•Chief KESSINGTON ADEBUTU Will Be Special Guest Of Honour
•GLOBACOM Is Major Sponsor Of The Event
•OBESERE & LIL KESH To Perform
•FCMB, Nigeria Breweries To Sponsor
•Planning Committee Chairman, Otunba OSINUSI Explains
Full details of what to expect at this years Ojude Oba has been revealed by the Chairman of the 2019 OJUDE OBA FESTIVAL COMMITTEE, Otunba W.O, Osinusi who is the (Otunba Fidipote Of Ijebu), for and on behalf of the Committee. It was at the 2019 World Press Conference, heralding the 2019 Ojude Oba Festival held at the Heritage Hall inside the Awujale Palace in Ijebu Ode, on Monday, 20th July 2019.
He began by revealing that the annual Ojude Oba Festival is a very spectacular celebration of the Ijebu and how the festival took its origin in Islam. But it is now being celebrated by all and sundry, that is, Muslims, Christians, Traditionalists and Non-Believers. “This long-cherished Ijebu tradition has been in existence for about 2 centuries he explained. According to him, “the Ojude Oba festival is a classic example and manifestation of religious tolerance in Ijebuland. History has it that when Islam made an incursion into Ijebuland, the reigning monarch prevailed on his subject to give those professing the new religion the latitude to operate according to the dictates of their conscience. In other words, there should be either war nor rancour in religious matters. Basking in this clement environment, the emerging Moslem Community after observing the Eid-el-Kabir, which included the exchange of gifts and the slaughtering of the sacrificial rams came out on the third day to pay homage to the reigning monarch and thanked him for his kindness, accommodation and the religious liberty he gave them. As time went by, this tradition metamorphosed into what is now known as Ojude Oba Festival and has been embraced not only by Ijebu at home and in the diaspora, but also by millions of people within and outside Nigeria. The Festival is indeed a gift of the Ijebu nation to Nigeria and the rest of the world being a unique case study of religious tolerance and harmony.
The present Monarch, Alaiyeluwa Oba (Dr.)Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who was crowned on April 2, 1960, has succeeded in making the festival a global brand. The festival is not only all about equestrian display, a parade of culture and tradition, merrymaking and funfair, it provides the Ijebu nation the opportunity to supplicate to the Almighty God, take stock of their activities, embark on self-help projects, and reunite with family members and acquaintances. The festival also boosts commerce and trade in its entirety as commercial and trading activities are at their peak before, during and after the festival. The Festival touches every spectrum of life in Ijebuland. All the facilities (hotels, restaurants, etc) artisans, craftsmen, transporters, professionals, market men and women, among other fully occupied before and during the festival.
The grand finale of the 2019 edition will hold on either Monday, 12th August or Tuesday, 13th August 2019, that is, two days after the Eid-el Kabir festival.
THEME OF THE 2019 EDITION
The theme chosen for the 2019 edition of the festival after a robust discussion is OJUDE OBA: THE UNIQUENESS OF THE IJEBU NATION. Ojude Oba festival is the cultural heritage that has earned us uniqueness in the country and indeed, the world. We are convinced this unique Ijebu model is worth bequeathing to the country.
THE AGE GRADES (REGBEREGBE) ON PARADE
Since time immemorial, the Age Grade System was the focal of development and socialisation in Ijebuland. The Age Grade system of Ijebuland has now been rejuvenated and rejigged in the last 3 decades by the reigning monarch, Oba (Dr.) S.K. Adetona, CFR, JP, Ogbagba II, Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland.
This year, 50 male and female Age Grades will be on parade. The first in each category is awarded a Gold-plated cup and cash prize, while the first runner-up and second runner-up are also rewarded with cash prizes, courtesy our Main sponsor, Globacom, the Telecom Giant.
THE BALOGUN/ELESHIN (WARLORDS & HORSE RIDERS) ON EQUESTRIAN PARADE
We expect at least 20 various family warlords to put/their horse-riding prowess. They are expected to file into the main arena for the equestrian display in an organised manner, with the Osi-Balogun (the position is presently vacant), Otun Balogun and Balogun families taking the rear. Globacom, the Major Sponsor of the festival, will also be awarding prizes to the first, first runner-up and second runner-up of the warlords and horse riders.
