CONFlRMED: Oro Festival Rumours Spark Outrage: Ikate and Ikorodu Leaders Claim No Statewide Celebration

Temitope Oyefeso, the special assistant on media and publicity to Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, the Elegushi of Ikateland, told FIJ on Thursday that "there has been no announcement of the Oro festival in the Ikate-Elegushi kingdom as far as we are concerned".

"I haven't ever heard of Oro in some communities, but of course, there is Oro in Ikate, in Ikorodu and some other places," he said. "But it is not something that is held according to a particular calendar, and there's no uniform body as regards it."

In response to whether the festival could be held in a harmonised manner at once across different communities, he said, "There is no uniform body for Oro festival. It is held in selected communities, and it is not even a statewide festival."

There has been noticeable unrest on social media since Wednesday over a rumour that various communities in Lagos State would observe the Oro festival from August 1-15.

An unsigned statement posted by Lagospedia, an X handle, read: "Public Announcement: Attention Residents and Visitors of Lagos Please, be informed that the Oro Festival will be observed in various communities across Lagos from the 1st of August to August 15. This traditional Yoruba cultural event involves significant rituals. Retweet for awareness."

As of Thursday evening, this post by Lagospedia has had 1.8 million views, as well as thousands of quotes, reposts and likes.

The Oro festival is a traditional Yoruba rite usually performed to cleanse a community. Since only men participate in the rites and women are required to stay indoors, some have opined that it is sexist.

FIJ observed that the perception of many social media users regarding this post is that the Oro festival would be statewide, and this has fuelled outrage and ethnic animosity.

FIJ also understands that one of the reasons for the outrage is the timing, as the purported festival coincides with the planned nationwide protest against the economic hardship experienced in the country.

Since the proposed protest, which is scheduled for August 1-10, made it to the news, there have been mixed reactions from different quarters. While many frustrated Nigerians, especially the youths, are in support, several others, from federal and state governments to security officers and private individuals, have warned against it.

Following the news of the Oro festival amid conversations about the protest, many social media users claimed that it might have been sponsored by the state government to prevent the protest from happening. The Lagos State Government has, however, distanced itself from the festival.

Some Nigerians found the festival announcement suspicious, recalling the sudden kickoff of Oro in the Akesan area of the state in 2023, just a few days before the general elections. When this happened last year, many believed the move was targeted at disenfranchising voters.

Checks by FIJ showed that the Lagos communities that observe Oro are Ikorodu, Ikate-Elegushi, Isolo, Ajah, Ibeju Lekki, Ojo, Akesan, Ejigbo and Isheri, among others.

Although it remains uncertain which Lagos communities will observe the festival in August, FIJ can confirm that no announcements have been made regarding the festival in the Ikorodu and Ikate-Elegushi areas of the state.

FIJ found that Ikorodu residents would be visiting their town hall from August 1 to 6 between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm to register for a health programme offering free eye tests and cataract surgery.

The programme itself, facilitated by Ikorodu Oga Development Association (IKODASS) in conjunction with the Ikorodu Eye Foundation, will take place on August 7.

Erogbogbo Rotimi, the IKODASS chairman, told FIJ that he read about the planned festival on social media. "I too read about the festival on social media, and I don't know the communities that would be affected."

Wale Adesina, the Ikorodu Local Government chairman, told FIJ that he was not aware of any declarations about the festival in the area.

"In each local government, you have a chieftaincy committee, and I don't dabble into anything that has to do with chieftaincy. However, the king has not informed me that there would be Oro in Ikorodu, so I am not aware," Adesina said.