Newsbreak: Lagos to celebrate Yoruba Day every September

By Omolade Adegbuyi

Yoruba Day will now be celebrated in Lagos State every September.

The Lagos State Government issued the plan on Tuesday.

According to the State Government the day will be marked by the state in a grandiose manner.

Advocates of indigenous rights have hailed the decision as a right step in the right direction.

The Lagos Authority announced the initiative to dedicate September every year as “Yoruba Week” to celebrate the Yoruba culture and civilisation.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Eromosele Ebhomele in statement made available to Irohinoodja said the date will be preserved to promote the rich Yoruba cultural heritage.

The decision was conveyed to the Lagos State House of Assembly through a letter from the Executive.

Earlier,a resolution was passed by the lawmakers on September 19, 2023, calling for the activation of Yoruba cultural heritage and the assignment of a special day as Yoruba Day.

The letter was dated April 8, 2024, and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

September is a significant month in Yoruba history of war and peace.

On that day in 1886, all the over 23 Yoruba sub-ethnic groups including Itsekiri signed Armistice to end a 16-year old civil war.

The soldiers of the sub-ethnic groups had waged a war against a formidable Ibadan Army whose garrison commanders dominated the whole of West Africa dictating the tempo of politics and economy. War broke out in 1770 when Ibadan launched a military campaign to build a central, unitary government which the sub-ethnic groups resisted by establishing allied forces with no fewer than 400,000 soldiers. The initial battles, Ogun Jalumi in the spring of 1771 saw Ibadan soldiers regaining swarth of territories. However, by 1776, the tide had changed following the mass production of weapons, including explosives by the allied forces led by Generals Ogedengbe, Fabunmi and Faboro.

What began as skirmishes lasted for 16 years,perhaps one of the longest civil wars in human history.

The peace treaty was signed in Lagos in those presence of prominent Yoruba Obas.

The letter from the Executive Arm to the legislature stated that “Sequel to the resolution of the House at its plenary of Tuesday, 19th September, 2023, on the activation of Yoruba cultural heritage and a special day to be assigned as Yoruba day, I have the directive to officially convey Mr. Governor’s approval for the last week of September as Yoruba Week.”

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his cabinet for the decision.

He said it is a “good development.”

General Secretary, Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements, (AYDM) Mr Popoola Ajayi said he was excited by the decision of the Lagos State Government.

We have been writing to Lagos State not to allow her history to be distorted. What the Government has done show a sense of history, he said adding that a good government should not eraze the history and civilisation of the people they govern.