The Ilorin Emirate Durbar committee hinted on Wednesday that this year’s event aims to attract both foreign and local investors, stressing cultural heritage, history and culture as integral parts of the programme.

The committee chairman, Engineer Sulaimon Alapansanpa, at a press conference, said that this year’s Durbar will, among other things, sustain the culture of all integral ethnic groups within the state.

He said that the annual seven-day event, scheduled for Tuesday (the third day of Eid-el Kabir), targets both local and foreign interests, stating: “It aims to attract investors to Kwara to enrich our culture.”

“We will showcase Ilorin’s history, culture, heritage, and character through plays, as well as display the lives of past and present monarchs and exhibit our handiwork, including cloth weaving and pottery, for visitors within Nigeria and beyond to appreciate,” he added.

He recalled that the festival “was reintroduced in 2018 by Emir Sulu Gambari, who believed that such an important aspect of our culture should not be ignored or forgotten but brought to the limelight again, in a more glamorous style. Since then, we have not missed any edition. This year’s edition will be the 6th since its glorious reintroduction, and I am pleased to note that we are organising it better and it is more appreciated every year.”

On Monday, June 17, 2024, the Emir will pay the Executive Governor of Kwara State a Sallah homage at the Government House, Ilorin. This event is shifted to the second day of Sallah instead of the usual third day to accommodate the main Durbar activities on the third day, unlike the previous third day since inception.

The Grand Durbar festival will take place at the forecourt of the ancient palace and across Ilorin between 9 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, 2024. The horse procession, consisting of over 500 horsemen, will be led by the Emir himself, accompanied by the Executive Governor of Kwara State, the High Chiefs of the Emirate, members of the royal family, and honorary title holders.

It is noteworthy that large screens will be placed in different strategic locations across the city of Ilorin to decongest the overcrowded palace. The event will mark the end of this year’s Durbar festival.

He noted that the Durbar has become a unifying program that brings together people of all persuasions.

“It has promoted fraternity and cordial relationships among our people; it serves as a relaxation point for our people who come home from far and near; it has also boosted the local economy as more sales are recorded by traders all over Ilorin during the festival.

“The owners and operators of hotels in and around Ilorin, which provide accommodation for tourists, have gained more. The same can be said of the printing, media, and transportation sub-sectors. They have gained tremendously due to the huge patronage of their businesses during successive Durbar festivals.

“The fame of Ilorin has also been boosted, as the emirate has secured a quality space on the tourism map of Nigeria, thanks to the increasingly successful and successive Durbar festivals,” he listed.

He also conveyed the Emir’s plea to the media practitioners “to kindly give adequate media coverage to the seven-day events. He wants you to focus your reportage on the culture of our people and their desires for the betterment of our society,” he said.