Governors of the six-Yoruba speaking states of Nigeria, under the auspices of the South West Governors Forum at its meeting held in Lagos, on Monday, officially announced the adoption of the erstwhile South West now Osun State anthem, as the region’s official anthem.
Announcing the development, the new Chairman of the forum, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said the decision was to further unify the region and adopt the anthem which was written in 1978.
Osun Defender recalls that the former Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on the commemoration of his 100 days in office in 2011, brought back the anthem and adopted it as the Osun anthem.
Historically, the ‘Ise Wa Fun Ile Wa,’ anthem was originally developed by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (U.P.N), the party that ruled the Western Region of Nigeria, during the second Republic.
The anthem’s lyrics were written by Chief Awolowo, and forwarded to the late theatre maestro, Hubert Ogunde, for translation to Yoruba and proper synchronisation into music for proper rendition and melody.
At the start of the fourth republic, Ogbeni Aregbesola as the Governor of Osun, insisted that the anthem be adopted at his inauguration on November 27, 2010, while it was officially launched in 2011, alongside the old crest, logo, and appellation of the state.
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Receiving a cultural award in Ondo State in 2021, Aregbesola said the anthem reawakens the spirit of hard work, resilience, and focus, which the Yoruba race depicts in leadership, public service, and governance.
He noted that the anthem also points to the direction of the Yoruba race, stressing how important culture is to human existence.
His words, “I was not the real composer of the Yoruba anthem. It was Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo who sat down and wrote the song in 1978 when he created UPN. He then called on Late Hubert Ogunde to help add melody and tunes to the song.
”So my own kind of swearing-in ceremony was not with leisure but a hasty one and I still insisted that the Yoruba anthem must be recited before I was sworn in.
”It means we know the importance and the essence of the anthem. Those who have intelligence would understand that the anthem was a pointer to our direction as a Yoruba race.
“I thank God that we followed the right way when I was a governor. All I am saying is that it takes a focused leader with a deep understanding of his race to accept and adopt such an anthem at a time like this.”
Feelers from the meeting indicated that the anthem, which is officially used in Osun and Ondo States, caught the attention of the current leaders of the South West states because of Aregbesola’s ingenuity, which brought it back to the limelight and a way to further boost and restoring the pride of the Yorubas as patriotic, dogged and committed to the cause of nation building.
It is believed that the anthem after its adoption, will further solidify the common patrimony of the Western Region and the Omoluabi identity of the Yoruba race.
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
