Ojude Oba festival: Ijebus’ celebrate culture, tradition in colours

BY ORJI ONYEKWERE

The annual Ojude Oba festival was celebrated last week in colours as sons and daughters of Ijebu land and other Yoruba heritage graced the occasion, all adorned in different attires and colours. Ojude Oba festival is a vibrant cultural event celebrated annually by the Ijebu people in Ogun State, Nigeria.

It typically takes place three days after Eid al-Kabir (Muslim festival of sacrifice), emphasizing the harmonious coexistence between the predominantly Muslim community and their traditional beliefs.

The festival, which had the theme “Ojude Oba: Unity and Harmony, Our Gift,” showcased a rich show of colours, styles, and cultural pride of Ijebuland.

This year’s event attracted the presence of government dignitaries including the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa- Musawa who was represented Ben Ugo Anama, Director of Cultural Agencies and Heritage, the Ogun State governor Dapo Abiodun, the former governor of the State Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona; his wife, the Ogbeni Oja of Ijebuland and a host of other dignitaries.

READ ALSO: I Go Save’s daughter asks for DNA to prove.

The event according to the governor creates opportunities for economic development for the state as a whole. He reinstated that the Ojude Oba festival has become tourism for the Ijebu people and a very strong cultural heritage. He also thanked the president for considering to make the festival, the UNESCO’s world cultural heritage and promised to provide a conducive environment for this.

The Ojude Oba festival brings together different cultural groups known as “regbe regbe” made up of indigenes, friends and associates, who parade at the front of the courtyard of the king’s palace, the Oba of Ijebuland, in different colourful and exquisite attires to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Ijebu people and Yorubas as a whole. They parade before the Oba and dignitaries, displaying horse-riding skills, embellished with drumming, singing, and dancing performances, reflecting the community’s cultural pride and unit.

The festival fosters unity and goodwill among the Ijebu people, promoting mutual respect and understanding across religious and social divides.

One of the highlights of the festival was the pictures and videos of Farooq Oreagba, on a horse back wearing a tattoo on his hand and rocking a full aso-oke agbada. Farooq happens to be a cancer survivor.

He was born on July 1966 in Ijebu -Ode, Ogun state, he is an excellent investment specialist In Nigeria’s financial sector and the leader of NG Clearing Limited. The 58-year-old served on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Derivatives Product Advisory Committee.