Awujale cancels 2020 Ojude Oba Festival over COVID-19 fears

The 2020 edition of the popular Ojude Oba Festival has been cancelled by the Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr) Sikiru Adetona.

The festival scheduled for August 2, 2020 was cancelled over concerns occasioned by the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The cancellation was contained in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by the coordinator of the festival, the Baagbimo of Ijebu, Chief Fassy Yusuf.

According to the statement titled, ‘2020 Edition of Annual Ojude Oba Festival Called-off’, the festival was cancelled due to the need to maintain social and physical distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read also: Awujale of Ijebu land predicts his death

The statement partly read: “The Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr) Sikiru Adetona gave approval for the cancellation in deference to medical advice and as a display of sensitivity to the environment. The global festival would have held Sunday, August 2, 2020, two days after Eid-el-Kabir.

“The first-class monarch while wishing all Ijebu sons and daughters at home and in the diaspora, the best of the season enjoined them to adhere to all Covid-19 medical protocol and he equally supplicated to God Almighty for an early end of the pandemic.”

The Ojude Oba Festival, over the years, has attracted top multinationals as sponsors with culture enthusiasts attending from different parts of the world. It is one of the biggest culture fiestas in the Southwest geopolitical zone.

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