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Bank affirms support for Ojude Oba Festival

By Editor
04 September 2016   |   1:11 am
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has said that the continued support of Ojude Oba Festival is borne out of its commitment to celebrate and preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage.
Ojude Oba Festival. PHOTO: youtube

Ojude Oba Festival. PHOTO: youtube

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has said that the continued support of Ojude Oba Festival is borne out of its commitment to celebrate and preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

It also said the move was to boost the tourism sector in line with government’s ongoing drive to diversify the country’s economy. This edition marks 10 years of ensuring the success of the event.

To this end, the bank has assured that its participation in this year’s edition of the Festival, which holds in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, on September 14, 2016, would be grand, exciting and rewarding for those within and outside the country that would grace the fiesta.

The bank’s Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Diran Olojo, stated this at a press conference organised by the Ojude Oba Festival Planning Committee held recently in Ijebu-Ode.

Ojude Oba, which in Ijebu dialect means, the king’s fore-court or frontage, is a major festival in Nigeria that began over 100 years ago. It brings together all sons and daughters of Ijebuland in Nigeria and the diaspora for a carnival-like celebration of the traditional, cultural, spiritual accomplishments and other values of the Ijebu nation.

During the festival, various age groups (popularly known as the Regberegbes), indigenes, their friends and associates from far and near – all in their colourful costumes and riding on horses throng the palace of Awujale, the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, to pay homage to him amidst prayers and other fun-filled activities.

In a goodwill message, the Chief Executive Officer of FCMB, Ladi Balogun, congratulated the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, for upholding the values of Ijebuland. He also lauded him for raising the status of the event over the years. He stated that FCMB is committed to the longevity of Ojude Oba Festival, and was proud to be associated with it.

According to Balogun, “Ojude Oba Festival has become a long-standing, yearly tradition we look forward to as a unifying factor and a tourist attraction. For over a century, the festival has gone a long way to showcase, amplify and promote our cultural heritage. FCMB has been a major supporter of Ojude Oba Festival for more than a decade and it has been a mutually beneficial journey”.

The Founder of FCMB Group, who is also the the Olori Omo-Oba Akile Ijebu, Otunba Michael Olasubomi Balogun, also in a goodwill message to the Awujale, expressed gratitude to the monarch, especially for his selflessness in attending to the different requests and yearnings of the people of Ijebuland.

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