The Chairman of Globacom, Mr. Mike Adenuga Jnr., has called for the preservation of African cultural values through the transmission of such ideals from parents to their wards.
He noted that this would help safeguard the unity and social cohesion which cultural events such as Ojude Oba teach.
Adenuga made the call at the 2016 Ojude Oba festival sponsored by Globacom at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, last Wednesday.
The message was read on his behalf by the company’s Commercial Coordinator, Business Enterprise, Mr. Folu Aderibigbe.
He said it was important for parents to deliberately propagate the essence of cultural festivals and their values to the next generation to avoid such events being considered as fetish or insignificant in the near future.
The theme, of this year’s celebration, ‘Ojude Oba: Our Culture, Our Pride,’ aptly captured the relevance of the festival to current times and represented a common resolve to ensure that the essence of Ojude Oba as a source of pride and honour for the Ijebu race was passed on to the next generation, Adenuga stated.
“Over the years, Ojude Oba has remained not only a point of crystallisation and social re-engineering; it is as well an avenue for the constellation of ideas and initiatives geared towards prompting the growth of the society and the wellness of its people.
“Ojude Oba is also an exhibition platform to display the cultural wealth of the people and the values that unite them and has assumed the role of a social melting pot where all divergent issues affecting the lives of the people are processed, congealed and digested,” he said, adding that it was also an avenue for the people of Ijebu at home and abroad to be reminded of their collective responsibility as active players in the social and economic growth of Ijebuland.
In his remarks, the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, commended Globacom for its commitment to the promotion of cultures and traditions in Nigeria through its Heritage Series. He said the company had consistently supported the festival, and that such had led to the rapid growth of event. Adetona added that the Ijebus had played significant roles in the social, political and economic history of Nigeria.
A highlight of the event was the Regberegbe competition also sponsored by Globacom to reward the best dressed and best coordinated age grades in the male and female categories. Egbe Bobagbimo Akile Ijebu was adjudged the best in the male category, while Egbe Bobagunte and Egbe Jagunmolu came second and third respectively. In the female category, Egbe Gbobaniyi came first, while Eg be Bobagunte and Egbe Bobamayegun came second and third
