Alaafin Owoade creates Oyo Empire Day to reconnect Oyo descendants — Committee
By Adejayan Gbenga
The Oyo Empire Day Central Working Committee has said Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade, initiated the celebration to provide an annual platform for people of Oyo ancestry in Nigeria and the diaspora to reconnect with their roots and celebrate their shared heritage.
The committee’s Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media chat at the Palace of the Alaafin of Oyo.
Ogunmola said the Alaafin conceived the celebration to create a platform through which the people of Oyo ancestry, regardless of where they currently live, could reconnect with their ancestral homeland.
He explained that the committee had been entrusted with translating the monarch’s vision into a practical and sustainable annual heritage and ancestral-homecoming programme, stressing that the initiative was designed to go beyond a conventional festival.
According to him, Oyo Empire Day combines a homecoming, heritage celebration, educational platform, cultural showcase and tourism initiative, while also providing a foundation for future economic and social development.
Ogunmola said the decision to call it Oyo Empire Day rather than Oyo Day was deliberate because the historical Oyo Empire extended beyond the geographical boundaries of the present-day ancient city of Oyo and Oyo State. He said its history involved migrations, settlements, institutions, cultural exchanges and relationships across different territories, making it necessary to reconnect contemporary people of Oyo ancestry with that wider heritage.
He also clarified that Oyo Empire Day was not an Oyo-Atiba celebration, noting that the initiative was broader and intended to reach communities with Oyo ancestry across Kwara, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Lagos, Kogi, other parts of Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and the wider diaspora. “Our message to them is simple: Wherever your ancestors went, there remains a historical connection worth understanding, preserving, and celebrating,” he said.
The committee chairman added that the initiative would not impose Oyo identity on communities that had developed their own identities over generations. He said the long-term vision was to make Oyo Empire Day an enduring institution for heritage preservation, historical research, tourism, youth development and economic opportunities, with the maiden edition featuring cultural processions, historical presentations, a replica of Oyo-Ile, lectures, theatre, youth programmes, heritage tours and a grand finale at the Durbar Stadium.
