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| Ooni Of Ife and Olori Wuraola |
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, was on
Friday hosted by the indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, resident in the United
States.
The monarch, with his entourage, was received at the J.F. Kennedy Airport, New
York, by leaders of Ife indigenes and other Nigerians in the US on Thursday.
A New York City Senator, Kevin Parker, and the Brooklyn Borough President, Eric
Adams, said the city had secured a proclamation to declare Monday, June 13,
2016 as Yoruba Day.
They said the action was to honour the monarch.
According to a statement, the Ooni has also been billed to visit President
Barack Obama at the White House, where he will receive an award.
The statement added that a number of programmes had been scheduled to honour
the traditional ruler while in the country.
As part of activities in his visit to the US, the Ooni will on Sunday, June 12,
2016, be the Special Guest of Honour at the prestigious Odunde festival.
The festival, which promotes the culture of the Yoruba race, was created in
1975 by Lois Fernandez and Ruth Arthur, and attracts about 500,000 people
annually.
The event will provide an opportunity for the monarch to interact with the over
3,000 Ife indigenes in the US on how to develop Ile-Ife.
The statement said, “On the same day, the Museum of the Contemporary African
Diaspora Arts will receive the monarch in a private reception as well as a public
forum session.
“Expected at the event will be Brooklyn Borough President and a New York City
Public Advocate, Leticia James. The monarch will then move to the Mid-West and
other parts of the country to attend economic and leadership summits before being
received by President Barack Obama through The White House Office of
Faith-based and Neighbourhood Partnerships.”
The Chairman of the Grand Reception Planning Committee and one of the leaders
of Ife Ooye North America group, Chief Olubunmi Awopileda, said, “All Ife
natives in the US are excited and energised for this epochal occasion. It will
be an occasion to showcase our very rich culture with our king as the symbol.”
Friday hosted by the indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, resident in the United
States.
The monarch, with his entourage, was received at the J.F. Kennedy Airport, New
York, by leaders of Ife indigenes and other Nigerians in the US on Thursday.
A New York City Senator, Kevin Parker, and the Brooklyn Borough President, Eric
Adams, said the city had secured a proclamation to declare Monday, June 13,
2016 as Yoruba Day.
They said the action was to honour the monarch.
According to a statement, the Ooni has also been billed to visit President
Barack Obama at the White House, where he will receive an award.
The statement added that a number of programmes had been scheduled to honour
the traditional ruler while in the country.
As part of activities in his visit to the US, the Ooni will on Sunday, June 12,
2016, be the Special Guest of Honour at the prestigious Odunde festival.
The festival, which promotes the culture of the Yoruba race, was created in
1975 by Lois Fernandez and Ruth Arthur, and attracts about 500,000 people
annually.
The event will provide an opportunity for the monarch to interact with the over
3,000 Ife indigenes in the US on how to develop Ile-Ife.
The statement said, “On the same day, the Museum of the Contemporary African
Diaspora Arts will receive the monarch in a private reception as well as a public
forum session.
“Expected at the event will be Brooklyn Borough President and a New York City
Public Advocate, Leticia James. The monarch will then move to the Mid-West and
other parts of the country to attend economic and leadership summits before being
received by President Barack Obama through The White House Office of
Faith-based and Neighbourhood Partnerships.”
The Chairman of the Grand Reception Planning Committee and one of the leaders
of Ife Ooye North America group, Chief Olubunmi Awopileda, said, “All Ife
natives in the US are excited and energised for this epochal occasion. It will
be an occasion to showcase our very rich culture with our king as the symbol.”
Meanwhile, the Ooni of Ife and his 80 man entourage are
having all the fun in the United States of America. Already, they have visited
the Newark museum, Newark city hall, Essex County Hall of Records Newark,
United Nations 605 Third Avenue, African slave monument slave burial ground in
lower Manhattan and the Columbia University Lerner Hall in New York yesterday.
having all the fun in the United States of America. Already, they have visited
the Newark museum, Newark city hall, Essex County Hall of Records Newark,
United Nations 605 Third Avenue, African slave monument slave burial ground in
lower Manhattan and the Columbia University Lerner Hall in New York yesterday.
Photo credit: GLOGEWORLD
SOURCE: PUNCH