Ewi of Ado Ekiti unveils plan to put Udiroko festival on world tourism map

Oredola Adeola |

The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, His Royal Majesty, Oba ( Dr.) Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III,  has unveiled strategy aimed at enlisting Udiroko Festival on world tourism map. The Paramount traditional ruler in Ekiti State, made this known at a World Press Conference for the 2019 Udiroko Festival held at the Lagos Airport Hotel , Ikeja , Lagos , Nigeria on Wednesday.

Speaking at the event which was attended by the media,  Ado-Ekiti indigenes in Lagos and Diaspora, Oba Aladesanmi III , disclosed that the press conference in Lagos is an attempt to reinforce the usefulness of  Udiroko festival to the cultural being of Ado-Ekti people.

He said, " Udiroko Festival marks the first day in Ado Ekiti traditional calendar. It is yearly celebrated to continually give a pride of place to our history, culture and tradition as a people.

"The celebration of this tripod of our collective existence every year provides the ample opportunity to all Ado-Ekiti sons and Daughters both at home and in diaspora to come together, appreciate God and pray for continuous peace and progress in the coming year," the Ewi said.

According to him, the cultural celebration has positively impacted on the socioeconomic development of the Ekiti State, he affirmed his commitment to make the festival attractive to international tourists. He noted that Udiroko is a pure cultural festival without any festish undertone.

• Welcoming the Ewi and the Ewi-in-Council to Lagos State, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Chairman/Director of Juli Pharmacy, who is equally a native of Ado-Ekiti, expressed his excitement about the first working visit of the Ewi to the state.

He however disclosed that ancient city of Ado Ekiti has its unique culture and tradition, one of which is the Udiroko Festival. He described the festival as Ado-Ekiti national day, adding that the historic festival serves as an opportunity to entrench the values of the Ado-Ekiti kingdom, which has further foster the fortunes of the city.

 Chairman , Udiroko Festival Planning Committee, High Chief Sunday Akindele, in his address disclosed at the annual festival is positioned on three tripod which includes Culture, tradition and values of the people of Ado-Ekiti. He added that the festival is not a celebration of fetishism.

He said, "The programme of the festival is documented as it strikes at the root of the Ado-Ekiti entity. The festival is dated back to early 1300 AD when the progenitors of the Ado Kingdom met under the Iroko tree after the conquest of Ulesun community by the third Ewi Awamaro.

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who was represented at the occasion by Amb.Wale Ojo-Lanre, Director General, Ekiti State Council for Arts & Culture, congratulated the Ewi-in-Council and the enre Ado sons and daughters for having a monarch like Ewi who takes his people seriously and can stretch himself both physically and financially with the view to attracng further development for the town.

According to him, the Council for Arts & Culture has the full mandate of Governor Fayemi to promote culture of Ekiti people, and to evolve a State that manifest the vision of its founding fathers.

He said, " The Council's core values explain the passion and commitment towards  collaboration with communities to transform their festivals into a prosperity instrument for the people.

Amb. Ojo-Lanre however commended the Ewi for his vigor, energy and commitment to bring economic prosperity and  investment opportunity to the Ado-Ekiti kingdom , adding that Udiroko has become a festival for the cultural and tourism public. He assured that the strategic efforts would  become noticable in subsequent editions of the festival.

He assured that the Council would inject crical innovations into the original manners of celebrating the festival in Eki, through strategic marketing, branding and development journalism.