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BOLU-OLU ESHO
As more reactions are coming up in respect of the deference accorded the Nobel laureate, Professor Whole Soyinka by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Brazil, the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has described the duo as Embodiments of Yoruba values on the global stage.
According to a statement signed by the National Organising Secretary of the organizations, Otunba Kole Omololu, on Thursday, Afenifere celebrated President Tinubu and Prof. Soyinka for their display of the unique prestige of the Yorùbá nation and the timeless power of its culture in faraway Brazil during a 2-day state visit of President Tinubu to the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
the organization described “Yorùbá spirit as resilient, dignified, and eternal, an inheritance that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Professor Wole Soyinka exemplify with grace.”
The statement reads: “Afenifere Celebrates President Bola Tinubu and Prof Wole Soyinka as Distinguished Yoruba Sons and the best of Oduduwa
“Afenifere, the foremost pan-Yorùbá socio-political and cultural organisation, salutes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka as shining embodiments of Yorùbá values on the global stage.
“Recent events underscore the unique prestige of the Yorùbá nation and the timeless power of its culture.
“In faraway Brazil, during a state banquet, President Tinubu vacated his seat in deference to Professor Soyinka,addressing him with the dignified word egbon-elder brother.
“This act, simple, yet profound, reflects the essence of Yorùbá tradition: reverence for wisdom, humility in leadership, and the omolúàbí ethic that demands respect across generations.
“History reminds us that such gestures are not without precedent.In 1987, the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, was warmly received in Havana by President Fidel Castro of Cuba, an encounter that resonated as a spiritual reunion between the Yorùbá homeland and its vibrant descendants in the Americas.
“Across Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica, the United States, and much of Latin America, Yorùbá culture continues to thrive,through faiths like Candomblé, Santería, Vodou, and Orisha traditions, where sacred words such as àṣẹ, adúrà, oríkì and Ọlọ́run are still spoken more than a century after the transatlantic dispersal.
“These global expressions affirm that no other African people possess such a wide-reaching, deeply rooted diaspora, one that has faithfully preserved its àṣà (traditions) and ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ (gentle character).
“Afenifere celebrates the Yorùbá spirit as resilient, dignified, and eternal,an inheritance that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Professor Wole Soyinka exemplify with grace.”