By BY all accounts, Ogori wore her best self this year. Between April 27 and May 4, 2025, the quiet, culture-rich town in Kogi State burst into colour, sound, and ceremony as it hosted the Ovia Osese Festival—one of Nigeria’s most symbolic cultural events and one of the few in Kogi recognised by UNESCO. It was more than a celebration. It was a declaration: of womanhood, purity, unity, and heritage. A heritage, indeed, woven through time.
Chief Mrs Oluwatoyin Aiyegbusi-Iyela (Iyodina Eyisinayo III) at Oyara
Chief Janet Alebi, Iyodina (Onu) at Oyara
A Sacred Rite in a Changing World
At its core, Ovia Osese remains an age-old initiation ritual that officially transitions fresh female virgins—known as Ivia—into womanhood. These girls, having met the stringent moral expectations of chastity and discipline, are publicly honoured and prepared for their roles as responsible adults in society. But beyond the spiritual gravitas and ritual precision, the 2025 edition radiated a unique blend of deep communality, mutual respect, reverence, creativity, glamour, and youthful vibrance that transformed Ogori into a cultural mecca of some sort for a week.
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Ivia Egben
This year’s theme, “A Heritage Woven Through Time,” was lived out in every drumbeat, dance step, and ceremonial utterance. The festival, a community-owned tradition, saw children, youths, elders, parents, leaders, and visitors gather, not just to witness the rites, but to reaffirm the values that have kept Ogori’s social fabric strong: purity, mentorship, cultural pride, and collective responsibility.
Women age grade in colourful attire at the Oyara
A Festival of Reconciliation and Unity
Perhaps the most heartening highlight of the 2025 edition was the healing of a rift that had threatened the soul of the festival in recent years. In 2023 as reported by your darling Stonix News who was there live, Ogori found itself divided in celebration, with the Onus holding their Oke grand finale separately from the general festivities at the Civic Centre. That symbolic disunity cast a shadow of shame on the communal essence of Ovia Osese and the Ogori people.
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But in 2025, that shadow lifted!
Some title holders and elders of Ogori
This year, both quarters of Ogori—without exception—joined hands to present a unified celebration. The two Iyidina – Chief Mrs Oluwatoyin Aiyegbusi-Iyela (Eyisinayo III) and Chief Janet Alebi – separately led the unity dance into the Oyara with members of their entourage. The shared planning, mutual respect, and harmonised ceremonies marked not just a return to form but a leap forward in communal healing. In a time where tradition can so easily be fractured by modern tensions, Ogori, this time around, chose togetherness. It was not only a festival of initiation but one of reconciliation and reaffirmation: one Maketh Ninety Nine a Hundred.
Ivia Egben performing at the Oyara
Praise, Panache, and Presence
The week-long festivities kicked off with the electrifying Ogori Ovia Osese Praise Night. It was no ordinary concert—it was an atmosphere charged with intense worship and spiritual melody. Gospel ministers like Steve Courage and Pastor Gabriel Okpe led the community in soul-stirring praise. Abuja-based Pastor Flourish Atoju, who had held Facebook bound with rigorous sensitisation weeks ahead of the event, betrayed no lean joy. “Come and enjoy a unique atmosphere of worship and melody in Jesus,” he had promised, and indeed, the night delivered heavenly rhythms that set the tone for the days ahead.
Collage of pictures from the event
Glamour of the women folk
Not far behind were side attractions—giveaways, games, and Scrabble contests—especially designed to engage the youth and maintain the relevance of cultural festivals in the modern age. “OOOF2025 is a bomb!” Pastor Atoju proudly exclaimed on social media. Indeed, it was a celebration as vibrant and unpredictable as the people it honoured.
Ivia
Stewards of Culture and Custodians of Grace
In every cultural celebration, there are faces and figures who embody the spirit of the event. This year, Her Majesty Oluwatoyin Aiyegbusi-Iyela stood resplendent, not just as a symbol of Ogori womanhood, but as the Iyodina Eyisinayo—the spiritual custodian of the Ovia Osese rites. Her poise, wisdom, and motherly presence lent gravitas to the ceremony and underscored the festival’s sacred undertones.
