Community

By Adeleke Gbenga

The 5th July 2025 slowly came as if it will never arrive at all. The event had been planned ahead some few months ago. As the clock ticked away the minutes and the 5th July 2025 knocked on the door, it appeared as if some unforseen circumstances will happen to forestall it. But on the morning of the D-Day when guests began to saunter into the venue of the event, one after the others and in groups, Sanni Abdulazeez Itopa heaved a sigh of relief as the unfolding events began to convince him. It dawned on him that the 2025 Egbira Day will after all hold.

Sanni Abdulazeez Itopa is the President of Egbira Peoples Association Kwara State Chapter. The venue was Avabe Multipurpose Hall, an haven of peace and serenity tucked away down the backstreets of Offa Garage, at the Kilanko Area of Ilorin, Kwara State. The event was as spectacle as it was puzzling, raising the curiosity of a keen observer of recent events in Nigeria. That, a group of men and women and their families could find time away from the hums and buzzes of an ever busied metropolis like Ilorin, at this time of uncertainty, time that tries men’s souls, time when life situation grinds down an average citizen like a coarse millstone, time of insecurity, hunger and economic crisis, when Nigerians have come to the ends of their tethers. That a tribe of men and women who called themselves “Egbira Peoples Association(EPA)” could gather together to find fun in the relaxed ambience of the Kilanko Area of the Ilorin metropolis.

The event was like an excursion into the dynamic of group life at the urban centre. The expansive hall of the Avabe Multipurpose Event Centre was filled to capacity, as the Egbira community who were residents of Ilorin thronged the venue in large number. It was a motley crowd of the Anebiyri. The Egbira residents of Ilorin, Lokoja and Okene, the heartland of the Egbira nation in Kogi State besieged the Multipurpose Hall. The occasion was also used to raise fund for the Egbira Town Hall. The Egbira identity card was also launched.

The homespun attires of different varieties put on to mark the occasion betrayed the Egbira’s passion for indigenous tradition and culture. Varieties of these attires collided in colours riot. Mother’s tongue or local dialect was the official language for the occasion. Non-natives were lost in the midst of this unfamiliar tongue. Medley of songs, music and their traditional instruments rent the air.

The solemnity and sublimity of the Egbira’s spirit and myth were evoked and brought to the fore. Yes, there were entertainments, fun and fanfare. But when all the trappings of the entertainments were stripped off, and masks of the fun unmasked, a true identity of the 2025 Egbira Day unfolded. It was the real nitty-gritty of the festive day, the cultural activities that defined the Egbira identity. An overwhelming power of culture permeated the atmosphere.

The Egbira folklores and songs were generously rendered. The traditional performances, dances and cultural displays liberally performed. With the manic energy and enthusiasm displayed, this could not be described as ordinary songs, music and drumbeats. Because it assumed a frenzied mood and a maniac upbeat. It was an evocation of the Egbira soul and a stunning spectacle of its pride, pomp and pageantry. It was a spectacular expression of of its spirit and essence. An echori festival was staged for five minutes. In his welcome address, the President of the association, Sanni Abdulazeez Itopa described the event as Egbira Day.

“This is what we called Egbira Day we earmarked to celebrate our identity as a cultural group. We gathered together here as a tribe and cultural entity. We are Egbira residents of Kwara State, though our State of origin is Kogi State. But we consider Kwara State as our first home because the majority of us have spent more than 90 percent of our lives in Kwara State. This however does not erode our consciousness and identity as members of Egbira nation. We are conscious of our identity. We live in the midst of the Yoruba people of Kwara State but we do not forget our home. There are Hausas and Yorubas here today who are celebrating the 2025 Egbira Day with us. This year’s Egbira Day is the fourth of its series and we planned it to be an annual event. It is pure cultural event. Our mother’s tongue or local dialect is the language we speak here today. This is what the Egbira peoples are known for. We cherish our mother’s tongue”

Mr. Sanni Abdulazeez Itopa appealed to the gathering to unite as a group to enable them benefit from the Governments of Kwara and Kogi States. He reminded them that as former indigenes of the old Kwara State, the Egbira peoples were strong stakeholders and force to reckon with. He blamed their relegation to the background to disunity among the Egbira residents of Kwara State as he urged them to close rank and forge a common front that would straighten their claims and demands from the Kwara State Government.

Also speaking, an elderly man known as Daudu Ajanasi of Ohinoyi of Egbiraland, Kwara State and Egbira folklorist, Naziru Chimere, he described the event as a voyage of self discovery. He reiterated that though it looked like an entertainment and fun, but was cultural event that symbolically represented the deep essence of the Egbira people. Naziru Chimere stressed further that the festival equally symbolically represented the deep spirit of the Egbira nation. The old man who prided himself as Daudu Ajanasi of Ohinoyi of Egbiraland Kwara State, said the event was culturally significant because it promoted the Egbira’s mother’s tongue for which the people are known.

