The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja
II, left for the United States on Wednesday 8th June, 2016 and was on Friday
hosted by the indigenes of Ile-Ife, Osun State, resident in the United States.
The monarch, with his entourage, was received
at the J.F. Kennedy Airport, New York, by leaders of Ife indigenes and other
Nigerians in the US on Thursday.
A New York City Senator, Kevin Parker, and the
Brooklyn Borough President, Eric Adams, said the city had secured a
proclamation to declare Monday, June 13, 2016 as Yoruba Day.
They said the action was to honour the
monarch.
The statement added that a number of
programmes had been scheduled to honour the traditional ruler while in the
country.
The Ooni was billed to visit President Barack
Obama at the White House, where he would receive an award in honour of his
Royal Majesty as an Ambassador of Peace at the White House on Wednesday.
Additionally a jam-packed US visit includes a
special guest appearance at the illustrious Odunde Festival in Philadelphia,
Pa, which was established in 1975 to celebrate the Yoruba people. It will also
be an opportunity for the traditional ruler of Nigeria’s Ile-Ife—considered the
birthplace of all Yoruba people—to engage more than 3,000 Ife indigenes living
in the US on development of the ancient Yoruba town.
“All Ife natives in the US are excited and
energised for this epochal occasion, according to one of the leaders of Ife
Ooye North America group, Chief Olubunmi Awopileda. “It will be an occasion to
showcase our very rich culture with our king as the symbol.”
The Ooni of Ife paid a
visit to United Nations headquarters in NYC, as well as an African Burial
Ground Monument in lower Manhattan on Friday. Information Nigeria gathers that
Oba Ogunwusi will be in the US till the end of the month where he will attend
several events starting from June 11th till June 29th.
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