World boxing heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has reaffirmed his pride in his Yoruba and Nigerian heritage.
He reiterated this in a Monday meeting with members of the British royal family led by Queen Elizabeth II.
Joshua, who gave a fabulous Commonwealth Day speech at Westminster Abbey, extolled some of the virtues of his Nigerian roots, and spoke glowingly of Yoruba delicacies pounded yam and egusi soup.
He urged Commonwealth countries to come together to promote trade, exchange of cultures and opportunities.
The world champion said, “My name is Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua and like many of you here, I’m a child of the Commonwealth.
“I was born in Watford and my heritage is Nigerian. I come from the Yoruba people, who are the largest and some might say the loudest ethnic group in all of Africa. I’m proudly Nigerian and proudly British.
“These days we hear so much about division and difference that some might be tempted to see that as a bad thing.
“But on the contrary, it’s a beautiful thing. A thing to be celebrated and cherished, and a great source of peace and stability.
“I feel opportunity should be there for the taking along with hard work, dedication and perseverance, regardless of one’s background. We need to strive harder collectively in order to create unity.
“It takes a village to raise a child. And in the same vein, it takes a whole community to act and stand together to tackle some of the challenges we are confronted with today.”
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Joshua, 30, currently holds the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.
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