The 2020 edition of Ojude Oba festival has been cancelled

The 2020 edition of the annual Ojude Oba Festival has been called off.

Coordinator, Ojude Oba Festival, Chief Adetokunboh Yusuf conveyed the approval of The Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona for the cancellation of this year’s Ojude Oba festival in a statement on Wednesday.

The cancellation of the event scheduled to hold on August 2, is occasioned by COVID-19 and its attendant need for social and physical distancing.

The festival is usually held on the third day after eid el kabir (sallah) celebration.

The famous festival started out in 1892, when the then Oba Adesumbo Tunwase offered landed properties to the Muslims for a Mosque to be built. He also offered the British missionaries the opportunity to preach Christianity in Ijebu Land as well as the land where St Saviours Italupe, the first church in Ijebu was built.

Ojude Oba Festival started as a religious festival, when a small number of adherents and muslims chose to pay homage and show appreciation to the reigning Monarch for his kind gesture and benevolence to them.

However, the festival has transcended religious lines today and it attracts people of all faiths as well as tourists from within and outside Nigeria. On the day of the event, various peers and age groups come is festive attires to pay tribute to the king after which the festival continues with various forms of entertainment.