29th November, 2011
The 2011 Eyo Festival, which held last Saturday, was a combination of tradition and civilisation with the goal of making Lagos a tourist destination. EROMOSELE EBHOMELE and AYODEJIÂ DEDEIGBO were at the event
As early as 7a.m on Saturday, the people of Lagos Island were in the height of excitement. At least after a long wait for this year’s Eyo Festival, one of the factors unifying the various families and reminding them of the lives of their forefathers, the cultural event-turned-carnival was to hold that morning.
In a short while, the entire Tafawa Balewa Square venue of the event was filled to the brim with security agents having a hard day maintaining law and order. Though the parade by the masquerades did not begin early, when it finally did, the atmosphere within the main bowl of the TBS was charged. Indigenes of the state, who are vast in traditional history, took time out to explain to other participants at the festival how the various Eyo masquerades came into existence and the various families to which they belong.
This year’s festival, described as “a festival of colours†by the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, was boosted by the number of foreigners who came to witness the much talked about carnival. One of them, who gave his name as Jim, confirmed that Saturday was his first time of attending the event.
“I was not here in 2009 because of the fear that it may be may be rough. Just like I love fun, I am also scared of losing my life, but my friends who attended told me a whole lot that pushed me into attending this one. I thought I would just stay for 30 minutes and then go back, but as it is now, I wish it does not end,†Jim said.
Jim, like everyone who attended would wish it did not end as the crowd cheered once any group is mentioned to take the centre stage.
Apart from the Governor, who was clad in white attire with a coloured Eyo hat, popularly known as the Akete, and the Opambata (the staff) to match, other prominent children of the state, who took part in this year’s festival included the traditional ruler of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Professor Wole Soyinka and the first Military Governor of the state, Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson (retd).
Others included former Deputy Governor of the state, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele; Senator Gbenga Ashafa and members of the state House of Assembly including Mrs. Funmilayo Tejuosho, Gbolahan Yishawu and Muftau Egberongbe. The governor’s father, Pa Ademola Fashola, was also at the event, which was further enlivened with highlife tunes from the Faaji Agba group, made up of contemporary musicians like Fatai Rolling Dollars.
The 2011 Adamu-Orisha Festival, which is the 77th so far held, was held in honour of the late Oba Yesufu Abiodun, the 13th Oniru of Lagos, who reigned for 50 years and died on 6 November, 1984 at the age of 120. His family is said to be the owner of a vast portion of the Lagos land and fishing areas of the state and due to this acknowledged status, the Oniru has always had the pre-eminent responsibility of festivities associated with the worship of the sea goddess, Olokun, including the offering of sacrifices in gratitude and supplication as may be the case.
In one of such incidents in history, a blockade of the Lagos harbour by sand heap occurred. This resulted in the inability of trading vessels to move in and out of the then colony and further resulted in dire consequences on the economy of the colony. After efforts by the then Governor of the colony, Sir John Glover, failed, the natives attributed the blockade to metaphysical forces and prevailed on the Governor to explore the traditional solution. He agreed and contacted the Oniru, who, with his congregation of worshippers, offered sacrifices to the Olokun and the situation was resolved to the amazement of the Governor.
As the 13th Oniru, Oba Yesufu Abiodun knew he had a lot of responsibilities. One was to address the action of the colonial government which was taking over their vast land and rendering most of the indigenes homeless and deprived of their means of livelihood.
To solve this problem, the late Oniru swiftly constituted a representative council of the Oniru Chieftaincy family. The council enjoyed wide support and became highly influential. With this council and the legal battles he personally took against the colonial government, he was awarded a compensation of 32,000 pounds and the Privy Council in London moved that 100 acres of already developed land be returned to him by the government.
One of his grandchildren and Erelu Oba of Iruland, Princess Ayisat Opesanwo, recalled how she had queried Oba Abiodun for allowing other chiefs to take his time in quest of advice and counselling while they were returning from the Oba of Lagos. She said the old man did not say a word in response, but smiled.
But that evening, “Baba recalled my earlier query. In response, he patiently explained that it was thoughtless and disrespectful to summarily turn away anyone seeking counsel, even if you are inconvenienced. You may indeed find the subject sought to be discussed of immense benefit to you.