2019 SPECIAL GUESTS OF HONOUR
The Special Guest of Honour for the 2019 Ojude-Oba Festival is Sir Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu, CON, a consummate business magnate, foremost industrialist, great philanthropist and distinguished achiever of unblemished honour.
SPONSORS
Ojude Oba Festival has been attracting a sizeable number of sponsors over the years. These include Globacom ( the Major Sponsor), First City Monument Bank Plc, Ogun State Government, Nigerian Breweries Plc. (GOLDBERG BEER), Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, WEMPCO Group, Yinka Folawiyo Group of Companies, Rite Foods Limited, and Quarry. We also have many organisations and individuals as Advertisers.
GLOBACOM
Precisely, on August 29, sixteen years ago, the seed of the grandmaster of data, Globacom was sown by Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr (GCON, CSG, CLH). Since then, the company has grown boisterously. Recently, Globacom, among many laurels had been adjudged as the 4th most admired brand on the African continent. This honour is a fitting testament to the giant strides recorded by the Company.
First in Innovation and Technology. Globacom which started innovatively with per-second billing, widely believed to be impossible, then quickly followed by crashing the cost of GSM, SIM and Tariff from N20,000 and N50 per minute respectively, to as low as N200 and 5 kobo per second, thus boosting telephone penetration in the country. The company also pioneered revolutionary products like Blackberry, GPRS, Vehicle tracking, mobile internet, mobile banking, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), in-flight roaming services, Voice SMS, Magic Plus and Text2remailo among others.
Glo’s extensive optical fibre network, powered by a managed IP MPLS network, covers to farthest parts of the country giving business in over 130 cities low latency, fast connectivity and expanded bandwidth to carry voice, video and data reliably. This makes Globacom a partner of choice for organisations seeking to connect their branches or link via optical fibre with any organisation within or outside Nigeria.
Based on its National Optic Fibre coverage, Globacom’s Global Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) service, provides scalable virtual private networks (VPNs) and end-to-quality of service (QoS), enabling efficient utilisation of provisional networks to meet future growth and rapid fault correction of link and node failure.
Globacom is the only operator with a wholly-owned submarine cable, Glo-1, linking Europe and America to West Africa, ensuring the availability of bandwidth to enterprise customer West Africa. The 9,800km -long cable has landing points in Lagos, Nigeria, Accra, Ghana, Senegal, Nouakchott, Mauritania; Casablanca, Morocco, Seimbra, Portugal; Vigo, Spain Bude in England. Glo-1 delivers a much faster and robust connectivity for voice, data video. It unleashes, limitless opportunities for corporate bodies in Nigeria and West Africa.
Globacom has not relented. Some of the most imaginative offerings have been made by the company on the back of its expansive infrastructure. Glo’s extensive fibre network, powered by a managed IP MPLS network, covers the farthest parts of the country, giving businesses in over 130 cities low latency, faster connectivity and expanded band to carry voice, video and data reliably. This makes Globacom a partner of choice, for organisations seeking to connect their branches or link up via optical fibre with any organisation within or outside Nigeria.
Globacom also provides a range of data connectivity solutions ranging from simple mobile broadband products to complex managed networking IT solutions. The company delivers connectivity needs of large businesses in Nigeria and West Africa.
Globacom was also the first to accomplish a nationwide launch of 4g-ite network in Nigeria in 2016. Recently the company scored another first by introducing the novel concept of creating a dedicated path in its 4glte network for enterprise customers. This aligns with the company’s promise of delivering best-in–class solutions to its corporate clientele to enable them optimise efficiency.
In the same vein, the company is currently embarking on laying Glo 2, the first submarine cable in Nigeria to terminate outside Lagos. This holds significant promise for taking bandwith beyond Lagos to other parts of the country, especially the Oil platforms and under served communities in the southern parts of Nigeria.
