Use Yoruba language as tool to foster unity ― OPU tells S/West govs

European chapter of the Oodua Progressives Union (OPU) has charged governors of South-West on the need to use Yoruba language as a tool to foster unity and promote all sectors of the economy in the region, even as the body urged for unity among the Yoruba both at home and abroad.

The Diaspora Group, presently in 96 countries in the world, gave the charge at the weekend during the 7th edition of its European Summit held via online Webinar, with over 800 participants from across the world.

The summit, which was held for over four hours uninterruptedly had two prominent professors, including Professor Raheem Kolawole, an environmentalist, from University of Education, Winneba, Ghana and Professor Duro Adeleke, from the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Ibadan, as guests lecturers, as well as many other social, economic and political analysts in attendance.

Prof. Adeleke, while speaking at the summit, lamented the ugly trend by which the Yoruba language was going, urging the South-West governors to save the language from going into extinction.

He charged the leaders as well as other language promoters to use the language as a tool to foster unity, and development across all sectors.

“Yoruba Language is a potential tool for solving problems, especially in education, health, economy and politics, among others.

“For instance, in University of Ibadan, foreign ambassadors from United States of America, Britain, Europe and Canada come to learn about Yoruba language. They have even gone beyond the language, they also learn about Ifa as a deity.

“This is a wonderful development, however, it is a wake up call to all and sundry that Yoruba Language must not go into extinction.

“Our governors in the South-West must make the Yoruba Language compulsory, especially, for students admission into the universities,” he said.

“In the 28 countries of Europe, their languages remain the first and next to none, that is the secret of their growth and development.

“We can only get it right in the South-West if we rededicate ourselves to the promotion of Yoruba Language. The language should remain the official language in both private and public institutions,” he added.

Prof. Raheem, in his speech, spoke about unity and the need to develop a plan that would enhance organizational management and boost the morale among all groups in Yorubaland and in diaspora.

He said the major challenges of every Yoruba organization was lack of unity and cohesiveness, including backbiting, noting that such could be tackled with a broad-based approach to ensure that there was unity and progress within the various organizations in Yorubaland.

Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, who is also the global convener of OPU, said the summit had been the rallying point for international discourse, pointing out that all members of the organization had, in the last seven years, benefitted immensely from the global forum.

The Yoruba generalissimo, while stating that OPU had developed an enduring blueprints for projecting the developmental agenda of the Yoruba race, expressed hope that such blueprints would take care of the future exigencies and challenges of the race.

Iba Adams also insisted that key decisions would be made during the summit that would also formed part of the recommendations needed for the developmental agenda for all members across the 28 countries in Europe and the South-West in particular.

“OPU is driven by the only desire to promote Yoruba cultural identity and strive for the progress of our race. Over the last ten years, our organization has been spreading its tentacles, and now it is in 96 countries of the world. And we have made remarkable progress in the area of mobilization, as well as building strong ties among all members,” he said.

Iba Adams, however, appealed to all members, especially, in Europe to justify their individual strengths and potentials by bringing to the fold reputable members that were ready to share in the dreams of the diaspora organization.

“At the end of this meeting, I believe this year summit would be able to proffer lasting solutions to most of the problems, especially, in health economy, education, and Agric sectors, among others,” he said.

“This gathering would also raise the hope of the Yoruba nation, assuring them about the prospects of a bright and rewarding future, especially, for the youths,” he added.

Earlier in his opening remarks, OPU European Coordinator, Chief Victor Mobolaji Adewale, who is also the Akingbayi Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, expressed hope that the 2021 edition of the Summit would broker peace and broaden the knowledge base of all members and participants.

He, however, pointed out that the COVID-19 global health issues and challenges of last year really affected the world economy.

“COVID-19 created a big lacuna in the life of every country, but the most important thing is that the world has adjusted and still working towards full recovery from the global threats.

“Today, we have come together as one big family to assess the past years, and formulate worthy ideas that will lead us to a greater future.

“From the theme of the summit tagged: ‘Setting Developmental Agenda for Yorubaland,’ it showed that idea of setting a new, lasting developmental agenda for our race came as an immediate response to recover the loss ground and project the big picture of the OPU dream to the world. And I am sure it would be an amazing experience to be part of this annual summit,” he said.

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