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Yoruba Alliance elects new Officers for 2000
Mr. Shodiya being sworn-in by Dr. Oyewole In January 2000, The Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs, USA, had an election. Mr. Zac Shodiya was elected, overwhelmingly, as the new Chairman. Mr. Shodiya is one of the founding members of the Yoruba
Alliance and he brings experience from different positions to his
current post. He is a past president of Egba-Egbado Descendants
Association, the first Finance Director of the Yoruba Alliance, and the
second Secretary General of the Yoruba Alliance.
Other Officers elected include Mr. Abaraham Adigun as Vice
Chairman, Mr. Martin Akindana as Secretary General, Mr. Michael Ajayi as
Deputy Secretary General Secretary, Mr. Kola Akanni as Finance Director,
Mr. Femi Orenuga as Treasurer, Mr. Kayode Ojewale as Communications
Director, Mrs. Tokunbo Animashaun as Editor-In-Chief of the Alliance
Newsletter, Mr. Kayode Adetayo as Activities Director, Mr. Ayo Eniafe as
Deputy Activities Director, Mr. Wole Shominure as Property Director, Mr.
Dapo Amusan as Welfare Director, and Mr. Yinusa Yusuff as Chief Whip. The Inauguration of the Yoruba Alliance officers took place on Saturday, February 12, 2000. The new officers were sworn in by a 1999 recepient of the Yoruba Award for Execellence in Community Service, Dr. Oyewole, a disguished attorney. Also there to witness the ceremony and offer prayers were Dr. Olarinde, Rev. Fakeye, and Alhaji Lere Afinni. The inauguration, which took place at the Largo Library
conference room was well attended.
The Egba-Egbado Descendants Association members turned outin
large numbers to support two of their past presidents who were being
sworn in as Chairman and Activities Director (Mr. Kayode Adetayo).
All the Egba Egbado ladieswore green head-ties. The new Chairman, in his inaugural address, thanked organization members of the Yoruba Alliance for the honor and promised not to let them down. He thanked his own home association members for their support. He also thanked the former chairman, Mr. Akinkoye, and the entire 1999 executives for their hard work for the Alliance. He urged the community to come together, as sons and daughters of Oduduwa, to adress all the challenges that face our community, here and in Nigeria. He also promised to reach out to all other Yoruba organizations that are not part of the Yoruba Alliance and even beyond the Washington Metropolitan area. Chairman Shodiya then outlined the activities on the agenda of the Yoruba Alliance for the year 2000. The agenda included the establishment of a scholarship fund to help Yoruba students at universities in Nigeria and the establishment of an exploratory committee to work on the acquisition of a Yoruba House. In his conclusion, the new chairman said "we are all each other's families." He said if anything should happen to any of us here, we are the ones who will take care of each other, so he urged everyone to treat each other as brothers and sisters. The new chairman was given a standing ovation after his address.
The new chairman with Egba-Egbado ladies
At
the inaugural ceremony are from left, Mr. Shodiya, Dr.
Oyewole, Dr. Olarinde, Mr. Akinkoye, and Mr. Ajala
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A Prayer for tolerance, patience, peace and prosperity On
Saturday, May 30, 1998, The Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs
brought all the Yoruba spiritual leaders in our community to participate
in a historic prayer gathering in Largo Maryland. The
purpose of the Community Prayer Day was to join hands with millions of
Nigerians around the world to seek a much-needed change for peace and
prosperity. Both Muslims, Christians and others came together to pray
for democracy and good governance for Nigeria.
We take pride in knowing that God indeed answered our prayers.
Within a month of this prayer day, Nigeria witnessed the passing
of General Sanni Abacha, the ruthless dictator who had held a whole
country in fetters. Following
this, Nigeria experienced a sucessful democratic election that brought
General Obasanjo to power. We
are happy to know that Nigeria now belongs to comity of nations in which
her people are now free to be represented by those whom they have chosen
to represent them. We give thanks to the almighty God for this positive
change. Prosperity
is not within our reach yet, however; our leaders are working hard to
make a recognizable difference in this area. Here again, our prayers are
needed very much. Since
peace and tranquility are pre-requsites for a prosperous economy and
good governance, the recent religious unrest in Nigeria has represented
a sad chapter in our nation’s history. It’s
the belief of this organization that our people at home are looking to
us for help in any way possible to put a stop to this tragedy.
Therefore, on May 6, 2000, The Yoruba Alliance is sponsoring another
Community Prayer Day. It
will take place at The Club Hotel in Largo, Maryland, USA.
The prayer points for this year’s Community Prayer Day could
not be more relevant. We want to hold each other’s hand in prayer for
patience, peace and prosperity for our beloved Nigeria. We
have chosen Religious Tolerance as our theme this year with the hope and
desire that the government and all our religious leaders will seek and
pray for a situation that will encourage religious independence. We must
show by example that our people must continue to live together as
brothers and sisters with a common sense of purpose. We have
demonstrated this special quality in the past, we need to renew our
strength in this area again. In an unprecedented pilgrimage, Pope Paul recently visited many countries in the Middle East. He took time to sit with the Palestinians; he embraced many Muslims and gave hugs and kisses to the Jews. He preached and prayed for unity and religious tolerance. We must learn from this example that the Holy Father has taught each and every one of us. The first Community Prayer Day was a definite success for many reasons. It’s our hope and prayer that this year would be better on all fronts. We have invited the “who is who” among our religious leaders, and they have all pledged to attend with members of their respective congregations. Click here to view the pictures. Yoruba
Alliance Nite '99 To
cap its activities for 1999, The Yoruba Alliance held the 2nd Annual
Alliance Nite on November 27tt, 1999 at the prestigious Washington Times
Ballroom. The
party was well attended by many dignitaries from the Washington area.
The Alliance Nite is sponsored by The Alliance of Yoruba Organizations
and Clubs to honor distinguished Yoruba citizens who have excelled in
their professions and have 'given
back' to our community. The party was also an occasion to raise funds
for future Alliance projects to benefit our community. At this occasion, some representatives of the Alliance were recognized for their activities for the past year. They include Mr. Lateef Amolegbe, Mr. Kayode Adetayo, and Prince Ajibade Gbadegesin. The Yoruba Youth organization was recognized for their activities for our youth and children in past Alliance activities. In addition, two member organizations, Idanre Development Association and Kwara State Association were recognized for their outstanding fund raising efforts during the last Yoruba Festival '99. The
highlight of the Nite was the presentation of the Yoruba Award for
Excellence in Community Service. The awards were conferred on three
distinguished Yoruba. The
names of the honorees were announced by the Secretary General, Mr. Zac
Shodiya. The honorees are Dr. Godwin Oyewole who was honored for his
success in the field of law
and for his active support of many Yoruba community programs.
Mrs. Bola Sotomi - Kuti was honored for her success as a business
woman and for helping other Nigerians enter and excell in her profession
of Nursing. The third honoree was Sheik Yusuf Juma Olaleye, the head of
the Nigerian Muslim Council, who was honored for his religious and
community service in this Washington Metropolitan area and beyond.
The plaques were presented by the chairman, Mr. Frank Akinkoye. The
Alliance treated their guests to delicious food supplied by Queensway
Restaurant. Foli Peperempe
supplied authentic Yoruba Juju music. At the conclusion of the party the then Chairman, Mr. Franklin Akinkoye expressed appreciation to our guests for honoring our invitation and for their generous financial donations.
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