US Based Otunba Oluyinka Waheed Nurudeen
is one of the most influential Nigerians in diaspora. Chief Nurudeen is the first Nigerian to be made Otunba in the US. He is popularly known for his dedication in promoting YORUBA culture in the US, through the showcasing of cultural attires, accessories and lifestyle. Stay tuned for more details about Otunba!
OTUNBA Oluyinka Waheed Nurudeen arrived the United States exactly 8years ago and since then has inestimably and creditably established himself as a veritable ambassador of African heritage in the diaspora. A very charismatic and personable gentleman, Nurudeen deploys every waking moment of his to celebrate and promote the best elements and features of his native Nigeria, with more than passing focus on the Yoruba race to which he belongs.
Nurudeen holds the enviable distinction of being the first individual of Yoruba descent to be crowned Otunba, which roughly translates to Prime Minister by HRM Alase Oba Adefunmi Adejuyigbe, King of the world-famous Native American Yoruba settlement called Oyotunji, in the State of South Carolina.
Oyotunji African Village is a Neo-African settlement located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was founded by African American Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970. Oyotunji village is named after the old Oyo empire, and the name literally translates to “Oyo returns,” or “Oyo rises again.” Oyotunji village covers an area of twenty seven acres, and has a Yoruba temple which was moved from Harlem, New York City, to its present location in 1960. During the 1970s, the era of greatest population growth at the village, the number of inhabitants would witness a remarkable growth from five persons to about two hundred and fifty. Since King Adefunmi’s death in 2005, the village has been ruled by his son and heir, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II. The village is ingeniously constructed to be analogous to the villages of the traditional Yoruba city-states in modern-day Nigeria, although extensive modernization of the village’s public facilities have been carried out under the current monarch.
Otunba Waheed Nurudeen, was honored with the NAFB Image Award at Houston, Texas, on April 30, 2016. He has represented Africa in many high-profile occasions in the United States. Widely regarded as an ambassadorial fashionista of the best in male African haute couture, Nurudeen’s totally positive contributions to the developmental projects of many African groups and communities in the United States are truly remarkable, and of particular significance is his passionate promotion of African culture and heritage in the localities of Hollywood and Beverly Hills in California.
