From the community picnic to the New Yam Festival, and now toward our biggest gathering yet — the Official Unveiling — every event brings the sons and daughters of Yala one step closer together.
Opinions were sampled from members and stakeholders across Yala. December 28th — the festive season — was chosen because most sons and daughters are already home for Christmas. September was considered first, but many would struggle to take leave from work twice in one year to travel home again for the holidays.
A special session honouring distinguished men and women who have dedicated their lives to peace, unity, reconciliation and harmony in their communities. Each community will nominate one respected individual — male or female — who has consistently stood for peace and progress, to be publicly recognized and decorated as a YALA PEACE AMBASSADOR during the unveiling ceremony.
Starting from July, official visitation and invitation tours will hold to personally meet distinguished sons and daughters of Yala-speaking communities, both within and outside Nigeria. This is a movement with purpose, structure and vision.
YALA UNITED billboards will be mounted at different entrances into Yala to welcome our sons and daughters home. Security and peaceful coordination are already being discussed with relevant agencies to ensure a safe, successful day for everyone attending.
History is about to be made in Okpoma. Be part of the biggest gathering of Yala-speaking people in recent history.
Before the big day in Okpoma, YALA UNITED has already brought people together — here's a look back.
Sons and daughters of Yala came together for a day of food, fellowship, and fun — the first real gathering that showed what YALA UNITED could become. Families, youths, and elders shared a field, a meal, and a growing sense that this movement was bigger than any one community.
Every August 30th, Yala-speaking communities — at home and across the diaspora — pause to honour the new yam harvest with dance, food, and tradition. This year's celebration carried that same spirit into homes and halls from Yala land to wherever our people have settled.
