The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi in the company of Olori Mariam Ogunwusi, commemorated the dawn of the first day of creation with the annual Olojo festival.
It is the first public appearance of the new Queen since the first-class monarch married her weeks ago. The king used the event to preach love and unity among Yoruba people and Nigerians.
The festival is a compendium of socio-cultural and traditional activities, rites and merry making spanning across a week.
An Olojo festival is introduced in a colourful cultural celebration known as the “Gbajuree” Cultural Carnival after which the Ooni, the King of Ile-Ife and the Spiritual Head of the entire Yoruba people proceeds on a seven days seclusion of fasting and denial, communing with the ancestors and making atonement on behalf of humanity for peace, unity and prosperity in the land.
The seven days seclusion is believed to purify the King thereby enhancing the efficacy of his prayers and supplications to the Olodumare as well as the ancestors.
Series of traditional rites including community cleansing are performed at strategic locations in the city while Ooni’s seclusion lasts.
Importance:
Central to the Olojo festival celebrations is the sacred and mysterious Aare Crown which, according to the Yoruba mythology was handed to Oduduwa by Olodumare while setting out on the creation mission to the earth.
The Aare as worn by Oduduwa himself while on Earth in Ile-Ife is a symbol of Authority of the Ooni as the occupier of the ancestral throne. The Aare Crown is adorned and worn by the Ooni only once in a Year and that is during Olojo Festival.
At the expiration of the seven days seclusion, the Ooni emerges wearing the Aare Crown weighing about 50kg and leads a walking procession to Okemogun to offer sacrifices to Ogun, god of Iron and and other sacred spots in the city while he prays for the people.
Olojo Festival is significant not just for the people of Ile-Ife alone but essentially a festival that celebrates the beauty and unity of the Yoruba people in particular and the entire Black Race in general . Elaborate traditional singing, drumming and electrifying cultural displays are characteristics of the festival.
The annual Olojo festival attracted dignitaries including the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola who represented President Muhammad Buhari at the event.
The spiritually inclined event was in commemoration of the dawn of the first day in recognition of the beginning of the existence of man.
Representing President Muhammadu Buhari, Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola recalled that the festival had been an opportunity to showcase farm produce in the past, expressing displeasure over the neglect of farming in the country.
In the olden days, at a festival like this, we use them to display the harvest of our farms to measure how far we work and our economy. I will be pleased if we can revert to the tradition. It is better to celebrate after work,” he said.
“We must be vigilant, we must not leave the work of security to our security agencies alone else there will be problems. All of us must be concerned about security.
“The government will play its part, in little areas where we are encountering challenges, and we will soon succumb to them before December 2022.
“We must work together with security agencies to win the challenges of insecurity. I recognise the roles played by Ooni to end insecurity and I commend you for this,” he added.
Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola said his administration has been making efforts to protect the citizens, promising that he will not relent to ensure the safety of the people of the state.
Represented by his deputy, Benedict Alabi, Oyetola congratulated the people of Ile-Ife, noting that Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi has been supporting the government in his capacity to engage the youths.
“I thank the Ooni for his sacrifices and for interfacing with the ancestors to perform all the necessary cleansing, productivity, security, and other rites for the benefit of the black race in particular and mankind in general.
“The significance of this festival is in tandem with the philosophy of our administration, as we strongly believe that the State economy should be repositioned by giving a boost to cultural-tourism promotion to drive meaningful youth employment, create wealth, and preserve our cultural heritage, among others.
“I want to assure you that government will continue to do all within its power to protect the people, and provide an enabling environment for a prosperous, secure and progressive Osun.
“As we celebrate this year’s edition of the festival, I enjoin all and sundry to intensify efforts to preserve our cultural heritage, entrench peaceful co-existence, eschew political bitterness, and always be our brothers’ keepers,” Oyetola added.
Speaking on the occasion, Aregbesola charged Nigerians to restore the old glory of the country in farming, saying that the bedrock of Nigeria’s economy was famously known to be agriculture.
Excerpt from President’s speech read, “Olojo festival was an event in the olden days to showcase farm produce, profits made in farming and agriculture at large.
It will gladden my heart if Nigerians could restore the old glory of farming; this Olojo festival too should also bring back the old days of showcasing farm produce, hard work and good character.
“The festival should not be for merriment alone. Merriment should come after work. There should not be merriment without work. Working is the antidote to poverty.
He further said, “I must also say that security is our collective effort. We should not leave security matters to security agencies alone. If we leave security agencies to handle security issues alone, there will not be adequate security.
“We are collectively responsible for the provision of security. The government will do its own while the people should also support the security agencies. We should report any suspicious move or person in our environment to the security agents.
“I appreciate Ooni’s effort in ending insecurity in Nigeria. Collectively, we will end insecurity in Nigeria.”
This year’s Olojo festival like most festivals in Southwest Nigeria, is extremely important because it is an avenue for to bring to the fore the values and customs of the Yorubaland and the beauty of Yoruba culture.