Ojude Oba- The Colourful Festival of the Ijebu Nation

 

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Ojude Oba is an annually celebrated festival in the heart of Ijebu- Ode, the capital of the whole Ijebu nation, with an estimated population of 30,000 attendants. The colourful and glamorous festival is celebrated on the third day of the Muslim’s Eid-El-Kabir festival, otherwise known as ‘Ileya’ among the Yoruba people. The festival is used as a medium of uniting the sons and daughters of the Ijebu nation at home and abroad.

The origin of the Ojude Oba festival can be traced back to the period,

The British-Ijebu war of 1892 (The battle of Imagbon)

In 1891, the Ijebu tribe, dwelling between 50 and 60 miles north-east of Lagos on the Magbon river, set a blockade on the trade route from the interior into Lagos, which was a crown colony, and charged customs dues which served as their income. The Awujale, the traditional ruler of Ijebu, closed down the Ejirin market, cutting off Lagos from a source of up-country trade.
The British government persuaded the Awujale several times to open the blockaded route but the Ijebu ruler remained adamant. However,