Festivals
‘Ose Award’ is Tourism Icon, Wanle Akinboboye’s 14th tourism product of the week
Published
3 years agoon
By
Lanre
, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye has released Ose Awards as the tourism product for the week, in the continuous journey, to present 52 products in 52 weeks.
“Ose Awards as a tourism product, is an opportunity to celebrate and honour our legends who hail from across the 54 African countries and the entire world,” said Otunba Wanle Akinboboye.
“And that’s because, Africa has never honoured and celebrated her heroes.
“So we are picking one hero each year, in what we call Ose Awards, a Yoruba word that means ‘thank you.’ The tourism icon reiterated.
“We as a continent never celebrated our legends like Pele, like Mohammed Ali, like Louis Armstrong and so on.” Akinboboye noted and went further, “we need to correct this anormaly by picking one hero, that will be awarded with 21 chieftaincy titles, by 21 African first class kings in a mega celebration during the Ipada Carnival and will also be awarded 21 acres of land to build a structure of his or her volition and he or she will get a 21 carat gold emblem, a staff, that will represent what will be a singular award with that level of recognition in the world.”
The beautiful part of this tourism product is that, it is embedded in another tourism product which is Ipada Carnival. Ose Awards will be celebrated as one of the components of Ipada Carnival.
As a reminder, IPADA carnival is that two weeks celebration of the heeding of the Motherland Beckons call for Africans in Diaspora and lovers of Africa, to return to Africa, and unite with lost brothers and sisters.
“A minimum of 50 million people are expected to visit the continent of Africa throughout the year. This number of people, are expected to arrive through Nigeria, at different times of the year taking advantage of our deep sea port at lekki, transforming slave ships to cruise ships and then luxurious airlines celebrating in view of all the atrocities perpetuated against the continent, through the heinous era of the slave trade. Ipada carnival will this year be celebrating our prosperity, our resilience, our growth, our development and our contribution to the world economy.”
The celebration of Ipada Carnival could be likened to the carnivals from other many African settlements all over the world, from Calabar carnival to the Brazilian carnival train, to the carnivals from the Carribeans, to different Carnival trains from different parts of Africa, Ipada Carnival shall stand out all over the world.”
“So also will Ose Awards which will honour the African legends when they arrive for the Ipada carnival celebration later this year,” added Otunba Wanle Akinboboye.
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Ojude Oba Festival: Unpacking the deeper meanings of Nigeria’s cultural jewel

By Halima Adaba,
It was a featubal if the people. It was for the anciebt town of Ile Ife, which the Yoruba race refards as the Source.
Also read: Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Urges Leaders to Prioritise Citizens
And ut was a festivsl for the King, Arole Oduduwa, Oonirisa, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.
And so between September 24 and 28th 2026, the annual featuval dazzjed in all its white glory.
Tge Monarch paid the traditional ancestral homage and offered propitiation as part of the sacred rites of the Olojo Festival.
It was a powerful expression of Yoruba heritage, spirituality, and enduring tradition.
Call it a collection of beautiful moments, faces, colours and cultural expressions.
Every frame tells a story.
Every face carries the energy.
Every moment keeps the heritage alive.
Undoubtedly one of the most sacred cultural celebrations in Ilé-Ifẹ̀. It marked a day associated with creation, thanksgiving, ancestral heritage, and the sacred appearance of the Ooni of Ife wearing the revered Aàrẹ crown.
There were also the devotees of the famed god of thunder – Sàngó who were hardly conspicuous at the festival.
Many other traditional groups came out with candor, showing a powerful expression of Yoruba cultural identity, spiritual devotion, and respect for the ancient traditions of Ilé-Ifẹ̀.
Devotees of Sàngó bekieved the ‘appearance’ of the god of thunder on Seotember 26th could be understood as a symbolic meeting of ancestral heritage, spiritual devotion, and the celebration of creation.
It was a moment when the sounds of drums, chants, and traditional praise poetry brought the history of the Yoruba people to life.
Although Olojo is closely associated with Ogun, the god of iron, and the sacred traditions of Ile-Ife, the presence of Sàngó devotees reflected the rich diversity of Yoruba spiritual heritage.
Also read: Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Urges Leaders to Prioritise Citizens
As a participant enthused at the festival, “To witness Sàngó Olúkòso emerge on Olojo Festival day is to witness a living expression of history, identity, and ancestral pride.”

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Festivals
Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Urges Leaders to Prioritise Citizens
Published
1 week agoon
September 29, 2026
Olojo Festival 2026: Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi urges Nigerian leaders to prioritise citizens’ welfare, unity and national development (more…)
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