- By Tayo Ogunbiyi
On Saturday, December 27, 2025, history was made at the historic Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Onikan, Lagos Island, as the Lagos State government hosted the 73rd edition of the iconic Eyo Festival.
Renowned as a sacred emblem of Lagos’ ancestry, royal heritage, and cultural identity, the festival had in attendance, distinguished personalities, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Lagos State governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, alongside other eminent personalities from across the country.
The president described the Eyo Festival as a rekindling of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and a celebration of achievements, outstanding contributions, and exemplary lives of distinguished and eminent Lagosians
Speaking at the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to safeguarding Lagos’ cultural identity in alignment with the THEMES Plus development agenda, stressing that the Eyo Festival represents unity, pride, and a bridge between tradition and modernity.
“The Eyo Festival is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to preserving Lagos’ cultural heritage. It reminds us of who we are, where we come from, and the responsibility we bear to pass our traditions on to future generations,” the governor said.
He expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for his presence and continued support for Lagos, as well as to the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, for approving the staging of the festival.
The 2025 edition of the Adamu Orisa Play was particularly significant as it honoured the legacies of four eminent Lagosians whose lives and contributions have left indelible marks on the State and the nation.
They include the late Iyaloja-General of Lagos, Chief Abibat Mogaji, revered market leader and matriarch of commerce; the first military governor of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson; the first civilian governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, and former governor of Lagos State, Michael Otedola.
The Eyo tradition, historically staged to escort the souls of distinguished contributors to the ancestral realm, remains one of Africa’s most profound cultural expressions, symbolising purity, continuity, discipline, and communal strength.
The peaceful conduct of the festival, marked by a massive turnout, joy, and discipline, reflected effective planning, strong inter-agency collaboration, and the collective ownership of Lagosians over their cultural heritage.
The festival grounds came alive with a colourful procession of several Eyo Igas, led by the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Idris Aregbe. The Eyo Igas were resplendent in their traditional white robes and symbolic Opambata staff, reinforcing the spiritual and cultural essence of the ancient tradition.
Read Also: 2026 will see faster road projects, stricter monitoring — Umahi assures Nigerians
Among the Eyo groups on display were Akintoye, Ashogbon, Aromire, Ajagun, Arobadade, Akogun Olofin, Apena, Ajanaku, Asesi, Aiyeomosan, Alaagba, Asajon, Awise, Bajulaiye, Bashua, Egbe, Elegushi, Faji, Jakande, Kosoko, Dosunmu, Olofin, Ojora, Oloto, Olumegbon, Erelu Kuti, Eletu Odibo, Oshodi Tapa, Suenu, Taiwo Olowo, Oniru, Elemoro, among others.
Other dignitaries at the event included former Lagos State governors, Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode; former Ogun State governor, Olusegun Osoba; former deputy governor, Femi Pedro; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Kensington Adebutu; members of the Lagos State Executive Council; captains of industry; traditional rulers, and Nigerians in the diaspora.
The Eyo Festival remains a powerful expression of Lagos’ cultural soul and a strategic platform for positioning the state as Africa’s leading cultural and tourism destination, while fostering intergenerational pride and promoting global cultural appreciation.
It represents a profound spiritual homecoming, deeply rooted in the ancient traditions of Isale Èkó. It serves as a living bridge between generations, where ancestral presence symbolically meets the living, and the soul of Lagos is vividly expressed.
As Lagos was painted white once again, the Eyo Festival continues to affirm the City-State as a global cultural capital, where tradition is not merely performed but preserved, where heritage lives, breathes, and walks the streets
The primordial origin of the Eyo or Adamuorisha play is shrouded in Lagos oral tradition and centred around Olori Olugbani, wife of Oba Ado, and her kinsmen Ejilu and Malaki, who brought Eyo from Ibefun in the Ijebu waterside and Awo Opa from Oyo respectively, to honour Olugbani on her death as a royal personage.
It is also posited by traditional chroniclers that the deity called Adamu Orisa was initially stationed at a place called ‘Oke-Ipa’ in the vicinity of Ikoyi, from whence the traditional socio-religious objects were relocated to the Iduntafa area of Isale Eko, Lagos Island, where Ejilu looked after Egungun masquerades. Hence, Ejilu and Malaki are credited with bringing the Adimu deity to Lagos.
History puts the date on which the Adamu Orisa play was first performed on Lagos Island as February 20, 1854, when Oba Dosumu held the passage rite in honour of his predecessor and father, Oba Akitoye.
Before then, the Oba and Chiefs of Lagos usually went out of Lagos Island to watch the performance of the play at Oke Ipa or Okepa, one of the several farming/hunting steads in the then Ikoyi Plains.
There is no regularity as to the periods of performances but it is manifest that performances of the Adamu-Orisa play since then have not been infrequent; Two performances took place during 1894, the first (in memory of the late Ajalegbe Aina) took place on March 20, 1894 and the Second (in honour of the late Tokosi of Lagos) took place on June 10, 1894.
Two performances were also recorded for each year in the following two years, as well as in 1898 and 1957. Three performances each were recorded for 1899, 1903, and 1907, whilst four performances occurred during 1904 and 1909. Records show that there were six performances in 1906, the highest in a year so far in the history of the Eyo festival in Lagos.
In 1982, a performance took place in connection with the celebrations marking 350 years of Obaship in Lagos.
In February 1985, when the then Military Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, was visiting Lagos State officially, a performance was locally staged in his honour at the Onikan Stadium in central Lagos.
Furthermore, on October 12, 1985, a performance was staged as part of the funeral obsequies of the late mother of the Alaiyeluwa, the Oba of Lagos, Olori Omolara Adetola Oyekan.
The performance staged locally on the April 11, 1987 was also unique in many ways. First, it was staged in connection with the commissioning of the public statue of the Eyo at Idumota Square, Lagos. Secondly, the performance was sponsored by the Lagos State government on the 20th anniversary of the creation of the state, and finally, it was also used to honour the late Pa Salisu Ibikunle, one-time Chief Akinshiku of Lagos.
The last Eyo Festival was held in 2017, with subsequent editions suspended due to public health and security concerns. As Lagos continues to position itself as a global cultural and tourism hub, the revival of the Eyo Festival underscores the city’s effort to preserve tradition while embracing its modern identity.
• Ogunbiyi is Director, Public Enlifghtenment & Community Relations, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
