To celebrate Isese Day, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Oluhas declared Monday as a day off work for all public servants in the state.
Isese Day has been set aside in Lagos to celebrate indigenous Yoruba culture and traditions, as well as the preservation of Yoruba heritage.
It is marked annually on August 20 and is celebrated by the followers of the traditional Yoruba religion.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Jibril Gawat, the governor’s press aide, said the announcement was made in a circular issued by Hakeem Muri-Okunola, head of state service.
According to a circular, this year’s Isese Day celebration will be held on Sunday, August 20.
He also indicated that the declaration of a day off from work by the governor is a reaffirmation of his “commitment to continue providing the necessary support to the traditional institutions of the State with a view to promoting our indigenous culture and tradition and preserving our heritage.”
The circular announced Tuesday, August 22 at 8 in the morning as punctual the resumption of work for all state workers.
Lagos joins the list of southwestern states: Oyo and Ogun states that recently set aside August 20 to commemorate the festival.
Controversy
In Kwara state, the festival has been the subject of controversy.
Traditional practitioners were prevented from celebrating the festival in the state after an Islamic group warned a priestess not to hold the celebration.
Sulu Gambari, the emir of Ilorin, said the festival was canceled “to avoid a crisis.”
But Wole Soyinka, a renowned playwright, criticized him, saying his “virtue of intolerance” spawns fundamentalist organizations such as “Boko-Haram, the West African Province of the Islamic State (ISWAP) and Al-Shabaab.”
The Nobel laureate described the emir’s action as an attack on civilized conduct.
Soyinka and the monarch recently clashed over the latter’s decision to ban an Isese cultural festival held by an Osun devotee, Adesikemi Olokun, in the city of Ilorin.
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