi and call him Mr. Stone? Once you remove the identity and culture of a person, you have destroyed and enslaved him. Oba Salami made sure that our identity was intact. I always say that those who came after him should maintain our identity.”
Obasanjo commended the former judge of the World Court and co-author of the biography on his father, describing him as one who never forgets his roots.
“I want to begin by appreciating Bola Ajibola because when some people get to the top, they forget where they started from, but Bola Ajibola got to the top and still remembers where he started from,” he said.
Obasanjo however described himself as a replica of the late politician, Mallam Aminu Kano, whom he said got so used to opposition politics before his death.
“My faith is the faith of Aminu Kano who had become so used to opposition that I said, any day Aminu Kano is made President of Nigeria, he won’t know when he would carry placard on Marina until someone reminds him that he is the President,” he added.
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