By Stanley Ajileye
The first ever Ijumu Cultural Festival coming up in Iyara on November 4, this year aims at reinforcing the cultural values of the people of the kingdom, the Olujumu of Ijumu, Oba William’s Ayeni has said.
Oba Ayeni who spoke as arrangements got into top gear for the festival, said there were threats to the diffusion of Ijumu culture especially with the increased numbers of migrant communities in the kingdom.
He said if urgent steps were not taken to reverse the trend, the younger ones may take the polluted version for the authentic Ijumu culture.
The monarch said the festival was not aimed at promoting idolatry as is being suggested in some quarters but to revamp, reinforce, and showcase those aspects of our lifestyle that best define us as a people.
On his part, the Chairman of the Festival’s Central Planning Committee, Alhaji Aliyu Badaki said the various sub-committees were working at top speed, round the clock to deliver a show that would underscore the greatness of Ijumu people and the beauty of their culture.
Badaki said the salient purpose of the show was the promotion of greater unity and cohesion among the Ijumu people.
He said the occasion would also be used to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the coronation of the Olujumu as well as to raise the N250 million required to complete his palace.
The sub-committees working towards delivering the Festival are Contact and Mobilization, Finance, Culture and Publicity.
Earlier, the Olujumu, accompanied by members of the planning committee had made sensitization visits to top Ijumu sons and daughters in Abuja, Lagos, and other cities across the country to create awareness and to mobilize them for participation in the program.
The team also visited the Director-General of, the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe who promised to be in attendance.
Meanwhile, each community in Ijumu has submitted a list of its troupes that will be participating in the event and a combined rehearsal by all of them will be held shortly in Iyara.
The world-renowned visual artist, the Yeyeoba of Ogidi, and the proprietress of the Nike Art Galleries in Lagos and Abuja, Chief (Mrs.) Nike Okundaye is expected to add glamour to the show while Professor Mike Ikupolati will be the guest speaker.
The approved Aso Ebi for the Festival is already out and is on sale for N4,000 each. Bales of the fabric are ready for delivery to the President of each community.
Already, letters have been sent to all Ijumu stakeholders through their various community development associations while all the communities have been levied various sums of money ranging from N300,000 to N200,000 with many of them having paid up.
Well-heeled individuals in the various communities and friends of Ijumu from outside the kingdom have also been approached for donations.
The Olujumu appealed to Ijumu people at home and abroad should endeavor to turn out in large numbers on the occasion to honor the land of their birth.
