Culture, Traditional Display Revival As Lagos Town Begins 7-Day Celebration

• Agege to raise ₦500m to rescue out-of-school children, others

Residents of Agege and its environs would be witnessing a seven-day traditional and cultural displays that would culminate in the raising of a ₦500 million education endowment fund for the benefit of residents of the area.

This was announced by the chairman of the Agege Day Celebrations Committee, Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo, at a press conference on Thursday noting that the series of events would commence on Friday, February 3 and end on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

Ayantayo, a Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Parastatals Monitoring, said the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, and other prominent leaders, sons and daughters of Agege plan to showcase more of the virtues of the ancient town that is beginning to gain prominence as a result of massive infrastructural developments.

“In taking stocks of the struggles of the past, and modest achievements recorded so far, we, the people of Agege have decided to celebrate our journey, our resilience, our conquests, our strides and our victory over adversities, our unity over disunity, the forbearance, bravery and undying spirit of survival, of never losing hope, and of the belief in a better future.

“To commemorate the conquering spirit of Agege people and build on the unity and progress that have been achieved so far, we are celebrating our fortunes in a weeklong program tagged Agege Day Celebrations.

“In celebrating the Agege Day 2022, all hands are on deck to guarantee a hitch free celebration that will educate, entertain, illuminate and excite the entire populace and well-wishers who will be welcomed to felicitate with us from across the world.

“We have hordes of accomplished Agege indigenes in the diaspora who are looking forward to felicitating with the rest of us that are home based.

“The celebrations encompass all aspects of lives of the Agege people namely, religious, cultural, social, education, sports,” he said.

While noting that the event would now be celebrated annually to draw global attention to Agege, Ayantayo said the town had suffered many years developmental challenges brought upon it and other parts of Lagos by the long military reigns.

He, however, said that town, with an estimated population of over one million people, had now become a shining light with advancements in various sectors of economy.

“Suffice to say that in all these achievements, the realisation of these goals by government, Agege itself has produced a personality that has added fulcrum, Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Ajayi Obasa, to the realisation of these lofty achievements, and who has become the brand ambassador of our humble town.

“Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Obasa has, through his political accomplishments, injected much of the development the people of Agege are enjoying into the town by soliciting the support of the Executive arm and other entities, including non government organizations (NGO) and other business concerns into making direct investments in Agege, measures that have had direct impacts in the lives of the people of the town,” Ayantayo said.

The committee chairman said the event would commence with a Jumat service and an awareness rally on Friday. A special service is expected to hold on Sunday, February 5.

The event would also include secondary school debate, cultural and traditional displays, a pageant and novelty match and the launching of the ₦500 million educational endowment fund.