Stakeholders have stressed the importance of culture as a viable source of foreign earnings and economic development, urging governments at all levels to invest deliberately in cultural heritage as an income-generating sector.
They spoke at the two-day annual Ijakadi festival organised by the Offa Descendants Union (ODU) in Offa, Kwara State.
Speaking at the event, the Olofa of Offa Kingdom, Oba Muftau Gbadamosi, said cultural heritage and traditions, if properly preserved and remodelled, could become an alternative source of revenue for both state and federal governments.
The monarch told journalists at his palace that culture could be added to the list of viable businesses, provided it enjoyed adequate and unfettered support from governments at all levels.
Also speaking, Chairman, Media, Publicity, Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the festival, Waheed Olagunju, explained that culture represents a people’s way of life and its relevance to modern development could not be overemphasised.
He charged the Federal Government to explore the business potential inherent in cultural advancement, stressing that economic value could be generated from properly packaged cultural activities.
The Olofa described this year’s celebration as more colourful than previous editions and called for increased government support for the annual festival. He also urged Offa indigenes at home and in the diaspora to make the event a priority.
“I want my people to always attend the annual event with grace and flamboyance. We want to see you at home while you are alive. Offa is not a cemetery where people are brought for burial. Please come home from wherever you are and identify with your community,” he said.
A cultural enthusiast and Director of Biohistocultural Resource Hub, Comrade Lukman Afolabi, described the Ijakadi festival as symbolic, noting that it represents fairness, justice and equity.
According to him, Ijakadi is one of the town’s totems, explaining that the two Ijakadi wrestlers always begin from equal positions of strength. He added that the cutting of yam into two equal halves by blindfolding one of the Olofa’s chiefs, the Odofa, symbolises justice, likening it to the image of a blindfolded woman holding scales.
Afolabi, who is also the Kwara State chairman of the Campaign for Democratic and Human Rights (CDHR), said there was a need to properly package the Ijakadi festival to gain UNESCO recognition and align with the African Union’s Vision 2063, which encourages communities to protect their heritage and build shared values through sustained investment.
Representing the Kwara State Governor, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, said culture was gradually disappearing from modern life, adding that the state government had continued to support cultural revival initiatives, including the Ijakadi festival.
She disclosed that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s decision to repair the township stadium, the usual venue for the festival, was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to cultural development.
In his contribution, the Chief Executive Officer of Marble Capital, Abdulhakeem Oyewale, described the festival as a strong display of Offa’s cultural strength in Yorubaland.
According to him, the festival has the capacity to generate substantial revenue for government, adding that within five years, it would attract visitors from far and near.
The event featured stage plays on the origin of Offa and Ijakadi, fashion and beauty contests, as well as a theatrical presentation on Moremi Ajasoro by the Theatre Arts Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAPAN), Offa branch.
