The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Thursday hailed President Bola Tinubu and Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka for their exhibition of core Yoruba values on the global stage.

According to the foremost Yoruba organisation, the act of cultural deference exhibited by Tinubu during the recent state banquet in Brazil towards Soyinka projected a proper ‘Omoluabi’ ethos.

While framing the cultural identity of the president and Nobel Laureate as not merely a personal interaction, Afenifere, in a statement by its National Organising Secretary, Otunba Kole Omololu, stated that the situation embodies humility, respect, and proper conduct, regardless of status or position.

He said: “Recent events underscore the unique prestige of the Yorùbá nation and the timeless power of its culture.’ In faraway Brazil, during a state banquet, President Tinubu vacated his seat in deference to Professor Soyinka, addressing him with the dignified word ‘egbon’ – elder brother.

“This act, simple yet profound, reflects the essence of Yorùbá tradition: reverence for wisdom, humility in leadership, and the omolúàbí ethic that demands respect across generations.

“History reminds us that such gestures are not without precedent. In 1987, the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, was warmly received in Havana by President Fidel Castro of Cuba, an encounter that resonated as a spiritual reunion between the Yorùbá homeland and its vibrant descendants in the Americas.

“Across Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica, the United States, and much of Latin America, Yorùbá culture continues to thrive through faiths like Candomblé, Santería, Vodou, and Orisha traditions, where sacred words such as ‘àṣẹ’, ‘adúrà’, ‘oríkì’, and ‘Ọlọ́run’ are still spoken more than a century after the transatlantic dispersal.

“These global expressions affirm that no other African people possess such a wide-reaching, deeply rooted diaspora, one that has faithfully preserved its àṣà (traditions) and ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ (gentle character).

“Afenifere celebrates the Yorùbá spirit as resilient, dignified, and eternal, an inheritance that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Professor Wole Soyinka exemplify with grace.”