Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has urged organisers of the Lisabi Pre-Festival Heritage Tour and Cultural Art Exhibition to revive and showcase Egbaland’s historical personalities and heritage sites in order to reposition the area as a global tourism destination.

Obasanjo made the call when members of the Lisabi Pre-Festival Heritage Tour and Cultural Art/Exhibition team paid him a courtesy visit ahead of the 2026 Lisabi Festival, scheduled for March 16.
In a statement issued at the weekend by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president stressed the need to preserve, renovate, and promote key heritage sites, warning against continued neglect and destruction that could deny future generations valuable cultural assets.

“There is no doubt that Egbaland is filled with notable people and places which must be preserved and given a facelift to boost tourism,” Obasanjo said.
He noted that the backgrounds and contributions of prominent Egba personalities should be properly documented and presented to the world, adding that several heritage sites urgently require attention.

Among those listed were Iwe Irohin House, home of Nigeria’s first newspaper; the Abeokuta Prison at Ibara, one of the oldest correctional facilities in the country; the old and dilapidated Ibara Railway Station; Okoshokori, the former residence of Efunsetan Aniwura; Madam Tinubu’s storey building near Akin Olugbade Hospital; Madam Tinubu’s burial ground in Gbagura; and the first flyover in Abeokuta.

Obasanjo also emphasised the importance of celebrating notable Egba personalities and institutions such as the Ransome-Kutis, Toye Cokers, Majekodunmis, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, and Abeokuta Grammar School, describing them as vital components of the region’s rich historical identity.

The Lisabi Day Festival is an annual cultural celebration held in honour of Lisabi Agbongbo Akala, a legendary Egba warrior who is believed to have mysteriously disappeared into the Oba Forest in present-day Obafemi Owode Local Government Area about 200 years ago.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Lisabi Festival Committee and Asipa of Egbaland, Navy Captain Rasheed Adisa Raji (retd.), said the purpose of the visit was to brief Obasanjo on preparations for the 2026 Lisabi Festival and the proposed Lisabi Pre-Festival Heritage Tour and Cultural Art and Heritage Exhibition.

“We are also here to seek your blessings on the cultural and festival tours, which will include a special exhibition of traditional herbs (Ewe ati Egbo) and medicines,” Raji said.