Festivals

Tourism Development: LASG Supports Annual EBI Festival Celebration In Epe

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2024

As part of promoting indigenous festivals, culture and tradition for the development of Lagos tourism, arts and culture, the Lagos State Government has supported the celebration of the Ebi Festival in the Epe area of the State.

The Special Adviser on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Idris Aregbe, ably represented at the event by the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. Idowu Johnson, who led some officials to witness the celebration recently, said that the involvement of the Ministry was in furtherance of preserving the culture and heritage of the people of Epe and its environs.

He expressed the willingness of the State Government to continue to support the Ebi festival because of its viability to sustain the peace already being enjoyed by the people of Epe and also advance the progress of the ancient town.

He stated that the intention of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is to be more involved in the annual celebration to bring the festival up to international standards and use it as a means of attracting more foreign tourists to the State.

The Oloja of Epe Kingdom, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, during an interview on the importance and benefits of the Ebi festival, commended the involvement of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in the programme. He appreciated the support of the State Government in ensuring the successful hosting of the festival in the past few years, saying that the Government’s involvement served as a source of encouragement for the organisers of the annual festival.

The Monarch affirmed the recognition that the festival had received both within and outside the country on promoting harmony, unity and peace within Epe environs as well as progress and prosperity for the indigenous people of Epe home and in the Diaspora. He, however, pleaded for more government support towards the revival of other customs, culture and heritage of their forefathers in the Epe Kingdom and festivals of the people of Epe in general.

The Oloja stressed that the government must intervene in salvaging the various cultural norms and practices from going into extinction and the festival does not discriminate or segregate the sexes, stressing that both have specific roles to play during the festival. He described the event as a friendly cultural festival that everyone can come to the Epe kingdom to celebrate with the people.

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Culture

OLOJO….Ile Ife’s September Gift To Culture

Published

39 minutes ago

October 5, 2026

Mariam Balogun

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.”