The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi has shared his thoughts on his upcoming 50th birthday celebrations, legacy projects, and the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups.
According to the report by Premium Times on Saturday, the Ooni stressed the importance of harnessing historical knowledge to understand the shared ancestries of the two groups.
The Ooni, who is set to unveil 50 legacy projects as part of his anniversary celebrations, expressed his passion for highlighting the ancient connections between the Yoruba and Igbo races.
He said that the Igbo and Yoruba are among the oldest races in the world and that they share a common heritage.
He said, “I tell people and many people don’t understand that there is a strong link between the Yorubas and the Igbos. Let me use those two races. They are very ancient races. It’s been proven that these two races are the oldest in the world.
“But when I try to establish the link between Yorubas and the Igbos, a lot of people take it as a controversial thing. But let’s break it down. It’s true, We are the same. In my palace, to date, I still have a house of Igbo (pronounced as Igbo in ‘Igbo people’).”
Speaking further, he said that where the Ooni lives is called Ile-Igbo, adding that Igbo means new dawn to the Yoruba and Ife people.
In addition to that, he said that ‘Igbo’ means Ile-Igbo, and that it stands for starting afresh. He added that the Igbo people probably might not know about this, because they may have their own meaning too.
