Amidst pomp and pageantry, Ijoku Land has celebrated its maiden Agemo festival tagged ‘AGEMO IJOKU 2022 FIESTA’ as the festival breaks history of 18 years without the cultural performances. The rocky, sleepy Agemo fiesta of Ijoku Community, Sagamu, recently came alives after 18 years of cultural breakdown, as it began celebrations on Friday, September 23rd and comes to an end yesterday, Thursday, September 29th, 2022, with glitz, glamour and excitements from hundreds of thousands of people comprising the host royal king, The Onijoku of Ijoku Land, His Royal Highness Oba Jibodu Kaleijaye, the festival Chief host, the Alase Of Ijoku Land, Chief Adedeji Olamilekan Lawal, the prominent Ijoku Chief’s, Baale’s, traditional leaders, invited guests royal kings and chiefs, invited guest artistes, old men and women, youths, market women, as well as other residents dressed in different attires complimented by dance groups gave the event a carnival feel.

The annual 7 days cultural fiesta which climaxed with many cultural performances, which is adjourned to be one of the Nigeria’s, mostly the Yoruba’s biggest cultural event, was sighted to be more than a traditional festival as it was an assemblage of amiable juggernauts, men of timber and caliber as it pulled illustrious community leaders, sons and daughters of Ijoku both at home and in diaspora, high profile dignitaries, cultural enthusiasts, several prominent royal kings and chief’s in Sagamu, with the likes of Ewusi Of Makun Land, Alariye Of Ariye Land, Olotun Omooba Of Agura Land, Asiwaju Bola Odugbenga, Engr. Wale Òkè, several high ranking politicians, various Sabo Sagamu Youths Leaders, and many more notable dignitaries also presents, las well as residents across Sagamuwide down to the venue of the Agemo fiesta held at Onisuru Junction, along Muslim High School road, Ijoku Sagamu, as the huge turnout was therefore, a resounding affirmation of the support the festival still enjoys from the communities.

Genesis Media House (GMH) reported that, the cultural celebration mood usually switched on at the evening time by 4pm, as young boys and girls, men and women groups, the elderly, traditional rulers, residents and cultural enthusiasts mostly attired in colourful cultural outfits, began to file out to the ground venue of the fiesta. Prior to the formal commencement of the festival, the entire community was already agog in celebration, as various cultural groups in ecstatic mood tunes their local drums and gongs, to the admiration of the Agemo deity and the people. While the Agemo and Onire deity were dancing and music performances were going on respectively, in the community, sounds of praises and joy intermittently rented the air by the people to add more glamour to the event.

GMH gathered that, it is culturally compulsory for the cultural event to commenced proper when the chief celebrant, the Alase of Ijoku and minister in charge of the Agemo deity, Chief Lawal, arrived the venue of the cultural fiesta amidst rousing ovations and ululations from the cultural drummers and the mammoth crowd sang and danced, as they welcome him to the venue and in a procession to the point where the he will be seated, as a mark of allegiance and honour.

Information made available to our news Correspondent at GMH, stated that after the arrival of the Alase, the Agemo deity will comes out respectively in numbers, to display there presence, dances and other performances at the event, before the arrival of the Onire deity which was said its a taboo for the Agemo deity to met the Onire deity physically at the event. While the Onire deity was coming and also at the the venue, all the people that follows or behind the deity must off their sandals, while all the women’s present at the venue will removed all their scalfs/head-tie, while all the general congregations prays for what they want, as it is a cultural belief that the Onire deity is a god of prayers, that answer all prayers during the festival season. The Onire and the Agemo Agbegbeku deity (that normally comes out at night and was also said to be a taboo for women’s to see) usually comes on the first, second and last day of the event while the Agemo deity itself showed up at every days of the event to entertains the people with its unified display dance performances. According to reports, it is mandatory on the Oba, Onijoku, to presents at the venue of Day 2 of the festival which was the Igunwa Day, to felicitates with the congregations were he will also dance and welcome the Onire deity to the events, while on Day 7 and final day of the festival which was the “Ojo Ije”, the Onire deity also paid courtesy visit to the Onijoku, Oba Kalejaiye, in his Onijoku Palace for spiritual blessings before the deity returns back to its spiritual sacrificial room.

