Adeyinka Olaiya/
A delegation from the Ooni of Ife, Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II on Tuesday visited Fábrica do Samba to learn about Unidos de Vila Maria for Carnival 2022 in Brazil and meet Afro Brazilian stakeholders ahead of his trip to unveil a Back-To-Home Project tagged “Treasures of Our Ancestors”.
The team had on Monday arrived in Sao Paolo to establish more connections between Brazil and the African continent and to fulfill a 10-day schedule organized by Oduduwa heritage home in Brasil, a cultural institute based in Rio de Janeiro, whose purpose is to strengthen ties and build bridges that facilitate cultural exchange between these two countries connected by fraternal ties for centuries.
The Ooni’s team is led by two kings: Oba Joseph Adewole the Ajero of the Kingdom of Ijero (Ekiti) and Oba Kayode Adenekan Afolabi the Alapomu of Apomu (Osun), the coordinator of the team is Comrade Moses Olafare, the Ooni’s Director of Media & Public Affairs, with the Saagba of Ogbagi Akoko in Ondo State High Chief Adekunle Sumbo and Prince Fagoroye Olokoba as members.
The team had earlier on that Tuesday visited the Afro Brasil Museum in Ibirapuera Park, where members had the opportunity to inspect the place where the schools in São Paulo develop their artistic projects to produce the parade of Samba schools, a spectacle internationally known for its grandeur and luxury.
Received by Mr. Adilson de Souza, President of Unidos de Vila Maria, where the “Treasures of Our Ancestors” project will also be presented and the pre-launch of the “Back to Home” program. the Ooni’s team was able to know part of the project that is being developed by the school for the 2022 parade when the theme “The World Needs Each One of Us”, will be presented by the carnival artist Cristiano Bara, who will perform his third job at the school.
According to the manager, receiving Ooni’s entourage opens a range of exchange opportunities for partnerships, especially at a social level.
“For us who represent Brazilian culture, it is very important, an honor to feel the presence of the Ooni here with us. We are happy because we can have the opportunity to know more about the Nigerian culture and open space for new partnerships, carrying out joint actions, with the exchange of culture and actions that can serve as a mutual example between the two countries. Vila Maria School has a very strong social work and is available so that we can increasingly strengthen these ties with training between professionals, everything possible to enhance the carnival and the culture we defend,” Adilson said.
Ajoyemi Osunleye, the President of Oduduwa Heritage Home in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil said that the visit of the Ooni’s team was another step towards consolidating the link between Brazil and Ile-Ife which is the source of the Oduduwa race strengthening the ties between Nigeria and Brazil.
“Carnival is the largest open-air cultural festival in the world, and we observe that every year, black representation is present in the plots. Through this festival, we revisit history, our ties with Africa, our cultural and religious memories of Yoruba origin. Establishing this connection between Brazil and the African continent, more precisely Nigeria has been a constant challenge, and there, during the parades, it is when we feel totally connected, through the orixás, as children of Oduduwa,” Ajoyemi said.
In the same vein, Moses Olafare, Director of Media at the Palace of the Ooni of Ifé, advocated a greater cultural connection between the sister nations, so that the Brazilian people could better know their identity.
“We are on an important mission here as assigned by the Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, which is to reconnect with true history. We are all children of Oduduwa and now, knowing the scale of this responsibility, be rest assured that the Ooni and all traditional rulers of Oduduwa Race worldwide will work together with you to strengthen these cultural, diplomatic, tourist, and economic ties,” Olafare said.
