A rare display of Yoruba unity at the political level was exhibited on Saturday in the United States of America when Osun state governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and his predecessor, Chief Bisi Akande publicly embraced.
As a standing ovation ended the key note address delivered by Prince Oyinlola at this year’s Yoruba Convention held in HIlton Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Action Congress national chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, who was one of the prominent Yoruba leaders at the event, moved to Prince Oyinlola and embraced him saying he never doubted his belief in the progress of the Yoruba nation just as the Osun state Governor prostrated for him.
Governor Oyinlola whose address was on The Socio-Economic Development Of The Yoruba People In The 21st Century And Beyond had warned Yoruba leaders to know that the future of the Yoruba race would be determined by the unity of the people while condemning lines of discrimination among sons and daughters of the race because of their political affiliations.
The organizers of the event had earlier in the day apologised to Governor Oyinlola for the rowdiness that characterized the Convention’s Town Hall Meeting on Friday which they admitted they did not invite the Osun State Governor to attend.
Apparently because other invited Governors did not show up,the President and the Secretary of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in North America had on Friday pleaded with Prince Oyinola to join them at the Town Hall Meeting which was not the event the Governor was original invited to attend. Prince Oyinlola after some pressures agreed to send the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and the Secretary to the State Government, Rt Hon. Adejare Bello and Alhaji Fatai Akinbade respectively to represent him at the event.
The event however turned out to be a forum for some opposition politicians in Nigeria to cast aspersion on the character of prominent members of the Federal and State Governments in Nigeria.
An attempt by the Osun state house of Assembly Speaker to speak and situate the unfolding drama in the right perspective was thwarted by the moderator, Dr Segun Gbadegesin and the opposition politicians who became very unruly..
However, shortly before the convention proper started on Saturday where the Governor was invited to present the keynote address, members of the executive of the Egbe Omo Yoruba met with the Governor and expressed their regrets on the Friday incident.
Oyinlola at the convention on Saturday,held his audience spell bound as he laced his speech with Yoruba proverbs and idioms on the way forward for the race positing that both Afenifere and the Yoruba council of Elders should close ranks and see every Yoruba person as a stake holder in the political and economic development of the race.
“I wish to point out that there are some factors militating against the prosecution of a common Yoruba agenda. This problem has to do with the categorization of Yoruba people into the so called progressive and conservative classes. I sincerely do not believe that any Yoruba socio-cultural organization like Afenifere or Yoruba Council of Elders should support any political party or play partisan politics. The ideal would be for such organizations to be the common umbrella for the advancement of the cause of the Yoruba people.
“Secondly, we have not done much in the area of harmonizing the interest of the Yorubas generally, including those of us in the Diaspora. I believe we need to celebrate the richness of our race and give people of Yoruba descent outside the country the required sense of belonging. This way, we can successfully attract investments into our country and promote socio-economic development.
“In the past, we have witnessed incidents of disunity and inability to put our house in order. We have witnessed sad incidents of destruction to lives and properties on account of socio-political differences. Many of these incidents are senseless and avoidable. In most cases, the elites have been irresponsible in the leadership roles they have played.
“At several fora I have always stressed that ours is a unique race which must lead by example. We must always strive to demonstrate our preparedness to build a society of which we could always be proud Regrettably, some political leaders have introduced the sad dimension of political intolerance and lack of decorum, resorting to violence as a means of pursuing their political agenda. For these politicians, the question of “it is only me or nobody else” has been their sing-song and major objective ,”Oyinlola said.
He also lamented the neglect of Yoruba and other indigenous languages in Nigeria which he said must be saved from extinction.
Lasisi Olagunju
CPS
