It was cheering news as the Minister of Culture, Art and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa-Musawa, on Tuesday, said the Federal Government would activate plans to list the annual Ojude Oba Festival as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

What is a World Heritage Site?

World Heritage site is any of various areas or the objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

The sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

This document was adopted by UNESCO in 1972 and formally took effect in 1975 after having been ratified by 20 countries.

It provides a framework for international cooperation in preserving and protecting cultural treasures and natural areas throughout the world.

Demonstrating the global significance of Ojude Oba

Represented by the Director of Cultural Agencies and Heritage, Dr Ben Anama, at the 2024 edition of the Ojude Oba Festival, held at the Awujale’s Pavilion in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, the minister said the festival was in tune with President Bola Tinubu’s mandate for the ministry, which seeks to take revenue generation from tourism to over $100 billion by 2030.

The global festival showcases the rich cultural heritage and endowments of the people of Ijebuland and is celebrated on the third day of Eid-el-Kabir. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Ojude Oba: Unity and Harmony, Our Gift”.

The Awujale and Paramount Ruler of ljebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who is the chief host of the colourful event, received the over 100 age grades group of males and females (Regberegbes) decked in resplendent attires, as they paid homage to him.

The horse riders from the warrior families in ljebuland were also on hand to thrill the fun-seekers to various displays with their horses.

Also at the ceremony were the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and the Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele; former governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, another former governor, Senator Gbenga Daniel and a host of other dignitaries.

According to the Minister, the annual festival is a platform that fostered the unity of the country in diversity and one of the country’s tourism potentials that could be tapped into to diversify the economy from oil.

She said: “In line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the ministry will always collaborate with stakeholders to promote, preserve and protect the rich cultural heritage of our nation to ensure it reaches its enviable height, according to our vision for the ministry called ‘Destination 2030’.

“This vision considers the potential in arts, culture and creative economy in terms of its ability to create economic expansion. Our ambitious goal is predicated on this drive, which is capable of yielding over $100 billion, an increase in the gross domestic product by year 2030”, she said.

While rejoicing with the sons and daughters of Ijebuland over the success of the festival and the good image it had given the country over the years, Musa-Musawa said the status of a festival like Ojude-Oba, with its profound impacts in the tourism sector of the country, deserved to be listed by the international body.

Governor Dapo Abiodun, while speaking at the event, hailed Ojude-Oba and described it as a festival that had given ljebuland and, indeed, the people of Ogun State a distinct identity.

Abiodun said the festival had become a catalyst for the development of Ijebuland and underscored the essence of preserving the rich cultural heritage

While rejoicing with Oba Adetona and the sons and daughters of ljebuland, the Governor promised to partner with the Federal Government to develop the festival and make it a global tourist attraction and destination.

He said the theme of the celebration was apt, as unity and harmony remained the bedrock of any thriving society, and he called for a more united force to lift the country out of its present woes.
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Ojude Oba

Ojude Oba which represents “the King’s fore-court or frontage”, could also be translated as “Majestic outing”.

It was formerly a small gathering of the people of the Islamic religion which started over 100 years ago, when the earliest Muslim converts in Ijebu-Ode paid homage to the Awujale of Ijebu-land, showing their appreciation for granting them the liberty to practice and observe their religion.

It is a one-day celebration of culture, fashion, glamour, candour, beauty and royalty as sons and daughters of Ijebuland.

The festival always commenced with prayers by the Imam of Ijebuland, then followed by the National Anthem, then the Ogun State Anthem and the Awujale Anthem, and finally the Lineage praise of the Ijebus. After all of these, the parade of different ages known as Regbe regbe with names such as Obafuwaji, Bobagbimo, Bobakeye, Gbobaniyi and Gbobalaye begins

Nigeria’s world heritage sites

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.

In Nigeria, there are 2 sites in Nigeria. These are The Sukur Cultural Landscape and Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Others on the tentative list for Nigeria are Benin Iya / Sungbo’ s Eredo , Kwiambana and/or Ningi in Zamfara, Oban Hills / Korup in Cross River, Niger Delta Mangroves, Gashaka Gumti National Park, Oke Idanre (Idanre Hill), Arochkwu Long Juju Slave Route (Cave Temple Complex, Ancient Kano City Walls and Associated Sites, Surame Cultural Landscape, Alok Ikom Stone Monoliths, Ogbunike Caves, Cross River-Korup-Takamanda and Lake Chad cultural landscape.

Selection Criteria For World Heritage

To be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, sites must be of “outstanding universal value” and meet at least one of the following ten selection criteria:

Human creative genius: must represent a masterpiece of human creative genius,Interchange of values to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design.

Testimony to cultural tradition, it must bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared; Significance in human history, must be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history.

Traditional human settlement- must be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change

Heritage associated with events of universal significance and must be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). Natural phenomena or beauty to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance;

Must be of outstanding examples representing major stages of Earth’s history, must be of significant ecological and biological processes, must be a significant natural habitat for biodiversity and contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity.

There are three types of sites: cultural, natural, and mixed. Cultural heritage sites include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting.

Natural heritage sites are restricted to those natural areas that, furnish outstanding examples of Earth’s record of life or its geologic processes, provide excellent examples of ongoing ecological and biological evolutionary processes, contain natural phenomena that are rare, unique, superlative, or of outstanding beauty, or furnish habitats for rare or endangered animals or plants or are sites of exceptional biodiversity.

Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance.

The ratio of cultural to natural sites on the World Heritage List is roughly 3 to 1. Several new sites are added to the list at the middle of each year (until 2002, sites were added in December).

It is a positive development to see the Ojude Oba Festival being recognized as a cultural festival as a WHS.