“He further explained that the seeking of your counsel is a mark of respect and might have nothing to do with age but plenty to do with your character and integrity. His explanation of yesteryears is, till date, profound and indelible,” she said
Prince Adesegun Oniru, another of his grand children and Aremo of Iruland, described the late Oba as tough, but “as tough as he was, Yesufu Abiodun was a tremendous example of a man with leadership attributes who possessed a cooperative spirit. To me, this was a man that I started my life with. Under his guidance, I got to know what royalty and a noble heart was all about.â€
With its origin closely associated with the people of Lagos Island, the Eyo Festival, which is a symbolic invocation of the ancestors, is a week long event ending with a parade and display of colours. The staging of the show is strictly restricted to the Island and it is forbidden to stage the festival anywhere outside the acknowledged boundaries of the Island.
The festival, which is not gender based, is regarded as the highest honour the community can bestow on a deceased person in appreciation of his contributions to the society. It  is primarily held to celebrate and commemorate the passage of an Oba or an illustrious son who has contributed to the development and progress of the state. It also has no fixed date for the celebration, but its approval is granted by the Oba of Lagos after due consultation with the Akinsilu of Lagos and the custodians at Awe-Adimu, the base of the senior Eyo group.
The Akinsilu then announces the date for hosting of the play, but he must have embarked on a divination process after the family of the deceased would have offered gifts and offerings to the Akinsilu who in turn distributes them amongst the deity families.
Though the Eyo families are many, it is the Akete that distinguishes the five distinctive groups namely; Adimu, Laba, Oniko, Ologede and Agere from each other. The Eyo Adimu is recognised by its white-coloured Akete with black piping while the Laba, also called Eyo Oba, uses the red hat, which signifies its affiliation to the royal household, with white piping. The Eyo Oniko is adorned with raffia and uses yellow colour, the Eyo Ologede is green with white piping and the Agere, whose dance actually caused serious excitement among the crowed, uses stilts.
The Opambata, which is a symbol of authority for the Eyo is used for balancing dance steps, bestowing blessings on individuals. In this case, the masquerade gently taps the patron of such blessing and offers prayers for him. It is also used to chastise people who go against the rule of the festival. These rules include giving maximum respect to the maskers, non-use of caps, hats or headgears, umbrellas, non-smoking of cigarettes, non-use of bicycles, motorcycles or tricycles, and non-use of shoes. Women who have trousers on are also not permitted to get close to the Eyo as they will be beaten with the Opambata.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba, who spoke with P.M. NEWS at the venue of the event, explained that apart from using the festival to celebrate Obas and those who have contributed positively to the state, it is also an opportunity to reinvent the age-long tradition that brings joy and unity.
He argued that celebrating the festival as a carnival rather than the traditional way of allowing them go into the streets is aimed at using the festival as a tourist attraction for the state.
Supporting his argument, former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly and current lawmaker representing Mushin Constituency 1 at the Assembly, told P.M. NEWS that the celebration was aimed at further boosting the Ministry of Tourism and making it active.
“Right now, we must appreciate that we now have different religions as against the ancient times when it was just one kind of religion. As a result of this, it is becoming modernised as people are becoming more educated too, but we cannot forget our tradition. You can see this tradition with the use of colours here today.
“Every year, it becomes more interesting with the turn out of more people and I see this like the London carnival where people come from all over the world to take part. This 2011 carnival has achieved just that.
Just like wishes come from the people who partake in festivals of these kind, Mrs. Tejuosho stated that her wish is for the state to continue to maintain its position as Centre of Excellence with governors who would put the interest of the people first.
She praised Governor Fashola for his achievements so far and thanked former Governor Bola Tinubu for his vision and leadership which resulted in the emergence of the current governor.
“We can see that the state has actually flourished and we pray that we flourish even more,†she said.
In tune with her thought, Governor Fashola explained that this festival is now designed differently from other performances to accommodate a larger audience without diluting the core values of the play.
“We have chosen again to use the Tafawa Balewa Square which was befittingly the spot where our nation gained independence and where our national colours were hoisted for the first time 51 years ago.
“My administration is mindful of the economic effects and benefits of festivals and tourist destinations in our State and this edition of the Eyo has not been an exemption in the way it has stimulated economic and other entrepreneurship opportunities for our people,†he said adding that the festival would be upheld forever.