10-year-old Arugba, Ajoke Osunbunmi, to lead event

As tourists, adherents and worshippers converge on Osogbo for the 2026 celebration of Osun Osogbo festival, the state Police Command, yesterday, assured the residents and visitors of adequate safety.

The police maintained that effective security measures would be put in place to ensure that the festival is celebrated without any hitch and threat to peace in the state.

A statement by the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of routine administrative and command policing activities, Ibrahim Gotan, assured residents, tourists, worshippers, visitors, and other stakeholders of adequate security before, during, and after the 2026 Osun-Osogbo festival.

MEANWHILE, as preparations gather momentum for the festival, attention has turned to 10-year-old Alimot Moredeke Ajoke Osunbunmi as the new Arugba, one of the most revered figures in the centuries-old Yoruba cultural festival.

Osunbunmi, who was selected through the traditional Ifa divination process in March 2025, succeeded Osuntomi Ewatomi, who served as Arugba for about 12 years before getting married.

Osunbunmi is from the royal family of the Ataoja of Osogbo.

She emerged as the new Arugba after traditional Ifa divination identified her as the chosen maiden to serve the Osun deity.

Her emergence followed the end of the tenure of the previous Arugba, whose marriage automatically brought her service to an end.

According to tradition, the Ifa oracle guides the choice from among eligible girls within the royal family.

The process is regarded as sacred and accepted by devotees as the will of the Osun deity.

One of the strict requirements for becoming the Arugba is that the chosen girl must be a virgin from a royal lineage.

The role is regarded as sacred, and her purity is considered essential to the spiritual significance of the festival.