Ijakadi Festival To Be Included In National Festival Calendar – Minister

By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said
the local wrestling contest in Offa, Kwara State, called ‘Ijakadi
Festival’, will now be included in the National Festival Calendar.
According to a statement signed by his SA, Segun Adeyemi, the Minister, who made this known at the 2017 ‘Ijakadi Festival’ in Offa on Saturday, said the people in charge of the festival will also be trained under a (training) programme for festival managers, being jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the British Council.
“It is my pleasure to say that my ministry is going to put this
particular festival on our own calendar. We have an MoU with the
British Council through which, every year, we train festival managers
all over the country. I want to assure you that in 2018, they (Ijakadi
festival managers) will benefit from this training,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed assured the organizers that the Federal Government
will leverage the power of Information and technology to promote the
festival, with a view to attracting domestic and international
tourists, thus improving the economy of the state.
He congratulated the organizers of the festival for reviving it in
2012, after over three decades, and said the decision to raise its
visibility could not have been timelier, considering the determination
of the Buhari Administration to make the Creative Industry a pillar of
the economy, under its economic diversification policy.
“What we have come here to celebrate is a history that goes back to
the 14th century, and I want to seize this opportunity to congratulate
Kabiyesi, the Olofa of Offa, that after almost a hiatus of 30 years,
when there was no festival, the festival was reborn in 2012 and every
year it’s getting bigger and bigger,” the Minister said
He said the festival was significant because it is not just about the
history of the people of Offa, but a celebration of their virtues of
“equity, justice and wisdom”, as well as strength and determination.
Highlights of the Ijakadi Festival include traditional dances, parade
by districts, wrestling bouts and horse racing.
Other dignitaries at this year’s festival included the Minister of
Communication, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, and the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau
Muhammed-Gbadamosi, and the President of the Offa Descendants Union,
Alhaji Najeemdeen Usman Yasin.