The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, 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.
According
to a statement, the Ooni has also been billed to visit President Barack
Obama at the White House, where he will receive an award.
The statement added that a number of programmes had been scheduled to honour the traditional ruler while in the country.
As
part of activities in his visit to the US, the Ooni will on Sunday,
June 12, 2016, be the Special Guest of Honour at the prestigious Odunde
festival.
The festival, which promotes the culture of the Yoruba
race, was created in 1975 by Lois Fernandez and Ruth Arthur, and
attracts about 500,000 people annually.
The event will provide an
opportunity for the monarch to interact with the over 3,000 Ife
indigenes in the US on how to develop Ile-Ife.
The statement
said, “On the same day, the Museum of the Contemporary African Diaspora
Arts will receive the monarch in a private reception as well as a public
forum session.
“Expected at the event will be Brooklyn Borough
President and a New York City Public Advocate, Leticia James. The
monarch will then move to the Mid-West and other parts of the country to
attend economic and leadership summits before being received by
President Barack Obama through The White House Office of Faith-based and
Neighbourhood Partnerships.”
The Chairman of the Grand Reception
Planning Committee and one of the leaders of Ife Ooye North America
group, Chief Olubunmi Awopileda, said, “All Ife natives in the US are
excited and energised for this epochal occasion. It will be an occasion
to showcase our very rich culture with our king as the symbol.”