A congress of all Yoruba people across the world including those in the diaspora, to look for ways of re-inventing the race for modern challenges will soon be hosted by Osun State Government.
Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State disclosed this on friday at Harvard University, United States in his speech as Special Guest of Honour at the opening of a conference on the Sacred Knowledge and power of the Yoruba.
He informed the gathering of eminent cultural scholars across the world that the proposed conference would discuss ways of making the Yoruba take their rightful front place in global settings.
The Governor, who was at the conference with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and some other prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, described the Yoruba people as a major race found excelling in many nations of the world.
The strenght of the race, he said should be seen in the richness of its culture and its resilience in the face of the ravages of modernity.
He therefore, called on all stakeholders in Yoruba affairs to safe the Yoruba language from extinction just as he informed of the efforts of his government at home to promote the culture, language and tradition of the race.
The Ooni of Ife, in his speech praised Harvard University for honouring the Yoruba race with the conference declaring that it was a significant step forward in the move by the developed world to appreciate the wisdom contained in Yoruba culture and tradition.
Several scholars from American, Latin American and African Universities presented papers on Yoruba culture and belief systems and the need to promote and use them for meaningful development at the conference which ends on Sunday.
Lasisi Olagunju
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor,
15/03/08
