Isese Day: Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun declare Tuesday public holiday

Four Southwest governments of Oyo, Osun, Ogun, and Lagos states have declared public holidays to commemorate Isese Day on August 20.

The announcements were made in separate press releases on Monday, with each state government expressing its commitment to preserving cultural heritage and promoting inter-religious understanding.

The Osun State government, through its Hon. Commissioner for Home Affairs, Abdul-Rasheed Kayode Aderibigbe, declared Tuesday, August 20, a public holiday in honour of the traditional worshippers’ special day.

“This is to inform the General Public that the Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke has declared Tuesday, 20th August 2024 as a Public Holiday to celebrate “ISESE DAY,” Aderibigbe said.

In Ogun, the spokesperson to Dapo-Abiodun, Kayode Akinmade, said in a statement that Tuesday, August 20th, was declared as a public holiday to celebrate this year’s Isese Day, in line with the Abiodun-led administration’s firm belief in religious inclusivity.

Akinmade said the work-free day will allow traditional worshippers across the State to commemorate their special day.

Ogun added that the state remains an exemplary federating unit with enviable level of religious cohesion and harmony, even in the face of diversity.

It, therefore, urged traditional worshippers in the state to celebrate in moderation and respect the right of others religions in the course of celebration, so as to sustain the inherent culture of religious tolerance in the state.

On their parts, both the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his counterpart in Oyo, Seyi Makinde, declared work free days in their states to commemorate the 2024 Isese Day.

The Guardian reports that Isese Day is a regional public holiday that may be observed in the Nigerian states of Ogun and Osun on August 20th each year.

The day is set aside for traditional worshippers to celebrate their deities. The day is observed as the culmination of a week of traditional religious activities and festivities.

Isese (the Yorùbá word for tradition) Day celebrates the Yorùbá traditions and religion in a display of culture and spirituality with parties, festivals, parades, lectures and the display of other traditional apparel to attract tourists from other parts of the world.

As well as in South-West Nigeria, Isese Day is celebrated by Yorùbá diaspora communities around the world.