Skip to main content

Olojo Festival 2025


After Olojo Festival, what’s next?

2nd October 2025
Screenshot 2025-10-02 021813

Ooni of Ife is Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, flanked devotees during Ojojo Festival in Ile Ife, Osun State. Credit: @RashTv1



The drums have quietened, the chants have settled, the sacred Aare crown has been returned to its chamber and the Olojo Festival of 2025 has gracefully come to an end in Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilisation. Yet, as the echoes of history fade into memory, one must ask the critical question: Olojo Festival is over, what next?

The Olojo Festival is not just a cultural pageant; it is a global convergence of spirituality, diplomacy and economics. At its core, it is the symbolic renewal of life, leadership and unity for the Yoruba race, the continent of Africa and humanity at large. It is a reminder that culture is not a relic of the past but a powerful driver of modern relevance, one that can shape national identity, international diplomacy, and even economic prosperity.

Across the world, festivals like Brazil’s Rio Carnival and India’s Diwali inject billions of dollars into local and national GDPs annually. The Olojo Festival has the same potential. Each year, Ile-Ife welcomes visitors from within and beyond Africa. Hotels fill up, markets thrive, transportation booms, artisans showcase crafts, and traditional cuisine enjoys unprecedented demand. What this demonstrates is clear: cultural heritage can fuel tourism, create jobs, and expand Nigeria’s non-oil revenue base.

When global leaders, diplomats and investors witness the sacred rituals of Olojo, they are not just observing tradition; they are experiencing the depth of Yoruba civilisation. Festivals are silent embassies of culture, serving as soft power tools that strengthen international relations. Just as Japan exports its cultural identity through technology and tradition, Nigeria must use Olojo as a cultural diplomacy platform to project Yoruba civilisation as a partner in global development

With the right strategic planning, Olojo Festival can evolve into an international cultural economy hub. Investment opportunities abound in cultural tourism infrastructure, creative industries, fashion, music, film, art exhibitions, heritage preservation projects and academic research partnerships. A well-curated festival calendar, supported by private-public partnerships, could make Olojo an annual economic driver generating foreign exchange and attracting investors into hospitality, ICT, real estate and logistics.

To maximise this potential, Nigeria must deliberately integrate Olojo into its GDP development strategies.

The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism, in collaboration with state and local governments, should create incentives for investors to develop world-class cultural infrastructure in Ile-Ife.

Similarly, the private sector must recognise Olojo as more than tradition but as an economic asset, branding opportunity and diplomatic gateway.

For the Yoruba race, Olojo is not just about the past; it is about the future. It unites the people under the spiritual authority of the Arole Oduduwa, Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, who continues to position the throne of Oduduwa as a beacon of peace, unity and sustainable development. Under his reign, Olojo is fast becoming an international festival of reawakening and reminding the world that Africa’s future rests not in abandoning tradition but in harnessing it for global relevance.

Now that the festival is over, the challenge is to convert cultural energy into sustainable action. The next phase must focus on investment, international partnerships, cultural branding, and infrastructural development. The world must not only come to witness Olojo but also invest in its legacy.

Olojo Festival 2025 may have ended, but its lessons remain alive: that culture is economy, that tradition is diplomacy and that festivals are engines of future prosperity.

The answer to “what next?” lies in using the flame of Olojo to light the path towards a globally competitive Yoruba nation and a stronger Nigerian economy.

UNESCO must see it as a point of duty to adopt the Olojo Festival.

Ooni’s Palace, writes from Ile-Ife, Osun State

this All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from Rashtv1.

Contact: rashtv1@rasheedlani@gmail.com

Stay informed and ahead of the curve! Follow The Punch Newspaper on WhatsApp for real-time updates, breaking news, and exclusive content. Don't miss a headline – join now!

Join The rashtv1 Channel

Stay in the know—fast. Get instant alerts, breaking headlines, and exclusive stories with the rashtv1




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bilikisu Alagawura

Image
The Bilikisu Sungbo Shrine, located in Oke-Eri, near Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, Nigeria, is a sacred and historic site believed to be the burial place of a mysterious noblewoman known as Bilikisu Sungbo. Local legend identifies her with the Queen of Sheba, a figure mentioned in both the Bible and the Qur’an as a powerful, wealthy ruler who visited King Solomon. In Yoruba and Ijebu oral tradition, Bilikisu Sungbo is remembered as a devout, wealthy woman who commissioned the construction of massive earthworks—Sungbo’s Eredo—as a personal tribute and protective wall. The shrine, believed to date back over 1,000 years, consists of her tomb, surrounded by forest and marked with traditional symbolism. One of the most mysterious features of the shrine is a small patch of ground near the grave where nothing ever grows, no matter the weather. This is believed to be the exact spot where her body was washed before burial. According to custom, women and dogs are strictly forb...
Read more

Red Sea

Image
Geography & Travel Physical Geography of Water Oceans & Seas Red Sea sea, Middle East Actions Also known as: Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar Written by  William B.F. Ryan ,  B. Charlotte Schreiber • All Fact-checked by   The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated:  Oct 31, 2024  •   Article History Table of Contents Red Sea  Map showing the Red Sea and the countries surrounding it. The Red Sea is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world. It is about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long, and its maximum width is about 190 miles (305 km). (more) Ask the Chatbot a Question News  •   Maersk sees no Suez Canal return until 'well into 2025' due to Red Sea threat   • Oct. 31, 2024, 3:34 AM ET (Reuters)  ... (Show more) Red Sea , narrow strip of water extending southeastward from  Suez ,  Egypt , for about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects with the  Gulf of Aden  and thence ...
Read more

History of Egbaland

Image
Sagbua  Okukenu  became the first Alake of Egbaland, ruling between 8 August 1854 to 31 August 1862.  [ 4 ]  He was a great-great grandson of Laarun, an ancient Alake. Prior to the appointment of the Sagbua Okukenu in 1846, Shomoye, who was a cousin of Okukenu was installed as regent for one year, between 1845 and 1846. Adekanmbi Somoye was born in Orile-Iporo sometime between 1790 and 1800. His father Jejusimi was a son of Lukoye, who was a son of Laarun, an Alake of Egbaland who ruled sometime in the 18th century. Following the demise of Oba Okukenu in 1862, Shomoye returned to the throne of the Alake of Egbaland as a regent, where he spent four years between 1862 until his death on August 8, 1868. Following this, Oba Ademola I was appointed on 28 November 1869. Ademola was a grandson of Jibodu, an Alake of Egba before the migration to Abeokuta, through his mother Teniade. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]  His rise to throne was bitterly contested with his...
Read more