The Olofa of Offa Kingdom in Kwara State, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi, has harped on the importance of culture to foreign earnings and economic development.

Speaking at the two-day annual Ijakadi Cultural Festival organised by the Offa Descendants Union (ODU), the monarch said that when cultural heritage and traditions are carefully remodelled, “they could become another source of income for the state and federal governments”.

Oba Gbadamosi, who said that culture could be added to the list of viable businesses by governments, added that “culture should enjoy due and unfettered support and promotion from governments at all levels”.

The Olofa, who described the 2025 celebration as more beautiful than previous years, sought government support for the yearly event and also urged Offa indigenes at home and in the diaspora to regard the annual festival as a must-attend occasion.

“I want my people to always attend the annual event with possessed grace and flamboyance. We want to see you at home while you are alive. Offa is not a cemetery where people are brought only for burial. Please come home from wherever you are and identify with your community,” he urged.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Media, Publicity, Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the event, Waheed Olagunju, said the essence of the annual rites cannot be overemphasised, describing culture as a special way of life.

He charged the government and other stakeholders to create business opportunities from culture in order to generate revenue for the people, saying that “we can open businesses through cultural advancement”.

Representing the governor, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said culture is a dying aspect of human life.

She disclosed that the state government has been engaged in a sustained revival of culture across the state, with constant support for Ijakadi.

“The decision of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to repair the township stadium, the usual venue of this yearly event, is another testimony to his love for culture,” she said.

Comrade Lukman Afolabi, a cultural enthusiast, said that “the Ijakadi Festival is symbolic, as it represents fairness, justice and equity.

“It is one of the town’s totems. The two Ijakadi wrestlers start from fair and equal positions of strength.

“Also, the cutting of yams into two equal halves by blindfolding one of the traditional chiefs is similar to the symbol of justice, represented by a blindfolded woman holding two swords in her hands.

“There is a need to properly package Ijakadi to gain UNESCO recognition and meet the African Union’s Vision 2063 challenge, which calls on every community to protect its heritage and build shared values through deliberate actions, shared responsibility and sustained investment in the traditions that define its identity,” the Kwara State Chairman of the Campaign for Democratic and Human Rights (CDHR) said.

Highlights of the event included stage plays on the origin of Offa and Ijakadi, fashion and beauty contests, as well as a performance on Moremi Ajansoro staged by the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Offa branch.

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