Another Fine Yodaai Picnic!

Eyi wa l'eni o si n'kan!!!

O ga o, at that picnic in Opelika yesterday.

It was hosted by Mrs Popoola and the auburn consortium  including Mrs Ayanwale who is not pictured - see below.

Thank you so much ladies!

 The attendance and turn out was more than 90% and participation was at 100% - very active!

From the 1k and 3k race for the children and their parents,

and they are off, ati omode ati agba...(below)

Ati okunrin ati obirin...

Ori mi si wu lati maa wo wa...

Winner, boys race,  ages 13-18 (the Revrend Fara!)

The cheer leading team, led by our honorable host and vice president, encouraging others...

You go girl!

 Auburn versus Hoover, young versus not so young...( Mi o to bee, sir!)

Our champion, ladies 3K race. I was inspired by your determination ma'm...(below)

Winner for sheer willpower and effort, age over fifty something..(below our now yoruba wife)

Winner of the older boys race, catching his breath...

The "we're resting after one lap because we're older than 50 " consortium... (below)

Madam, you are my hero.

Our runner up, men's race...He ran with the wind...

Below, Winner, ladies race!

Below, Winner, Men's race... more vaseline to your elbow and ibuprofen to your joints...

Madam doctor, coming in below, for the women's race above certain age...(ahem!)

Winner, age 11 and above, boys race, below.

Winner, boys race, ages below 10.

Below, winner, on behalf of the alagbas, they who walked  strolled the race...

Below, leading from rearview, as they say, for the men's race...

And for the ladies, coming in in the alagba category... E nle ma, e ro ra ma!

Then it was on to the train rides...

it was fun all around!

Then there was the timed jump rope contests

Below, yours truly won for the ladies (gbogbo ara l'o 'n ro mi)!

Good job! Your feet are completely off the ground!

And the boy's champion!  (Below)Is there anything this guy is not good at!??

Spectators  below at the timed jump event.

And on to the ayo championships,

and the ladies playing Ludo , munching on epa yiyan (roasted groundnuts)...

And the winner of the Ludo game is our 1st Lady...

and on to the ten-ten ladies - talk about a full body work out!

The young ladies watch as we teach them a time honored yoruba game of ten ten..

Our other now yoruba wife, putting the ten ten steps out..

Panadol (tylenol) lo p'ari e l'ale ana for many of us...

Epa, booli, agbado sun sun were amongst the traditional yoruba snacks available.

Winner for the longest distance travelled to get to the picnic - Huntsville!

Don't y'all think the lady below
 should get the medal for the most creative and unique way to accessorize the yodaai t shirt?

Very stylish, ma'm!

Champion, Ayo championships.

 and finally - below- our judges with a fist full of medals for all the winners.

Our judges awarded medals and trophy in all categories but that is a blog post for another day as
"o  ti re mi t'egun t'egun" - I am what you would call bone tired!

But overall, you cant buy this kind of camaraderie amongst our people - as mastercard would say, it 's priceless.

We hope this is the first of many great outdoor events in the future and look forwad and onwards to the ajodun - Odun de ni yen o!

Look out for the invitation. Pls respond on the invitation as to how many people are coming with you, children and guests. We need the exact numbers for planning purposes.

Funke Abolade, M.D.

Social/Publicity Secretary.

It's time!

Get your game face on and come ready to rumble in Monkey Park in Opelika

on Saturday, the 20th of October, 2012

at 2pm.

Race time is 2.15pm sharp for all,

 no African time!

Come in your new green Yodaai t shirts!

Medals / trophy for winners!

Assorted ipanu and some grilled plantain and agbado...

See you then!

Funke Abolade, M.D. 

Social/Publicity Secretary.

Yodaai Members at the 52nd Nigerian Independence Day Party

O le ku o, Ija ore!

Yodaai members were out in full force celebrating our country's 52nd independence anniversary in Montgomery, Alabama. It was a celebration organized by the Nigerian-American Community of Central Alabama on Saturday, October 6th, 2012.

In attendance were several members including both our President, Dr Adediji and Vice President, Mrs Popoola and their families.

*I apologize for the grainy cell phone pictures - they are all I have.

Dr Adediji was the key note speaker,  giving a speech titled (click on this link in green) Nigeria in the Global Arena (it's a great speech, please follow that link to see the full text of the speech), speaking about how far we have come as a country, balancing it with how far we still have to go. Great read.

                  

Yours truly was also there with the family in tow dancing the night away. Engineer Odutola and Mrs Babatunde, board members, Dr and Dr Mrs Ogunbi, Engineer Latunde Addey, our auditor, and Prof. Lekan Ayanwale, chairman of our board, also graced the occasion with their presence. 

There were many cultural dances for the enjoyment of guests and as usual, rice, soup very plenty!

Well done to the Nigerian American Community of Central Alabama of Montgomery for a great celebration.

And now, a gentle reminder to see you all at 2pm, saturday the 20th in auburn/opelika for our Yodaai picnic of fun and games. Get ready to rumble for the prizes!

Race time 2.15 sharp, no delays. 

Fun, train rides, games and real medals / real prizes and plenty of food to follow...

Funke Abolade, M.D.

Social/Publicity Secretary.

And the winner...

Of the proverb of the month of October is Mrs Alabi with her #83 submission : "Iwon eku ni iwon ite". I will throw it to the comment section below for the literal and practical translation by our experts in Yoruba proverbs.

...and on a separate note about the mother land...

Nigeria, We hail thee, on our 52nd Independence day!

Arise O Compatriots!

Nigeria's call obey!

To serve our father land!

With love and strength and faith.

The labors of our heroes past shall never be in vain!

To serve with heart and might

One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity!

 Hip, Hip, Hurray to the green, white and green!

Find some way to celebrate Nigeria, with a little bit of pride in our national flag today!

Thank you for your submission, Mrs Alabi.

Funke Abolade, M.D.

 Social/Publicity Secretary.

1st Annual Yodaai Family Fun in the Park!

It's official -  Bring your "A" game on to the picnic!

Start getting ready for the games of the 1st annual Yodaai family fun in the park event!

There are races for the kids ( Trophy categories for boys and girls of under the age of 10 and also from age 11 to 15.  Please sign your kids up in the comment section below or in emails to me.) And there are races /walks (what!) for adults too (trophy categories for men and women). Then there is : An Ayo tournament - pls sign up below in the comment section or directly to me in an email. A ten - ten tournament (All the girls are automatically entered in this). A jump rope contest ( sign the kids up) Ludo. Rice, pizza, agbado, epa, meat, drinks, very plenty! Come one, come all.

Please wear your green Yodaai T- shirt to this event. Everybody should have one.

Funke Abolade, M.D. 

Social/Publicity Secretary.

And the winner

Of the proverb of the month  for September is Mr Dada - "Oore ti a se fun adie k'o denu, bo pe titi, a se omi too ro sini l'enu"  Congratulations and thank you, Sir. Mr Dada also supplied the literal translation and meaning of the proverb below.

Meaning/Translation: Hardwork will not go unrewarded. A favor meted out to the chicken is not deep rooted, in due course, it becomes a finger licking condiment !!!.

If you would like to submit a proverb and be included in the monthly draws,  pls put it in a comment below under this post or send them directly to my email.

 Funke Abolade, M.D.


 Social/publicity Secretary