One of the cultural festivals in Kogi state is ogidi day among the yoruba speaking tribe. What is the significance of this annual celebration?
Ogidi Day (also called Ogidi-Ela Day or Ogidi New Yam Festival) is the biggest cultural celebration in Ogidi, a Yoruba/Okun- speaking community in Ijumu LGA, Kogi State.
It happens every June 15 and has grown into one of Nigeria’s major cultural events for June.
Here’s what makes it significant for the Yoruba-speaking people of Ogidi:
New Yam Thanksgiving and Renewal of Life
At its core, Ogidi Day is a new yam festival.
Traditionally, no one in the community eats, sells, or brings new yam from the farm until the Ologidi, the paramount ruler, holds his own festival 7 days earlier.
The reigning Ologidi, Oba Rabiu Oladimeji Sule, describes it as a time of “celebration and thanksgiving to the Creator for the miracle of creation” — yam buried as slices sprouts into whole tubers, and the arrival of new yam “signifies a renewal of the covenant of life and its sustenance by the creator”.
So it’s both harvest thanksgiving and spiritual renewal.
Honouring the Monarchy and Unity
The festival doubles as a homage to the Ologidi. Cultural troupes, groups, and subjects process to the palace and prostrate before the Ologidi as a “mark of honour and loyalty to the royal father”.
It renews allegiance to the monarch and reinforces communal bonds.
It was also created as a “rallying point for the people” — Ogidi sons and daughters at home and abroad return every June, making it a symbol of unity with the motto “One people, One purpose”.
Showcasing Okun-Yoruba Heritage
Ogidi people are Yoruba/Okun and trace their origin to Ile-Ife.
The festival displays the “best of their culture” — slit-drum ogidigbo and gong agogo sounds, masquerades like Agbo Olode, dances like Olaga, local songs, and colorful attire.
It revives “memories of descent” and “rekindles thoughts on beginnings”.
Socio-Economic and Tourism Value
Ogidi Day has become a platform for “socio-economic growth”. It features free medical outreach, novelty matches, art exhibitions, and draws diplomats, tourists, and high-profile guests.
The event is described as “Nigeria’s biggest culture event in June” and boosts local pride and development.
Agricultural Identity
Yam is king in Ogidi — “Yam takes the prime position among all crops in this community of great farmers”.
The festival celebrates farming success, with feasting and exchange of pounded yam, the staple food.
In conclusion, for the Yoruba of Ogidi, the festival is a mix of thanksgiving for harvest, spiritual renewal, loyalty to the king, cultural pride, and homecoming. It keeps Okun-Yoruba traditions alive while using culture to drive unity and development
– Benjamin Ibrahim writes from Lokoja, Kogi state.
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