The Akun Day Festival is an age-old tradition in Akungba Akoko, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, which also marks the new year festival. The day is usually marked with fanfare, prayers and songs. HAKEEM GBADAMOSI writes on this year’s colourful celebration.
Indigenes of Akungba Akoko in Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, last Saturday converged on the ancient town for the annual Akun-Day festival, celebrated every last Saturday in the month of July, which would usher in the new yam festival in the town.
Most sons and daughters from the ancient town, both home and abroad, usually look forward to this festival which has spanned many years, as it tends to unite and remind them of their ancestral and cultural heritage.
This year’s colourful event was held under the watchful eyes of the traditional ruler of Akungba Akoko, Oba Sunday Adeyeye, his wife and the High Chiefs from the seven quarters in the town, which include, Igbelu, Ibaka, Akunmi, Okele, Akua, Okusa and Ikale quarters of the town.
Traditional rulers from neighbouring communities were not left out in the celebration.Indigenes of the community invited guests from all walks of life to the Holy Trinity Play Ground at the University community, as the people of the town rolled out drums and danced in appreciation of the bountiful harvest, unity and security of the community.
As is customary, this year’s Akun-day festival commenced with the colourful processions by various age grades group, decked in colourful traditional attires, praying for the community one after the other.
Speaking on the importance of Akun-Day, Oba Adeyeye said the festival was designed to celebrate togetherness, and to foster peace, progress and equitable development in the town, saying the festival was a reminder of the legacy bequeathed to them by their forefathers.
The monarch said “It’s a veritable forum to commemorate and celebrate our common cord of oneness and enduring philosophy of fraternity.
“As I stand before you here today, I am overwhelmed with joy on one side, but concerned on the other in respect of the slow pace of some of our elite towards embracing unity and peaceful relationship as essential ingredients for community development.
“Like I said before, no society is devoid of disagreement or conflicts. No community is immune to conflicts.How we resolve ours makes all the difference.
“Meanwhile, this year’s Akun Day Festival is thematically apt and on point: “Consolidation for Unity and Development.” Nothing could be more appropriate. We need to consolidate on the foundation laid by our great forefathers, to enable us expand the frontiers of the legacy to pass on to the next generation of Akungba people.
“We shall continue to rub minds to effect realistic developmental architecture for our Kingdom. May the collective efforts of all progressive stakeholders lead our University community onto greater heights of unity and development? Together, like ants, we can build enviable monuments and achieve enduring development.”
Oba Adeyeye appealed to the state government to come to the aid of the community in the area of infrastructural development, noting that with the presence of the University in the community, the state government ought to develop the infrastructural facilities to raise the socio-economic activities of the town.
“Living in a University community, one knows that the menace of urbanization is real and scary. Social insecurity stares our people in the eyes. We have had sorrowful moments of fatal road accidents due to narrow highway; cultists’ activities, flooding, environmental pollution, inadequate medical facilities and scarcity of portable Water and other amenities.
“We, therefore, implore the state government under the leadership of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to help increase support for the upgrading of Akungba from a rural to plural pedestal. We need improved road networks (dual carriage way); a referral hospital to take care of medical emergencies in the fast-growing varsity community; provision of dump trucks (waste disposal vehicles) to evacuate waste and maintain hygienic environment and public health sanitation, plus a befitting Multi-Purpose City Hall.
“We are also desirous of having a localized Neighborhood Security Network to complement the Police and other established security outfits. We are grateful for previous interventions by ODSG, like the yet to be completed dredging of water channels in Akungba.
“At this juncture, I praise the Governor of our sunshine state, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who has been ensuring that peace reigns supreme in Ondo State and Akungba in particular.
“Like Oliver Twist, we humbly ask for more amenities for Akungba as a fast-growing city. We want better electricity, portable drinking water, paved street roads, modern public health centre, employment for our women and capacity building for our business class and more seedlings to our teeming farmers.”
The Chairman and Chief Fund Raiser of the occasion, a chieftain of the AllProgressives Congress (APC), Rear Admiral Samuel Ilesanmi Alade (Rtd), assured Akungba community of adequate support for rapid growth.
Chief Alade who commended the vision of former governor of the state, late Chief Adebayo Adefarati in siting the institution in the area and his unalloyed benevolence towards the community, urging well meaning Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of altruism and toe the line of communal service that will be instrumental to the development of the country.
He said, “from time immemorial, the annual Akungba Day Festival has been a great event with sundry activities”
“On my own part, I will continue to support this obvious spirit of togetherness because if there had been no peace, the ambience would have not been conducive to receive in audience, eminent personalities from different walks of life”
“I commend the assiduous efforts of our father, the Alale of Akungba land, Oba. Sunday Isaac Adeyeye, Ajimo III, for using his royal wisdom to pilot the affairs of Akungba”, Alade concluded.
In his goodwill message at the event, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) who was the Chairman on the occasion, said the community will become a viable cultural platform for the preservation and marketing of Nigerian Cultural Heritage as well as a forum for unifying the people of the community, state and the Nation at large, following the rebranding of the festival.
“It is with great pleasure that we note the continued sustenance and growth of this festival over the past years. Indeed, the Akungba Akoko community has done Nigeria proud by harnessing this Cultural platform as a viable tool for the development of the local community, the Local Government Area, Ondo State and the Nation at large; as well as an avenue for preserving, showcasing and marketing of our rich Cultural Heritage.
“As I have continued to reiterate, Festivals remain one of the key contributory factors to income generation, job creation, economic growth as well as gender and youth empowerment.
“A festival such as this, which has been well designed and implemented has the potential of boosting the economy of the host community through such dynamics as local transportation, hotel accommodation, food vending, while also empowering local artisans and craftsmen through increased direct sales. Most importantly, as a source of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), this festival surely provides capacity for holistic community growth and developmen
“The National Council for Arts and Culture is therefore proud to be part of this event, which is fast-becoming a national and global attraction. It is my sincere belief that this noble and sustained effort by the good people of Akungba Akoko, under the determined leadership of His Royal Majesty, the Alale of Akungba land, will continue to foster avenues for partnerships and support, while marketing the cultural heritage and Tourism assets of the Akungba Akoko community.”
As part of efforts of the community to consolidate the development of the youths in the community, about 14 indigentbut brilliant students, studying in various institutions across the country were picked from the seven quarters in the town and awarded N50,000 bursary each during the festival.
Similarly, elderly women in the community were empowered with cash gifts as part of activities to celebrate the festival.
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