Èyò Festival in Lagos — an unforgettable memory, by Yemi Adewusi

Growing up on Lagos Island, the Èyò Festival was never just an event; it was a season of anticipation and wonder. The Adamu Orisha play was one of our childhood memories. We waited for it with bated breath – for its deep cultural weight, the mystique of the aro èyò lingo, the electricity in the air, and the swagger that came with D-day. To be an Èyò participant was to wield power – power to impress, to tease, to “torment” girlfriends, friends, and even family with the opa or opambata, all under the guise of sacred tradition.

But one memory rises above all others – etched permanently into my mind.

It was the early 1980s. Ademola Ebenezer Adewusi, you may remember the year. The stretch of my world — Ita Faji → Massey → Tokunboh Streets – was a known battlefield, an epicenter of fierce Èyò rivalries. Tension was always thick there, but that year, it exploded. The hostility between the Eyo Oniko and Okolaba groups boiled over into a violent clash. This was a dangerous era – when Èyò groups paraded not just with tradition, but with cutlasses, knives, and machetes underneath the robes.

Our house, standing proudly at the corner of Massey and Vincent Streets, had two entrances. The clash grew so intense, so uncontrollable, that the Eyo Oniko deity itself – shielded by frantic handlers – burst into our compound to seek refuge, to pause, to readjust. The neighborhood was stunned into silence.

Gasps and whispers. An Orisha. Inside a pastor’s compound.

Orisha Oniko ninu ile Baba Aladura!

The handlers pleaded desperately for understanding. My father, on Christian evangelical trip to Cotonou, was not around but my brothers rose to the moment. Tradition, even in chaos, must be respected.

When calm finally returned to the streets, the handlers expressed heartfelt gratitude. The Orisha rose once more, and the procession resumed —leaving behind a story that would live forever in my mind.

Today, I salute the Lagos State Government for reforming the festival and bringing order, safety, and dignity, by redirecting the procession to Tafawa Balewa Square instead of the volatile Idumota routes of old.

As the Èyò Festival holds today, I wish all Agogoro Èyò a glorious, peaceful, and hitch-free outing.

Mo yọ fún ẹ, mo yọ fún ‘ra mi. Yeeeeesua!