UPDATE ON OGBOMOSO CARNIVAL: 9ice to be face of festival – ‘We’ll stage kind of festival never seen’
Femi OGUNLANA
Photos by Abdulrasaq BELLO
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The Ogbomoso Cradle Festival, scheduled to hold between December 19 and 23, will be a sort of festival never witnessed before, in terms of scale, showcasing of Ogbomoso rich cultural heritage, art and tradition, tourism potentialities, foods to be on display and parade of creative art, theater and culture icons, it has been promised.
This is as it had been revealed that Hiphop ace, Alexander Akande Abolore a.k.a. 9ice, an indigene of Ogbomoso, is going to be the face of the iconic festival.
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In a news conference at the palace of Ogbomoso Thursday, the chairman of the committee saddled with packaging the festival, Prince Williams Adeleye, enthused, “This festival is going to be different, it will be unique, unlike what we have seen anywhere, anyone that doesn’t attend in December will be missing a lot.”
Prince Adeleye further said, “the festival will be a combination of our elegance and our rich culture and tradition. It will be different. People will get to taste our unique amala and gbegiri, the famous akara Ogbomoso, I invite people to come and have a taste of our various cuisines – sakada, seke, atunu, robo, fule, ole, sapala, we are going to showcase all these in December. It will be all about culture, tourism and food.
“In the creative industry, we have the talents too, I earlier mentioned Alexander Akande Abolore 9ice is going to be the face of this carnival. We have people in the Nollywood too, Okunu, Baba Lare Paimo, Teju Babyface, Okolo, all of them are coming, even in the gospel industry, Dunsin Oyekan, who is making wave across the world, Laolu Gbenjo, we have plenty of them, they are coming.”
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Adeleye now disclosed, “the people of Ogbomoso are endowed with a rich cultural heritage and tradition. They speak the mutually intelligible Yoruba language and possess traditional values that can be found in any Yoruba community. Apart from the rich cultural heritage, Ogbomosoland is blessed with a wealth of tourism potential, historical relics, and artifacts, including ancient palaces, shrines, cultural festivals, deities, masquerades, and various forms of cuisine that attract both local and foreign visitors.”
He further listed some unique Egunguns that are part of the heritage of the community, those he mentioned included Ajomogbodo, he says sits in air; Danafojura, which he points out bathes in fire; Ayilere, that he discloses wallows in any available muddy water, Arenugbongi, with a mouth protuding like bird’s beak used to suckle any corn mash in sight; Lobanika, the energetic Egungun Oba with a poisoned sword, assuring these and others will display during the five-day festival just as he said the Oole festival celebrated by the Soun ruling houses will be staged.
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Enthusiastically, he stressed, “We are now working towards rejuvenating the cultural heritage and showcasing it to the world, with the intent of promoting peace, creating jobs, and developing the city economically.”
Adeleye, an aide of former President Muhammadu Buhari maintained, “We are excited to announce that Ogbomoso-born international artist, Mr. Alexander Akande Abolore, popularly known as 9ice, will be unveiled as the face of the festival during the unveiling of the logo and stakeholders’ forum, the date of which will be announced soon.”
The chairman of the committee appropriately tagged “arts and culture,” emphasized the festival is an initiative of the Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III, while asserting “we are aligning with the position of the federal and state governments in promoting domestic tourism, arts and culture,” as he said it is also in conformity with the focus of many countries like the UAE, UK, Malaysia, Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda, which he underlined thrive on tourism.
He noted the festival is a major component of the 25 – year development plan of Oba Ghandi towards kick-starting the accelerated development of Ogbomosoland, noting the monarch “considers tourism and hospitality development as one of the aspects that can help in rejuvenating cultural values and promoting the economy.” Hence, we will “organize an all-encompassing festival that will promote unity, progress, and make Ogbomosoland a preferred destination for local and foreign tourists.”
It was also stated that critical stakeholders within and without are being reached out to for collaboration and support towards having a successful event
Activities lined up for the festival include displays by Egungun, traditional hunters and Bata/drummers on the first day; Odun Oole Oba on the second day; 2nd edition of Oba Ghandi Golf tournament and final of a football competition on day 3; masquerade parade, traditional cuisines, stage play and musical concerts on day 4; while the grand finale on day 5 will witness cultural displays from groups from across the five local governments of Ogbomoso zone he said is made up of over 1, 000 settlements and traditional homage to the monarch.
The committee therefore made passionate appeal to sponsors and cultural enthusiasts to collaborate and support the event.
Adequate provision of security during the event is also guaranteed with the revelation that various security apparatuses will be deployed.
It is also disclosed that the Oyo state government as well as the federal government are massively in support of the carnival with the assurance that an approval had been obtained from the federal ministry of culture and tourism. “They have written us they are going to collaborate in the project.”
Prince Dotun Oyelade, Oyo state Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation remarked the carnival will have a huge impact on the economy of Ogbomoso, saying “all over the world culture cannot be separated from the economy, we have a new Oba who is promoting the tradition and culture of Ogbomoso, the new Kabiyesi has taken it upon himself that culture will achieve and attain a frontrunner row in all his activities.
“The same Kabiyesi has highlighted a 25-year development plan for Ogbomoso. He has taken it all over the world, aside selling it to the people in Nigeria, he has taken it to the UK, then to the United States, we saw the sheer enthusiasm with which he was received. To call a long story short, the idea of having the carnival is multi-faceted, it will enhance and consolidate the culture of Ogbomosoland and will open the eyes of the world to the possibilities that abound in our land.”
Adeleye added, “Culture is the new oil, we are trying to showcase our own rich cultural heritage, this event is going to attract people to Ogbomoso, from beyond the five local governments, and will foster unity and cooperation throughout Oyo state and will help in the economic prosperity of the state.”
