‘My heritage is Nigeria,’ Anthony Joshua gives moving speech at Commonwealth

Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua on Monday gave a moving speech in front of the Royal Family during the Commonwealth Day celebration service held at Westminster Abbey in London.

In the speech, the world boxing champion spoke about his Nigerian roots and Yoruba culture.

“My name is Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua. Like many of you here, I’m a child of the commonwealth I was born in Watford, and my heritage is Nigeria.

“I come from the Yoruba people, who are the largest – and some might say, the loudest – ethnic group in all of Africa. I am proudly Nigerian and I am proudly British.

“I join a long line, perhaps too long to count, of UK citizens of Commonwealth origin who’ve made enormous contributions to this great, multicultural society of ours,” he said in the video which was shared on his verified Twitter handle.

Joshua also advocated for work to be done to remove all sense of division across the Commonwealth.

“Let’s work to make wealth more common,” he captioned the video on Twitter.

He ended the heartfelt speech by making mention of what can probably be described as his favourite meals.

“So, here’s to fish and chips and egusi soup and pounded yam, to the UK and Nigeria and to the children of the Commonwealth,” Joshua said.

Fans and followers in response to his post heaped praises on him, describing him with kind words like, ‘MVP, generational talent, impressive young man.”

“He’s got brain to match his biceps,” another great fan posted on Twitter.

The professional boxer was recently in Nigeria where he visited the nation’s capital to register for the National Identity card. He also visited Sagamu, his hometown in Ogun State where he took pictures with traditional rulers and his young fans on the streets. (Channels TV)

• Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua speaks during the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 09, 2020