O Canada: Nigerians in Lethbridge celebrate Canada Day
By Submitted Article on July 15, 2020.
When the fledging Association of Nigerians in Lethbridge (ANL) threw a challenge to its growing members to sing the Canadian national anthem in their Nigerian languages, its caretaker committee was confident of positive responses from members. Only that the enthusiasm that followed exceeded expectations.
Within an hour of the challenge, responses started coming in. Video and audio clips flowed in with recording of families proudly donning their red Canadian tops with flag hanging around and heart-warming tunes of “O Canada,” accompanied with pianos.
By the close of the challenge, it was clear that one family had distinguished itself. The Awosoga’s family had produced an excellent translation of O Canada in Yoruba, one of the major Nigerian languages, spoken by about 120 million people across the world. The translation is presented below, followed by a website link to the audio rendition.
O Kanada!
Il? abinibi wa!
Ife otito ‘nu gbogbo wa pa??.
Pel’?kˆn ologo awa rii dide,
Itusile, agbara!
L’ariwa jakejado,
O Kanada, a duro l’aabo fun ?.
Jah pawa mo, l’ogo idande!
O Kanada , a duro l’aabo fun ?.
O Kanada a duro l’aabo fun ?.
(https://soundcloud.com/user-144529419/o-canada-yoruba-version)
(Text and Music by The Awosoga’s, 2020)
Families like Awosoga’s remind us of who Canadians are: a precious, timeless and strong mosaic of peoples and cultures united by one fundamental value: freedom.
Nigerians in Lethbridge join countless individuals, families and communities in this year’s Canada Day celebration to declare that “we stand on guard for thee.”
Caretaker Committee of Association of Nigerians in Lethbridge
25-24
