The Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has approved Monday, August 22, 2022, as a public holiday in commemoration of this year’s “Isese Day”.
This was contained in a release signed by the state Commissioner for Special Duties, Olalekan Badmus, who is also the Supervising Commissioner for the Ministry of Home Affairs, obtained in Osogbo on Friday.
The statement said the approval was in recognition of the day set aside annually by the traditional religion worshipers to celebrate Isese festival in the state.
It further read: “The governor has directed that this year’s Isese Day with a theme: ‘Abalaye adulawo ati ipaniyan s’owo; nje ajosepo wa bi?’ (African tradition and ritual killing; any connection?), should be celebrated responsibly and with security consciousness.
“The governor congratulated the traditional religion worshippers throughout the state, just as he also appealed to them to be peaceful and law-abiding in their conducts before, during and after the festival. He equally enjoined them to pray for the growth and development of the state in particular and Nigeria as a whole.”
Urging them to continue to support his administration, Oyetola emphasised the need for the citizens of Osun to continue to embrace Omoluabi ethos in their day-to-day activities.
The Isese Day celebration is usually held days after the annual Osun Osogbo festival.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that last year, the Association of African Traditional Religion Nigeria called on the Lagos Government to set aside August 20 of every year as Isese Day.
Isese Day is a regional public holiday observed in the Nigerian state of Osun on August 20th each year.
The day is set aside by the Osun government for traditional worshipers to celebrate their deities. The day is observed as the culmination of a week of traditional religious activities and festivities.
About Isese Day
Isese (the Yorùbá word for Tradition) Day celebrates the Yorùbá traditions and religion in a display of culture and spirituality with parties, festivals, parades, lectures and display of other traditional apparels to attract tourists from other parts of the world.
The Yorùbá make up 21% of Nigeria’s population.
As well as in Osun state, Isese day is celebrated by Yorùbá diaspora communities around the world.
A former governor of Osun, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, in 2013, approved August 20th as a public holiday in the state for Traditional Worshipers, under Section 2 (2) of the Public Holidays Act CAP P40 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2010.
Isese Day was first declared as a public holiday by the Osun State government in 2014. Banks, government offices and other establishments in Osun State will be closed on this day.
Although the actual day is a state holiday, week-long festivities leading up to August 20th are celebrated in Osogbo, the capital of Osun state.
The appropriate greeting for Isese Day is “Isese l’agba” and the response is “Isese l’agba gbogbo wa”.