Music, movies and more side attractions are becoming a staple in the celebration of the annual Osun Osogbo festival
By FOLASHADE ADEBAYO
She thrusts herself in the air, launched on the lungs of screaming fans. As she regained her balance, Waje, a hip hop artiste, bursts into the popular Azonto dance mode, her fluid waist doing a wild gyration. But her crowd at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, were cousins of Oliver Twist. They wanted more from the songstress. And she did not disappoint. Waje literally set the hall on fire as she wove dance and music together, her sonorous vocal cord as the binding thread.
If Waje set the stage on fire, Bukola Elemide, better known as Asa, had the crowd eating from her soulful palms. At the Goddess Concert, a promotional event done to herald the annual Osun Osogbo festival, Asa’s sonorous voice flew over her indigenous notes, bringing her audience as close as possible to the hues of her culture.
Using a pop foretaste to herald the annual Osun Osogbo festival, this year’s celebration was different in publicity and outlook. With jingles, numerous vendors, partnerships and branding opportunities, the state government went the extra mile to heighten the awareness and expand the appreciation of the concept of the festival to the younger generation.
Oladipo Soyode, special adviser, Osun State Ministry of Home Affairs, Tourism and Culture, told the magazine that the Lagos concert, organised by 2wice as Nice Production, cost the state government some N15 million. “But we were able to make about N35 million from the sales of tables,” he revealed.
Before now, the state had relied on fuji and allied musicians like Haruna Ishola, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Ara and others as highlights of the festival. But this is the first time the state government would blow the trumpet of the mystical Osun goddess with pop culture. “We wanted to familiarise our youths with our culture and history. Most of them think everything Western is good and anything African is bad or fetish. We decided to use pop icon to debunk that belief,” he said.
Pop music was not the only attraction of the festival. A dozen of Yoruba films, exploring cultural themes, litter the Osun grove for purchases. Indeed, the carnival-like celebration went beyond the affairs of the goddess. It has become an annual promotional opportunity for producers and multinationals. This year, films like Ebun Ibale, Arugba, Ebun Osun and others were sold to tourists and visitors.
There was also Osunfunke, a flick that centres on the life of a young girl with a strong prospect of becoming an Arugba (votary maid). In the plot, she was raped and her younger sister had to step in as the votary maid. The film, a joint initiative between the Osun State government and Ara explored the challenges faced by votary maids. Perhaps, one of the highlights of the fanfare was the emergence of Omitomi Olanipekun, a 12-year-old, as Arugba. Olanipekun was a star attraction as she made her maiden appearance as votary maid. She succeeds Bolade Oyewale, who got married after years of serving the Osun goddess. Someone else had to help the young girl who could not shoulder the responsibility of carrying the calabash from the palace to the grove.
But the two-week long event had more on the menu other than music and movies. Apart from the traditional rites known as the Iwopopo, Iboriade and Olojumerindinlogun, there was a golf competition at the MicCom Golf Course, Ada, as well as a Cultural Pageant and HIV/AIDS Promotional Campaign by Women and Development Movement, WADEM.
The crowd that thronged Osogbo for the August 23 grand finale was perhaps a measure of that novel effort. Adherents, tourists, revellers and visitors from across the world besieged the ancient city hungry for the sights and sounds of the festival. But, perhaps, the special moment for the organisers was the unprecedented sponsorship and branding opportunities the state government handed out to corporate organisations.
Established sponsors like MTN, Seaman’s Schnapps, Nigerian Breweries, Lagos Airport Hotel and others took advantage of the bigger crowd while other brands made their debut on the sponsorship stand. For the two weeks that the festival lasted, the sponsors tried to outdo one another by sponsoring one event or the other. For instance, Seaman’s Schnapps, the ‘official’ spirit of the festival, sponsored the AyoOlopon, a traditional game, and also footed the bill incurred in bringing Pasuma for the Osogbo concert.
At the grand finale, the sponsors erected stalls around the grove, giving spectators a dose of their presence. But that was just a tip of the iceberg. For the two-week event, some of the sponsors erected ‘villages’ in the city, quietly promoting their offerings. For instance, sponsors like Nigerian Breweries, producers of Goldberg, painted the city red, such that the entire stretch of Gbongan Road popped and swayed to the rhythm from ‘Goldberg village’. Mfon Bassey, brand manager, said: “The Goldberg beer village served various purposes. As you well know, the Osun Osogbo festival attracted tourists from Nigeria and outside the country. The Goldberg beer village served as a relaxation point for them…we had musical acts and deft dancers thrilling the crowd,” he said.
As far as Oyetunji Olanipekun, the Ataoja of Osogbo is concerned sponsorship is a crucial part of the celebrations. “Their contributions in adding colour to this great festival deserve commendation. I urge other organisations sitting on the fence to come forth with their support in the year 2014 edition of our noble fiesta,” the monarch urged.
Far from the time when the festival was just a local event, the Osun Osogbo festival gained an international momentum in 2005, when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, listed the Osun Osogbo grove as a World Heritage Site. That honour changed the beat for the festival, which is celebrated annually at the grove. It has expanded its horizon and drawn tourists, art critics and adherents from around the world. It equally changed the importance attached to the celebration as the state government started drawing an annual budget and targeted revenue.
For Governor Rauf Aregbesola, the Osun Osogbo festival is a blessing to the economy of the state. Speaking at the grove, Aregbesola who was attending for the first time since he became governor said the influx of visitors spelt good business for the state. Pointing around the grove, the governor said, “Look at the crowd here, there is even a bigger crowd outside. They will not sleep on the streets. They will buy pure water and eat at restaurants. They will board our local Korope (transport buses).”
From his utterances, it was obvious that tourism development would soon be the biggest income earner for the state. “The state government is determined to ensure that the yearly celebration of the Osun Osogbo festival records progressive increase in the number of participants. This development will result in increase in revenue generation, which will in turn significantly improve the standard of living of our people,” Aregbesola said.
So far, the state government has spent about N300 million on the upgrade of the 63 tourist attraction sites in Osun State. Ayo Olumoko, chief festival consultant, said the celebration and the construction of a pavilion that shelters visitors in the grove gulped N100 million. The plan of the state government, according to Soyode, is to drive tourist traffic from 5,000 to 20,000 by 2015. The government hopes that the traffic would increase the target revenue to N7.5 billion by 2015.
Aregbesola also promised the crowd that the celebrations will be bigger and better by 2014. “By the time the festival takes place next year, I can assure you that visitors coming to Osogbo will not have to travel by road. We hope to complete our airport by then,” he announced. In terms of the cultural appeal, this year’s celebration did not disappoint. The sculptures and other artworks around the grove had been retouched to beat the effect of aging. As usual, priests and priestess of the Osun goddess made brisk business consulting for clients by the riverside.
However, policing the crowd and security matters were tough nut to crack at the celebration. Pickpockets had a field day though security officers arrested some of them. Touts pushed and shoved visitors even as journalists were assaulted. Wale Olopade, a Nigerian Tribune reporter, had his trousers slashed by pickpockets. While there was a huge presence of security officers from different outfits, they appeared fixated on the dignitaries and not crowd control. But Soyode said the state government involved a larger number of operatives in the celebration. “It is just that in a huge crowd like this, such things cannot but happen. But things will get better. We have learnt some lessons this year and we will build on that next year,” he promised.