LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA) – The ancient city of Offa took centre stage over the weekend as the Olofa of Offa, Oba Muftau Gbadamosi, renewed calls for stronger government backing to elevate the famed Ijakadi Festival to UNESCO cultural heritage recognition.
The monarch made the appeal during the 2026 edition of the two-day Ijakadi Festival held at the Olofa’s Palace in Kwara State, an event organised by the Offa Descendants Union (ODU) and attended by cultural stakeholders, government representatives and community leaders.
According to Oba Gbadamosi, the historic festival holds vast potential to boost tourism, generate foreign exchange and drive grassroots development if properly supported.
Speaking passionately, the Olofa urged the Federal and Kwara State governments to invest in preserving and packaging the festival to meet global standards.
“I am appealing for government support for this annual festival to gain UNESCO recognition. If our traditions are well moulded and packaged, culture can become another source of income for the government,” he said.
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Turning his attention to Offa indigenes at home and abroad, the monarch stressed that cultural participation should not be limited to funerals, urging them to come home and build.
“I want my people to always attend the annual Ijakadi festival with passion and flamboyance. We want to see you at home while you are alive. Offa is not a cemetery where people are brought only to be buried. Wherever you are in the world, come home and identify with your community,” he added.
Oba Gbadamosi described this year’s celebration as more colourful and better organised than previous editions, while noting that sustained investment and shared responsibility were crucial to lifting the festival onto the global cultural map.
Echoing the royal call, stakeholders at the event highlighted the importance of aligning the Ijakadi Festival with UNESCO requirements and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which promotes the preservation of cultural heritage across the continent.
The Kwara State Chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Afolabi Olanrewaju, said deliberate efforts were needed to protect traditions such as Ijakadi.
“There is a need to package Ijakadi well to gain UNESCO recognition and meet the African Union’s Vision 2063 challenge for communities to protect their heritage and build shared values through sustained investment,” he said.
From an economic perspective, the Chairman of the ODU Publicity Committee, Waheed Olagunju, stressed that culture must evolve with modern realities.
“What business can we bring out of culture, and how can we generate money from it, should be a key consideration. Cultural advancement can open new economic opportunities,” he said.
Providing cultural insight, Director of the Biohistocultural Resource Hub Lukman Afolabi, explained that Ijakadi represents justice and equality in Offa tradition.
“Ijakadi is one of the town’s totems. The two wrestlers start from equal positions of strength, symbolising fairness,” he said.
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He further likened the ritual cutting of yams into equal halves by the Odofin under a blindfold to global symbols of justice, noting, “It is similar to the image of a blindfolded woman holding scales or swords, representing impartial justice.”
Representing Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, acknowledged that culture requires deliberate revival in modern times.
She reaffirmed the state government’s support for the festival, citing the ongoing renovation of the Offa Township Stadium, the traditional venue for Ijakadi.
“The governor’s decision to repair the township stadium is another testimony to his love for culture,” she said.
The festival featured theatrical reenactments of Offa’s origins, fashion and beauty showcases, and a dramatic performance on Moremi Ajasoro by the Theatre Arts and Performing Arts Network, TAPAN, Offa branch.
The celebration showcased a vibrant expression of identity, with growing consensus that sustained government backing and diaspora engagement could position Ijakadi as a global cultural attraction.
