The Culture and Tourism Advancement Board of Yewaland (CATABY) on Thursday, June 18, convened a high-powered media parley and official launch of the 2026 Yewa Festival in Ikeja, Lagos, drawing monarchs, academics, culture entrepreneurs, and media practitioners into a shared vision of heritage promotion, tourism development, and commercial investment for Ogun State’s Yewa region.

The event, anchored on preparations for a seven-day festival scheduled from September 7 to 12, 2026, in Ilaro, Ogun State, with its grand finale at the Asade Agunoye Pavilion, signalled an ambitious bid to place Yewa land on Nigeria’s cultural and economic map with renewed force.

A Coordinated Vision for Yewa Land

Setting the tone for the parley, Prof. Rahman Bello, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, delivered the welcome address, framing the 2026 Yewa Festival as part of a deliberate, coordinated cultural effort.

He explained that the Yewa Policy Development Council (YPDC), operating under the Yoruba National Council, was established specifically to harmonise development activities across the region.

“The YPDC is a council that coordinates the activities of all government organisations in Yewa land,” Prof. Bello clarified, stressing that it is “not a personal mentorship office” but an umbrella body for cohesive regional development.

Now in its second edition, the festival, according to Prof. Bello, is designed to showcase the full breadth of what the region offers.

“Yewa land is culturally diverse and very rich in tourism potentials,” he said.

“All we are trying to exhibit today is the tourism potential of Yewaland, as well as the cultural aspect of Yewaland.”

He urged attendees and the wider public to fully engage with the programming, which will feature dances, performances, and historical presentations drawn from across Yewaland and its broader Yoruba heritage.

The History Behind the Name — Yewa

Perhaps the most compelling address of the day came from Professor Anthony Asiwaju, a renowned specialist in borderland studies, who traced the remarkable political and intellectual journey that transformed the region’s identity from Egbado to Yewa.

Recounting a defining moment at a think tank gathering on August 1, 1994, Prof. Asiwaju explained that the former name, Egbado, was drawn from colonial archives and only represented one of at least six distinct Yoruba sub-groups in the area — including the Ketu, Sabe, Ije (Ohori), Ifonyin, Anago, Awori, and Egun peoples.

“While the Egbado were the biggest group and their name had been extended to the whole area, it was not appropriate to continue using a name from colonial archives that didn’t represent everyone,” he said.

His solution was elegantly geographic: name the region after the Yewa River, which flows from the northeast of Ketu land through the former Egbado territory before emptying into the lagoons, and which was historically revered as a goddess.

“I suggested the river be our fibre of unity,” he recalled, noting that the 1994 think tank unanimously adopted the new name. That grassroots decision culminated nearly three decades later in a 2023 constitutional amendment under the Buhari administration, officially formalising the name Yewa.

The Festival’s Purpose and Promise

Otunba Lekan Asuni, Chairman of CATABY and of the Yewa Festival Central Planning Committee, gave the gathering its clearest articulation of what the festival ultimately represents.

“Yewa Festival celebrates people, heritage, and the future of Yewa land, inspired by the Yewa River, the enduring lifeline that has linked communities, sustained livelihoods, and shaped generations’ identity,” he declared.

Outlining the festival’s objectives, Otunba Asuni said the event is designed to preserve and promote Yewa heritage, strengthen unity among Yewa communities, promote tourism and economic development, empower youth and women, foster cultural exchange, drive community development, and build a lasting legacy.

The vision, he emphasised, is “to establish Yewa Festival as the foremost celebration of the heritage, unity, resilience, and prosperity of the Yewa people.”

A Royal Call to Invest

The Olu of Ilaro, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, lent monarchical weight to the festival’s economic dimension, extending a personal invitation to investors from across the global Yewa diaspora and beyond.

He identified the Yewa Investment Summit as the festival’s centrepiece, anchored on the strategic commercial potential of the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway corridor.

“I’m seizing this opportunity to invite all sons and daughters of our land — those that are investors among our children and also our friends who are also investors — to see the opportunity of the investments, to come and party together,” the monarch urged.

“Let’s deliberate and see how we can prepare our future for our children in our land,” he added.

Also in attendance were several other royal fathers, including the Onimeko of Imeko, Oba Benjamin Alabi Olanite; the Olofin Adimula Oodua of Ado-Odo, Oba Idris Olusola Osolo; the Onimasayi of Imasayi, Oba Dr. Lukman Kuoye Olalekan; and the Oniwoye of Iwoye, Oba Busari Makinde. Popular Nollywood actor Taiwo Hassan, known as Ogogo, was also among notable attendees, with guest introductions handled by Pastor Femi Akinola.

The Commercial Case for Brands

Seun Adeleye, CEO of Enhance360 Ltd, made a forceful business case to potential sponsors, insisting the festival is not merely a cultural gathering but “a strategic engagement platform that combines culture, tourism, and commerce.”

Targeting approximately 30,000 attendees drawn from multiple Yewa regions, Adeleye painted a compelling picture for corporate Nigeria.

“If we are talking 30,000 people, we are talking serious data,” he said, highlighting opportunities for direct consumer reach, product trials, demonstrations, and real-time data collection.

He pointed to extensive media exposure across television, social media, outdoor, print, and live streaming channels, promising “millions of cumulative media impressions” and year-round content assets.

The festival’s seven-day programme — featuring Yewa evenings, a cooking competition, a mega concert, masquerade displays, and an investment summit — would, he argued, generate enough branded content “that you can build on for the next one year non-stop.”

Media as the Megaphone

Closing the formal presentations, Keni Akintoye, CEO of KT Communications, framed the festival’s media strategy as a mission to tell “untold stories” from Ogun communities to the world.

A former journalist himself, Akintoye described the press as his “constituency” and pledged deep partnerships with local Ogun outlets including OGBC and OGTV, as well as Southwest radio stations across Lagos, Oyo, and Osun, national cable television networks, influencers and creators across digital platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

“Events will come and go. What remains are the memories generated, and that is what we want to achieve,” he said.

He described the 2026 Yewa Festival as potentially “one of the best things that will ever happen in Ogun State,” before issuing an open appeal: “We cannot do it alone. We must have partnerships. Let’s start having these conversations, and let’s start making all our dreams happen. See you in September.”

The media parley also featured a cultural performance by masquerades and the Ajangbode cultural dance group, offering a vivid, living preview of what audiences can expect when Ilaro comes alive in September.