As customary, various artistes have been lined up to entertain at an International musical show complemented by the Miss Ojude Oba Festival pageant in the night of Ojude Oba day. Lil Kesh, Abass Akande Obesere and hosts of others will be present live to thrill the exhilarated audience. The Glo/Ojude Oba partnership in 2019 is in tandem with the philosophy of Kabiyesi Awujale to continue to empower his subjects, which had led to the establishment and funding of the Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction, an establishment which has been sustained amidst scores of unparalleled strides, over the last 20 years. This year, a raffle draw has been added to the bouquet of goodies and 10 lucky winners will go home with brand new Tricycles and Television sets.
OGUN STATE GOVERNMENT
We congratulate the new Governor of Ogun State, Prince (Dr.) Dapo Abiodun, MFR and formally welcome him to the first Ojude Oba Festival, in his capacity as the helmsman of Ogun State of Nigeria. We wish him a very peaceful, glorious and successful tenure of office (Amen).
FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC
This Bank of our people is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services’ institution in Nigeria with subsidiaries segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail and commercial banking led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself by delivering expectional services, while enchanting the growth and achievement of personal and business aspirations through the offering of innovative convenient and helpful products and services.
FCMB has been a Key supporter of Ojude Oba Festival for more than a decade and is indeed proud to be associated with the Festival. FCMB believes that the festival has been a major unifying factor for the great people of Ijebuland for a century and that it is an avenue for promoting a rich African cultural heritage to the global stage.
FCMB has been particularly content and committed to the longevity of the Festival, realising that globalization and social transformation, though essential, could also become a threat to the cultural imperialism, if the culture and traditions of the people are not held sacrosanct. The Bank recognises that respect for our heritage is an important catalyst for cultural diversity and a guarantee for substainable development.
For FCMB, the Ojude Oba Festival is a major platform through which it carries out its Corporate Social Responsibilities, with a key focus on Economic empowerment. The annual display of our unique cultural heritage via the Festival attracts tourists from across the globe and Ijebu indigences in the Diaspora, boosting trade and the hospitality sector in the region. The event remains a unique platform for locals to promote their wares to a broad range of visitors thus promoting economic growth and stability. FCMB’s 2019 outing would be anchored on the foregoing.
NIGERIAN BREWERIES (GOLDBERG BEER)
Goldberg Beer is one of the products of the Nigeria Breweries Plc. Goldberg beer is making its 6th appearance as an associate sponsor and the company hopes its partnership would continue to be enduring and mutually beneficial. We have been authoritatively informed that the company will be putting together as usual, a Goldberg Beer Village in Ijebu-Ode, a week before the festival.
We seize this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to other sponsors and companies and individuals that have placed adverts and goodwill message in the commemorative brochure of the 2019 Ojude Oba Festival.
SECURITY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
We appreciate the importance of Security and traffic management as a critical success factor. Consequently, we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure a hitch-free festival this year, as always. Since we cannot be discussing the details in public, you are however assured all security agencies are working assiduously to ensure adequate security of lives and property before, during and after the festival.
MOBILISATION AND SENSITISATION
The Ojude Oba Festival Committee has been holding regular consultative meetings with various stakeholders and the various ethnic groups in Ijebu Ode, to ensure adequate mobilisation and sensitisation of our people. It is salutary to report that we are making tremendous progress in this regard.
HEALTH AND MEDICAL
To cope with health and medical exigencies, we are partnering with the Ogun State Ministry of Health and its agencies, and some Non-Governmental Organisations.
THE FESTIVAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE
The composition of the Festival Organising Committee is as follows: Otunba Wahab Osinusi (Otunba Fidipote of Ijebu), Chairman; Chief Olu B. Oluboyejo (Obasewa of Ijebu), Chairman; Chief (Mrs.) Bisi Osibogun (Omeso of Ijebu), member; Giwa M.A Odutayo President, Ijebu Regberegbe Council), member; Giwa (Chief) M.A Oreagba (Maiyegun Ijebu), Member; Chief (Dr.) Fassy Yusuf (Baagbimo of Ijebu) Coordinator; Chief Agboola Alausa (Balogun of Ijebu-Ode), Member; Chief Alade Shote (Otun Balogun of Ijebu) member; Gbimo (Alhaji) Bashiru Alli, member; Gunte (Alhaji) Kamorudeen Olatunde Alaga, Director of Programme; and Mr. Ope Oluwa Osisanwo, Assistant Secretary.
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