Kunle ADELABU & Mariam AKINLOYE
-Restate supports , call on government to give due recognition to festival
The preparations for the second edition of one of the Lagos State’s recognized annual festival, Asa Arokolo, has commenced with the unveiling of the 2019 edition’s logo by the traditional rulers in Ikorodu division of Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria.
At the event, which was held at the Ayangbure palace in Ikorodu on Friday, July 26, 2019, the six traditional rulers in Ikorodu division also called on the state government to give due recognition to the Asa Arokolo festival which is an annual festival initiated and promoted by the IREP – Ikorodu Division Rebirth Foundation.
The six royal fathers; His Royal Majesties Oba Kabiru Shotobi, the Aayngbure of Ikorodu, Oba Ajibade Agoro, the Ranodu of Imota, Oba Semiudeen Orimadegun Kasali, the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, Oba Richard Ogunsanya, the Olubeshe of Ibeshe, Oba Akeem Oyebo, Obateru of Egbin and Oba Bashir Sotonwa, Sekumade of Ipakodo, one after the other, placed six customized tablets to form the festival’s logo on a board during the unveiling proper .
Branded T-shirts and fez caps were also presented at the event as the official dress for this year’s edition.
Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Founder/Scout Master of IREP – Ikorodu Division Rebirth Foundation, while speaking shortly after the unveiling, stated that the unveiling of the logo for the 2019 edition of Asa Arokolo at the palace is to ensure that the Obas who, according to him, are custodians of culture, perform the function and also to receive their blessings.
“We are here to update the royal majesties in Ikorodu division in respect of programmes that we have for Asa festival in 2019.
“Also, we are here to let our royal fathers unveil the logo for 2019 Asa festival because they are the custodians”.
The lawmaker also sought the approval of the traditional rulers to continue the staging of the festival at the Ikorodu Ferry Terminal, Ebute, Ikorodu.
“We are also here to seek approval from the royal fathers to continue the staging of Asa festival at the ferry terminal where the maiden edition was held.
“This is due to many factors which include unavailability of space at the Ikorodu town hall on the date that we have picked and we also need more space for the number of crowd that we are expecting.
“People have been talking to us concerning this year’s Asa festival and we feel that the crowd will be much, hence we are compelled to go back to where it was started from at ferry terminal in Ipakodo.
“We should have no problem in hosting an event belonging to the division in any part of it.
“Although, we are the one that initiated and organizing the festival, but Asa has gone beyond what we can say that is ours. It’s for Ikorodu division and whatever that we are going to do about it, we must seek the permission of the traditional rulers who are the custodians of our culture in the division”, Hon. Agunbiade stated while explaining the reasons the traditional rulers are involved in the unveiling of the logo for this year’s edition of Asa Arokolo.
“We thank our Obas for giving us this opportunity, God will continue to strengthen your domains and make them peaceful”, he prayed.
The Ayangbure of Ikorodu, His Royal Majesty, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, while appreciating members of IREP, also called on the Lagos State Government to give maximum support to the festival.
He equally assured Hon. Agunbiade and members of his cultural group of the maximum support of the Council of Obas and Chiefs in Ikorodu division.
His Royal Majesty Oba Bakare Agoro, the Ranodu of Imota, while also speaking at the unveiling, assured the public that this year’s edition would be an improvement on the first edition and called for cooperation among the participating communities.
“This coming Asa festival will help us fine tuned what we have started two years back. We want to improve on it and prove to the whole world that this is our heritage and we are perfecting it to showcase it to the world.
“The participating communities must cooperate with themselves and I can assure you that we are going to have a better outing.
“What we did last two years is now in various museums and other public institutions in America and in Nigeria and I am going to invite lmota people in diasporas to attend”, Oba Agoro revealed”.
He also called for the full engagement and involvement of youths in the festival for it preservation.
“Asa is a traditional festival that we are expecting the youths to be fully integrated in it for its preservation” .
He assured Hon. Agunbiade and members of IREP of his support in whatever way.
Obateru of Egbinland, Oba Akeem Oyebo, in an interview with reporters at the event, stated that Asa festival would help to promote cultural values and traditional heritages of Ikorodu division.
“Asa would promote culture and tradition of our people. It’s just one of our heritages.
“It is important that we use this particular edition to promote our culture like dresses, drums, apepe (music instrument made from bamboo) and others that are common to us”, he advised.
“This Asa is important and we all have to give it massive supports because it cut across the division.
“I enjoin all participants to use the festival to showcase most of those things that they inherited because on that day, I will be wearing traditional clothes that I inherited from my father”.
Like Oba Bakare, he also enphasised the importance of youths involvement in the festival and preservation of the cultural values.
“Asa is always the festival for the youths because no old man will climb the two delicate stilt sticks.
“We want to make it popular in Lagos, Nigeria and globally. Our target is that Ikorodu should be able to use Asa to level up in terms of tourism promotion with other communities in Nigeria”.