He reiterated that the use of the native tongue is to preserve it for the coming generations who are exposed to foreign languages. The occasion was also to cement the unity of the Egbira residents of Kwara State. He described it as a journey back to the root and voyage of self discovery. He noted that in an urban centre like Ilorin where the majority of Egbira indigenes reside, the Anebiyri hardly have time to meet in large number like the occasion of the 2025 Egbira Day. He noted though that, the Egbira residents of Kwara State often meet at different zonal and district levels from time to time, such occasion like the 2025 Egbira Day which is once in a year offers them more opportunity to meet in their large number.

The title of the lecture for the occasion .was “Unity: A Panacea For Advancement Of A People Or Race” delivered by Dr. Isaac Ozovehe Omeiza. He stressed the significance of unity as a factor that promotes progress and advancement. He reiterated that unity leads to strength, citing one of the Holy Scripture where people of the earth planned to build a tower called a Tower of Babel. It was to be tall that it would reach heaven. Because they were united in purpose and one, nothing will be restrained from them. God had to confuse their language.

That was the beginning of differences in languages and tongues. Their work could not progress because they could no longer understand themselves. The record portrays the importance of a common language. Today, the Egbira community has this common language as an advantage, according to Dr. Isaac Ozovehe Omeiza. He cited an example of ants and bees to illustrate the significance of unity of purpose and how the two lower creatures developed an effective organizations due to their abilities to foster unity among their members. He stressed an importance of unity of purpose, unity of action and unity of agreement in action. He advocated for sincere and effective advocacy for unity as exemplified in the 2025 Egbira Day. He observed that advocacy for unity is one of the essential factors that promotes unity.

Genuine love and selflessness are other factors that also promote unity, according to him. He made an appeal for it, as he equally advocated for an understanding among the Egbira peoples because they need each others. Dr. Omeiza called on the members of the Egbira People Association to shun and avoid actions and speeches that discourage other members or bring them down. He appealed to them to show genuine interest in each other’s progress, to be hardworking, to be humble and respect others.

He also urged them to shun selfishness and greed, lack of fairness and equity among other admonitions. The highlight of the event was an award presentation. Among the dignitaries presented with the awards was the First Lady of Kwara State, Her Excellency, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq. Others were First Lady of Kogi State, Hajia Sefinat Ododo, Dr. AbdulRahman Okino Otuoze, Hajia(Dr.)Habibat Onumoko Tijani, Accountant General of Kogi State. The award presented to the Kwara State First Lady, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq was received on her behalf by the Chairman, Organizing Committee of the 2025 Egbira Day, Alhaji Kasim Aminu. That of the Kogi State First Lady, Hajia Sefinat Ododo and Dr. Habibat Onumoko Tijani’s were presented and received on their behalf by Alhaji AbdulAzeez Aliu(FCNA), Head of Project Financial Management Unit, World Bank Assisted Projects, Lokoja Kogi State while the award of Dr. AbdulRahman Okino Otuoze was presented and received on his behalf by Mr. Ibrahim Ochenika, University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

Among the royal fathers that graced the occasion were the Ohinoyi Anebira, Kwara State, Alhaji Aminu Mayaki with his Daudus who are the representatives of the four districts of the Anebira community in Kwara State, namely Daudu Sanni Siaka, Adavi District, Kwara State, Daudu, Dr. Naziru Ajose, Okengwe District, Kwara State, Daudu, AbdulAzeez Sanni, Eika District, Kwara State, Daudu Saliu Mukadam, Ihima District Kwara State.
The 2025 Egbira Day pulsated with sounds, music, rhythms and energies that were traditionally cultural, folkloric, theatrical and mythical. But beyond the outward trappings of entertainments and fun lies something more deeper as suggested by Naziru Chimere, the elderly man from the Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State and an Egbira folklorist and Daudu Ajanasi of Ohinoyi of Egbiraland, Kwara State. He said people are searching for meaning. Well, if modern life has become elusive for many residents of the urban cities like the Egbira community residing in Ilorin, Capital of Kwara State, could the meaning and purpose of living be found in the indigenous tradition and culture? Little wonders that its celebration is becoming widespread. A metaphor for cultural renaissance? Anyway, the 2025 Egbira Day had come and gone. It however presented itself as a sobering moment of deep reflection on what the frequent celebration of culture and tradition that has become a recurring decimal means to the contemporary times.