Over 50 royal fathers from various Yoruba-speaking communities and cities across Africa converged on Osogbo, the Osun State capital, for a unique celebration of the maiden Oodua World Children’s Day.
The Oodua World Children’s Day is Osun State’s initiative aimed at bringing together children from Yoruba-speaking communities to revive the cultural values of the Yoruba race in the youths.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the Yoruba cultural integration can only be meaningful if children, who will carry on the culture, are properly socialised into it with the right inculcation of values.
His address, entitled: Towards Global Yoruba Integration, was delivered at the Osogbo City Stadium, the state capital, where the colourful event was held.
The event, which was to commemorate Children’s Day, was attended by eminent Yoruba personalities and selected children from Ekiti (100), Ondo (83), Ogun (100), Oyo (100), Lagos (100), Kwara (50), Kogi (50) and Edo (25). Delta State as well as other West African countries of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Sierra Leone; South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba; the Caribbean and the United States were well represented.
Aregbesola explained that the promotion of the Omoluabi ethos in Osun State is aimed at re-awakening the cultural and value consciousness of the people to make them realise the beauty of Yoruba virtues and give them a sense of pride in their culture.
He said: “We are of the conviction that the realisation of the socio-cultural and economic integration of the Yoruba race can be greatly enhanced by imparting that vision into our children.
“Indeed, such a cultural renaissance agenda cannot succeed without including the children, for they are a key factor in its success.”
The governor stressed that the Yoruba race constitutes a significant part of the global population, with civilised and dynamic culture as well as the potential to become a powerful force in the world, if it gets its acts together and forge a common and united front.
He added: “We can begin right from here, the cradle of the Yoruba race, to plant the seed that may germinate into something that will in time surpass the wildest dream of the brains behind the idea.”
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, described the trans-state Children’s Day as a unique event that must be sustained for the progress of Yoruba nation.
The Oyo monarch, who was flanked by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, in a single outing for the first in many years, said the Yoruba people need to come together for the benefit of the race. Culled from Osun Defender.
