The ancient city of Ile-Ife is set to come alive in September as preparations intensify for Olojo 2026, the annual cultural festival celebrating Yoruba history, ancestry, spirituality and civilisation.
The festival, described as a celebration of the “Day of the First Dawn,” is expected to draw participants from across Nigeria, Africa and the global Yoruba diaspora to Ile-Ife, regarded as the ancestral source of Yoruba civilisation.
In a statement titled “September Is Here: The Source Calls — Olojo 2026 and the Great Return to Ile-Ife,” the writer, Seun Lanre Oketooto, urged Yoruba people at home and abroad to return to Ile-Ife and reconnect with their ancestral heritage.
According to him, Olojo transcends the conventional definition of a cultural festival, describing it as “a living archive” where memory, heritage, ancestry and identity are expressed through traditional ceremonies.
“Come home to Ile-Ife. Come home to the Source,” the statement urged, calling on Yoruba people from Lagos, Ibadan and other parts of Nigeria, as well as those living in Ghana, Benin Republic, Britain, the United States, Canada, Europe, Brazil, the Caribbean and other parts of the world.
A major highlight of the annual celebration is the sacred appearance of the Arole Oduduwa, Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, in the Aare Crown.
The ceremony remains one of the defining moments of the Olojo season and a significant expression of the spiritual and cultural heritage of Ile-Ife.
The statement said Olojo 2026 provides an opportunity for members of the Yoruba diaspora, particularly younger generations born outside Africa, to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.
It also called on scholars, professionals, entrepreneurs, cultural custodians and families to use the festival as an opportunity to return to Ile-Ife, study its heritage, contribute to its development and pass the history of the Yoruba people to future generations.
“Olojo 2026 offers an opportunity to turn nostalgia into reconnection, heritage into action and ancestry into a living relationship with the Source,” Oketooto said.
He stressed the enduring significance of Ile-Ife to Yoruba identity, noting that while the Yoruba people had spread across different parts of the world, their ancestral source remained rooted in Ile-Ife.
“The world may have taken the Yoruba far, but the Source remains here,” he said.
The call comes as September ushers in the Olojo season, with the ancient city expected to host activities celebrating Yoruba culture, traditions and history.
The organisers and cultural advocates are consequently positioning Olojo 2026 not only as a festival but as a global homecoming for Yoruba people and descendants of Oduduwa.
