The Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Akeem Abimbola (Owoade I), has pledged to promote Yoruba heritage on a global scale.
The monarch made the pledge while receiving the executive members of the Ọmọ Yorùbá Àtàtà Socio-cultural Initiative (ỌYÀSI) at his palace in Oyo Town on Saturday.
He emphasized that the Yoruba people are uniquely blessed with rich cultural heritages, more so than any other tribe in the world, and stressed the need to showcase these treasures to the global community.
The monarch said: “The Yoruba are more specially blessed with cultural heritages than any other tribe in the world, and there is a need to flaunt these heritages and show the world that we have really got it. I am ready to support this initiative. You should go and define the role you want me to play to ensure the success of this laudable initiative,” he told the group.
Responding to the group’s request, the Alaafin promised to maintain cordial relationships with all Yoruba monarchs and refuted claims of any superiority battle with the Ooni of Ife, describing such reports as fake news spread by irresponsible bloggers.
“There is no superiority battle between me and the Ooni of Ife. Such stories are fabricated by rumour mongers,” he declared.
Earlier, while informing the monarch of the purpose of their visit, the Chairman of Ọmọ Yorùbá Àtàtà Socio-cultural Initiative (ỌYÀSI), Ogbeni Ọlawale Ajao, congratulated Kabiyesi on his ascension to the throne.
He explained that the visit was to introduce the monarch to the group’s flagship programmes.
Ajao said: “ỌYÀSI is an initiative registered under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to promote Yoruba culture and tradition globally. One of our flagship initiatives is the proposed annual World Headdress Day, aimed at securing international recognition by UNESCO, where a day will be set aside to celebrate headdresses.”
Explaining the significance of the proposed World Headdress Day, Ajao noted that while headdresses worldwide are primarily cultural adornments, they also serve spiritual, social, security, and medical purposes. He added that the initiative would significantly boost the economy of Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.
Among the team members who accompanied Ajao on the visit were Saheed Alatise, Mr. Nurudeen Adeyẹmi Olorire, and Mrs. Riswat Ajao.
