Yoruba union in Goteborg showcases cultural assets

THE founders of the Yoruba race and the great Oduduwa would, indeed, be happy in the great beyond that their offspring are not only maintaining and sustaining the cultural values and norms that make the Yoruba what they are, but are, in fact, showcasing these unique virtues several thousands of kilometres from the race’s territory.

Yoruba Union in Goteborg, Sweden, found the need to thank God for the communal togetherness and the chord of brotherhood in a foreign land by celebrating its 10th anniversary with exciting and breathtaking exhibition of the pristine Yoruba culture and tradition.

The two-day event (October 24 and 25, 2014) also showcased the cosmopolitan posture of the Yoruba by organising a seminar on Imperative of Road Safety in enhancing Nigeria’s image.

During the lecture, the union examined the metamorphosis of Sweden as a country with the record of the highest accident rates to one of the countries with the lowest road accident rates in the world. Thus, it decided to organise a global focus on Nigeria’s road safety measures in Gutenberg next year as part of the major events to mark its 11th anniversary.

Perhaps the high point of the ceremony was the Yoruba Nite of Fun on Saturday (BELLEVI IN GALESTAD GOTHENBURG), during which scores of Yoruba people living in Sweden showed up at the well decorated venue clad in radiant aso ebi, which Mr Gbenga Lalu described as “attestation to our oneness and uniformity of purpose.”

“We decided to showcase our (oneness) by attending this all-important function in our aso ebi, which is one of the fashion items Yoruba are known for. It signifies unity of purpose. As you can see, it shows us as people with the same goal, purpose and common destiny,” Lalu enthused.

The tables were not only decked with exotic drinks, but the union also made sure there was palm wine on each table, while an assortment of Yoruba traditional foods like ikokore, lafun, eba, amala, rice elewe and pounded yam was at a corner, while a Spain-based Yoruba musician serenaded the guests, luring them out of the their seats to the dance floor.

The Nigerian Ambassador to Sweden, His Excellency Amobi Benedict, who was in Nigeria, sent a powerful delegation led by Mrs Naomi Chika Nwachukwu, Senior Counsellor; and David Samuel. The Special Guest of Honour, Otunba Gani Adams, who has been engaged in the promotion of the Olokun festival in Nigeria, dispatched Mr Akeem Aladeloye Akinloye and some members of the Oodua Progressive Union, France, as representatives.

Read more: tribune.com