One of the leaders of pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, Senator Femi Okurounmu, has urged leaders of the ethnic group to shun individualism and think about how to collectively advance the interest of the race.
He said this in Ile Ife, Osun State on Friday at a colloquium entitled, “The Life and Times of Oba Okunade Sijuwade (Olubuse II)” organised by the Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, to commemorate the one year annivsary of the demise of the late monarch.
He said the Yoruba race had not developed the way it should have been despite its gifted people, who are ranked among the best in the world.
He said, “We Yorubas are specially gifted people. Intellectually, we rank among the most talented people in the world.
“Collectively, when it comes to protecting and advancing the interest of the race, we rank poorly. This, in my view, is because of too much individualism and too little sense of corporate responsibility to the race. We loathe yielding leadership to others, in the collective interest of all.”
He, however, said the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade, who died on July 28, 2015 was a unique traditional ruler, who impacted positively many people who came across his path during his life time.
Okurounmu said the monarch would be forever remembered by the numerous people, who had benefited from his wise counsel and benevolence.
“Oba Sijuwade was a colossus among the Nigerian traditional rulers of his generation, more so among Obas in Yorubaland, where the impact of his illustrious reign will reverberate for generations,” he stated.
The Acting Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Anthony Elujoba, who was the chairman of the occasion, appealed to the family of the late monarch to assist the university and the town.
PUNCH.
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