Rio Ferdinand speaks about his experience with the Yoruba people.
“If I was not an Englishman, the one country I would have loved to come from is Nigeria. I love Nigeria deeply, and there is a particular set of people in that country who completely won my heart. The Yoruba people. I would have loved to be Yoruba because Yoruba people are genuinely some of the warmest, kindest, and most dignified people I have ever met.
When I visited Nigeria for the first time, I went straight to Lagos, which is Yoruba land. And let me tell you, the hospitality I received there was on another level. The King of Lagos at that time even gave me a traditional title. They called me AFIWAJOYE OF LAGOS. That is not something I will ever forget. It meant a lot to me.
I have been to Lagos twice now, and both times, the Yoruba people treated me like their own. They are incredibly accommodating, proud, cultured, and very good-hearted people. And I will confess something. I even ate AMALA and EWEDU in Lagos and I loved it. Since I returned to England, I have looked for Nigerian kitchens, and I have eaten AMALA and EWEDU five different times. That is how much I love it.
Yoruba people are very, very good people. Their hospitality, their culture, their respect, their food, their confidence, their spirit. Everything about them is special. Whenever I talk about Nigeria, I always talk about the Yoruba with pride.
If I was not English, I would happily be Yoruba.”
