British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua while addressing the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day 2020 service, said his heritage is Nigerian, expressing his pride in the country.
The heavyweight world champion, who spent part of his childhood in Nigeria began his speech by introducing himself before stating how proud he is to be a Nigerian.
Joshua 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.
“To the UK and Nigeria, and the children of the Commonwealth.”