GMH also reported some of the unforgettable moments in the festival, which was the performances of the Agemo deity that dances on top of three cars in the middle of the road, the disappearance and long spreading of the Agemo’s deity mat on the floor, the movements of the Onire’s deity from the event venue to the Sabo Market axis up to the Onijoku’s Palace, accompanied by the Alase who prayed for the people as he led the whole multitudes together with the Onire deity to the palace, as the movements also steers many supporters, followers, market women’s and men’s, young men and women, elderly people, passers-by, motorists and business owners praising the deity while joyful sound of prayers fervently rented the air by the people noting the Onire diety as god that answereth prayers during the festival season.

Speaking with GMH newsmen at the event, the Alase of Ijoku, Chief Adedeji Olamilekan Lawal, noted the importance of the festival to the peace, progress, growth and developmental capacity of the community, while he also made it known that its over 18 years now that the sons, daughters and residents of Ijoku Land, witnessed such amazing festival, due to some hidden reasons, as he also give thanks to the ancient God for intervening in the matter and for making him to be the Alase that break the history of over 18 years of non commencements of the Agemo’s festival in Ijoku Land.

While appreciating, the Alase also give thanks to the Ancestor, the Onijoku and other royal kings across Remo Land, the Ijoku chiefs and other cabinets of Onijoku in council, invited guests, indigenes and residents of Ijoku Land, festival committees, invited artistes and all well notable personalities, for making the fiesta a loud-able peaceful events and for making him become the Alase after the demise of his predecessor, Late Chief Taiwo Hassan Goriola, who slept in the hands of his ancestor in some years back. On his part, Chief Lawa lauded his predecessor, Late Goriola, describing him as “a great man, an iconoclast and a religion mahogany, who gave his commitment, time and energy to the festival during his life time, while he made promised to do more better than how his predecessor left the festival, and to do everything possible within his capacity in making the festival an annual tourist centre that will influx people from across the city, state, nation and the world entirely into the town, Ijoku. “In some years to come, the Agemo Ijoku festival will become an opportunity for prominent sons and daughters of Ijoku both home and diaspora, and highly placed corporate bodies, tourists, schools, religious and traditional leaders in the country to pay tourists homage to the long-age cultural traditions”, he added.

The Alase on the occasion prayed for blessings, peace, progress and developments of Ijoku Land, Sagamu, Remo, Ogun State and Nigeria at large. He therefore, called on illustrious sons and daughters of the land to continue to give their supports to the fiestas, while he also urge them to contributes their quota for the overall developments of the land.

GMH Investigations revealed that several high chiefs, indigenes and residents of Ijoku and from other towns that was present at the occasions, expressed their happiness with the massive turnout of people, and the various cultural performances at this year’s event, while they eulogise the Alase and his planning committees for the well sterling performances at the festival, as they charge him, all royal kings, chiefs and other traditional leaders across the nation, to continue to make more impacts on culture traditions and engage more plans on the Agemo’s festival to impute more beautiful creativity and initiatives that will tremendously turn around the fortunes of the Yoruba people to their long-age traditions, while they stated that, it will serve as an avenue to unite the Yoruba’s sons and daughters at home and overseas, that have forgotten their long-age culture back to their ancient traditions.

To end the success of the peaceful anniversary of the Agemo Ijoku festival, the indigenous youths and all young men and women of Ijoku, massively gathered together at night for a parte after parte entertainments at the festival’s venue immediately after the final entrance of the Agemo Agbegbeku, with several disk jockey at the wheel of sounds. “The main reasons for hosting the robust and loud-able entertainments party turns Carnival, is to celebrates a landmark peaceful achievements and record breaking of over 18 years that we witnessed this festival”, the organisers stated.