Why would anyone want to spend a long weekend with several hundred people of Yorùbá descent?
Just ask Olabisi Solar, one of the organizers of the 17th Annual National Convention of Egbé Omo Yorùbá – National Association of Yorùbá Descendants in North America, which is coming to St. Louis County August 6-9.
“We are very well educated, generous, kind people,” Solar said of the Yorùbá.
“We are friendly to others, caring people. We care about education, family. We are family people – family comes first. Also, we are God-fearing people.”
If this sounds familiar to many African Americans, who cherish the same values, that is no coincidence. The Yorùbá are a West African language group of some 30 million people based mostly in Nigeria, but now dispersed all over the world – even here in St. Louis.
Solar is the public relations chair for the St. Louis Chapter of the national association of Yorùbá, which formed 11 years ago. She said some 300 Yorùbá people live here, and they expect another 300 to 350 to visit for the national convention – with visitors expected to travel from Canada, Brazil, Cuba, Europe, the Caribbean and Panama, as well as the motherland.
The gathering is open to the public and anyone interested in learning more about Yorùbá culture (provided you register and pay for the conference).
The cost for the Saturday and Sunday (August 8-9) convention is $100, which includes lunch and dinner. The Saturday Award Banquet only is $50, and this starts at 6 p.m.
“We are having a live band,” she said of the banquet, “so come and kick your boots. All Yorùbá sons and daughters worldwide as well as the entire St. Louis community are invited to a great and joyous celebration of Òdúdúwà descendants in the Diaspora.”
The convention will be held at the Sheraton Westport Hotel, Lakeside Chalet, 191 Westport Plaza.
Fitting for a people that has produced some of the world’s deepest thinkers and most concerned citizens – Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka being the most celebrated example – it will be more than just a party.
This year’s theme, “The Quest for Change in Healthcare Awareness and Its Effect on the Global Economic Meltdown,” addresses some of the urgent and critical health related issues affecting not only the Yorùbá, but all people. The convention will feature workshops and symposia which will afford delegates an opportunity to participate and offer suggestions on the way forward.
“The Yorùbá elders say, ‘Health is wealth,’” the St. Louis Chapter said in a statement.
“To benefit from the various economic recovery strategies offered by President Barack Obama, as well as to make it through these dire economic times, one needs to be healthy. The symposium will create an opportunity for participants to learn from the foremost health practitioners in the field of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and prostrate cancer, as well as Yorùbá remedies for various health issues.”
The association also has a productive mission. It dedicates itself to the economic and social development of the Yoruba people at home in Nigeria and in the Diaspora. The association and its 17 chapters have individually and collectively made monetary and material donations, as well as conducted other acts of charity, to schools, orphanages and hospitals in the U.S. and Nigeria.
The St. Louis Chapter recently established a scholarship program for graduating high school students within the St. Louis area, regardless of race, creed, or nationality. The number of annual scholarship recipients has grown from two students in 2007 to five students in 2008.
For further information about the convention or to become a sponsor, contact the St. Louis Chapter at 314-831-7104 or Pro@Yorubanation.org. Registration and convention information is available at www.Yorubanation.org.
