The 2025 Ojude Oba Festival came with all the excitement and colourful display the ceremony is known for, and left with hopes of a better display in subsequent editions.
Ojude Oba, meaning King’s Forecourt, is a festival that started centuries ago in the Ijebu Ode area of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. It has become a phenomenon for the world to behold, with its displays of the rich cultural heritage of the Ijebu people, a subgroup of the Yoruba race in Nigeria.
The flamboyant event takes place the third day after Eid al-Kabir (Ileya), and is held to pay homage and show respect to the Royal Majesty, the Awujale of Ijebuland.
This year’s event came on the heels of the buzz that the 2024 event generated, especially on social media. Many who would normally not be moved by it were drawn to the exciting photos and videos from the event that went viral. This was after the Managing Director and CEO-designate of NG Clearing Limited, Mr. Farooq Oreagba, became an overnight sensation when photos of him on a horse went viral, earning him the nickname, King of Steeze.
With the fame Mr. Oreagba got from the event, which led to him becoming an ambassador of a telecommunications company, attention from around the world became fixated on what the 2025 edition will be. As usual, the 2025 Ojude Oba Festival did not disappoint. The event was attended by almost twice the size of the crowd in the previous edition. This created the need for improvement, the kind to make other festivals green with envy.
A bigger arena with appropriate facilities and aesthetics
As mentioned earlier, the crowd at the 2025 Ojude Oba Festival was so large that it was difficult for attendees to have elbow room. Photos of the aerial view showed a jam-packed venue, as humans alongside horses struggled for space. Most photos of individuals taken at the venue were in portrait format. While this seems to be the target of the photographers, one may link the decision to the crowded state of the venue, as photographers would find it difficult to create enough space to enable them capture the expensive shoes worn by the attendees. Such won’t be the case if the organisers of the event can put together a venue befitting of the status the festival has attained.
If a new arena is to be built, the organisers may consider setting a section apart for photo sessions, perhaps where the media can sit to comfortably capture the event. Even though it was amazing seeing Mr. Oreagba attract cameras and microphones to himself while on a horse this year, such a moment could lead to a stampede due to the limited space.
What Ojude Oba Festival needs right now is a covered mini-stadium with capacity to be determined by the organisers. The new venue should also have a good parking space. Another important feature such a venue should have is an air-conditioning system to keep the place cool. That way, the makeup on the female attendees will stay fresh, making them look more glamorous than they usually do.
Security and safety should be considered
With the eyes of the world now on the festival, it is only normal for criminal elements to be attracted as well. “The phones they stole at Ojude Oba 2025 today will be up to 40 phones. They even had the audacity to steal two phones from a police officer with a gun,” said @PoojaMedia, a content creator who covered the event.
While petty thieves may just be out to steal phones, the organisers need to also set their concern on hardened criminals like terrorists who may want to use the festival to make a statement that will disrupt the peace enjoyed in the Southwest. If a new arena is to be built, such should have metal detectors, CCTV, special guards, ambulances, amongst others. Attendance should also be strictly by invitation or at a sum that will be useful for the maintenance of the arena.
A new media and cultural strategy
Clips and photos from the Ojude Oba Festival often take a day or two before they hit the media space, a trend that can be turned around with live broadcast of the festival. The broadcast could be on local TV stations, any cable network or on YouTube for Nigerians in the diaspora to catch the event. The festival should also have its official social media handles, where announcements and developments will be disseminated. Such strategy will not only attract more attention from the world but also attract local and foreign investors, who will contribute more to what Ijebuland and Ogun State benefits from the prestigious festival.
The organisers of the festival need to spread their tentacles by linking up with other festivals around the world. They could invite representatives of festivals like Durban July in South Africa, Calabar Carnival, Rio Carnival, e.t.c, to come showcase their colours. Those festivals will in turn invite representatives of Ojude Oba Festival when they also hold their events. Such exposure could boost the Federal Government’s move for UNESCO to recognise the festival, thereby giving Nigeria a good name.
Photo credit: Pooja La Photos, Niyi Fagbemi and others. (Guardian)
