OSOGBO— Osogbo, the Osun State capital, is agog with lovers and admirers of the annual Osun Osogbo festival, which holds this week, the State Government has said.

A Statement by Oyintiloye Olatunbosun, Assistant Director (Community Forum) Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osun State said; “of all the internationally celebrated festival in Nigeria, Osun Osogbo stands out as the most venerated and most attended, as it is not only about merry making, but also about the mind, heart and divinity of a people, who are bonded by unique culture and history.

“The annual festival symbolises the greatness of a goddess, who came to the rescue of a people faced by famine, barrenness and other form of illness, took away their suffering and blessed the women with fertility, replaced famine with abundance and cured their ill children with the magical powers of her herb.

“This inherent feature reflects in such eulogy ascribed to the goddess as “seleru agbo agbara agbo l’osun fin we omo re ki dokita o’to de” (meaning, Osun used natural and powerful herb mixture to cure her children before the arrival of modern medicine).

“One significant attribute of the festival is that it brings devotees of the deity from all over the world together annually, from Cuba to Brazil, United States of America to Jamaica, Canada to Spain, they come together to pay homage to the goddess, who they believe is the source of life.

The festival is held usually at the end of every second quarter of each year with the Osun River being the centre of activity. The rituals involved, which takes a total of four weeks, is also significant because it is believed to be a spiritual medium of cleansing the land and ridding it of bad omen and at the same time inviting good in form of fertility and bountiful harvest.”