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Iyodina with a celebrant
Equally inspiring was the graceful presence of Aiso Temitope Kristy Osekafore, ODU’s First Lady, whose steadfast support behind the scenes helped birth the festival’s success. “My Iyaodina and my very own Chief Osiako,” one attendee posted joyfully. “Long may your crowns live!”
ODU First Lady at Oyara
Guest performers
Voices of Eregba, Rhythms of Revival
A cultural festival is not complete without its music, and the Eregba genre—philosophical and melodious—took centre stage at this year’s festivities. The likes of Sumbo Ayodele popularly called Ose Bam Bam and Obadare both of Ijeda and Tibile Eregba groups thrilled the gathering at the Civic Centre during and after the grand finale. In a spirited push to preserve and promote this indigenous sound, the Ogori Descendants Union launched the Sam Abiodun Omolaiye Eregba Challenge 2025, doubling prize money and encouraging entries from across the region.
An age grade in procession
And if there was any breakout star from the genre this year, it was Barr. Deborah Osiyi Jemitola. Her voice, at the Civic Centre a night before the grand finale, captivated audiences and echoed through hearts, blending the dignity of her legal background with the rhythm of heritage. With her husband, the legendary Eregba philosopher “Ohimege”, theirs is a cultural power duo poised to redefine the future of Ogori traditional music.
Panache and glamour
Of Gratitude and Grace
The culmination of Ovia Osese 2025 was a grand Thanksgiving Day. Families, like that of General Erema Akerejola and Mrs. Eunice Akerejola, celebrated the successful initiation of their daughter, Isovie Akerejola, into womanhood—a moment marked by communal prayers, joy, and heartfelt blessings.
Maj. Gen. & Mrs Erema Akerejola whose daughters also went through the invitation festival marching to the Civic Centre
The Akerejolas after Thanksgiving on Sunday
A highlight of the week was the distinguished presence of His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo at the Oke grand finale at the colourful Civic Centre with some of his aides. With humility and grace, the Governor honoured his word to attend, arriving without fanfare and integrating, seamlessly, into the community spirit. “He seemed genuinely loved,” one observer noted, “and the love is not forced,” Hon. Petra Akinti Onyegbule quipped.
Governor Ododo enjoying the performances at the Civic Centre
Hon. Charity Ijese, Special Adviser on Youth and Women Mobilisation, summed it up best: “Thank you for believing in our culture. And thank you for standing by the youth and women of Kogi State.”
Governor Ododo with the ODU chairman and his wife
A Celebration Renewed, A Culture Reaffirmed
In truth, Ovia Osese 2025 was not just a festival. It was a statement. A cultural force. A spiritual compass for young girls. A moment of pride for mothers, fathers and the entire community. A spectacular showcase that fused tradition and trend, rooted in history yet open to the possibilities of tomorrow.
The Ivia in their final ritual performance
To be Ogorian is to be proud. Proud of a culture that dignifies womanhood. Proud of a people who celebrate purity, beauty, and unity. Proud of a tradition that, even in the whirlwind of modernity, still stands tall, unshaken.
The Osiako, one of the Ekekaro (title holders) in Ogori
Another Okekaro (Chief) at the Oyara
That’s why the need to swiftly resolve the Obin (kingship) imbroglio in the interest of enthusiastic youths and generations unborn is incumbent on the Ekekaro (Title holders), leaders at all levels and all sons and daughters of the Small Jerusalem.
Collage of colourful pictures from the event
And for all who experienced the glamour —on the streets, in the photos, on the screens and in the soul—Ovia Osese 2025 was a radiant echo of heritage, woven carefully, proudly, and lovingly through time.
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Ebenezer Adurokiya writes from Warri, Delta State
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