OFF Rolls Out Drums For Oke-Ibadan Festival

Visitors to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, will attest to the fact that festivals offer a glimpse into the local culture and heritage of the region. Here, local festivals are vibrant with singing and dancing, all in their usual traditional dress and the talking drums that have formed the trademark of all festivals in the ancient city.

On Thursday 13-03-2014, Ibadan will come alive again as the Oodua Festival Foundation (OFF) rolls out drums, once again to celebrate the ancient Oke-Ibadan festival, at the popular Mapo Hall in Ibadan. Preparations are already on top gear and adequate measures are being mapped out to guarantee a hitch free as well as colorful event by the organisers.
The OFF has over the years listed the Oke-Ibadan festival as one of its major annual event, making it to feature prominently in its annual anniversary calendar. The Oke-Ibadan, a festival as ancient as the city of Ibadan, is being celebrated annually. Popular and highly celebrated among the people of Ibadan, crowds flock to take part in the Oke-Ibadan festival on annual basis as they see this as a way of paying back to their ancestors as well as the gods.
BRIEF HISTORY
The festival’s name, Oke-Ibadan, translates to “Hill of Ibadan” and the festival includes legends about the original site of Ibadan, which was located on a hill. Settlers from the east and north congregated on the hill during the 18th century and it was gathered that from their resolution in that gathering, Ibadan was formed. But since then, the hill has been deserted.
 However, the legacy bequeathed to the people on that historic day thrives to date. Oke –Ibadan festival is believed to facilitate fertility for the barren who participate in the festival and it is also an occasion to honour the founders of Ibadan and the goddess of the hill.
According to the Chief Promoter of the OFF, Otunba (Dr) Gani Adams, the Oke-Ibadan festival celebration is part of the conscious efforts by the Oodua Festival Foundation to entrench the Yoruba rich cultural values as a means of putting the race back on track through constant cultural reawakening as well as timely and due appeasement of the gods.
He noted that the 2014 edition has been garnished with other colorful packages that will make the event worthwhile and memorable.