Many traditional worshippers on Sunday thronged the streets and towns in Ogun state to celebrate this year’s Isese day festival.
All five South West states declared Monday, August 21 as Iseese day but the festival is billed to hold yearly on the 20th of August.
Idol worshippers, native doctors, Ifa priests, alternative medicine practitioners, and other adherents of non-orthodox religions twere seen on the streets singing and dancing.
They marched from one end of the streets to another chanting traditional songs whilst many were robed in white.
In Abeokuta, traditionalists, all dressed in white apparel, trekked to their sacred place, known as Oke Abola, located at Oke-Aregba.
After praying and performing some rites at Oke Abola, they converged on Ake Palace Square for merriment.
The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, joined them at the palace square to celebrate the traditional event.
Across various communities, traditionalists organised get-togethers, where they dined, wined, and danced as they worshipped their gods.
Meanwhile, the Olota of Ota, Oba Abdukabir Obalanlege, has called on President Bola Tinubu to recognise August 20 as a national celebration, saying the move would bring about peaceful co-existence and showcase the rich cultural and traditional values of Nigerians.
Obalanlege emphasised that Nigeria’s Constitution gives everyone the right to practise any religion of choice for the furtherance of peace, especially in a democratic setting.
Similarly, the lawmaker representing Ipokia/Idiroko state constituency, Bisi Oyedele, also celebrated with traditionalists in Idiroko.
According to Oyedele, “The celebration is not about atheism but about the collective, true identities of our existence.”