The Lisabi Agbongboakala mythology has it that the Egba progenitor left a chain for the indigenes to pull to bring him back whenever they encounter any difficulty or problems requiring urgent solution. For twenty nine years, Egbaland has been literally pulling that chain with the annual celebration of Lisabi Festival which has progressively contributed to the development of Egbaland, especially Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
For about four years now, Nigeria’s most empowering brand, Globacom, has taken the Lisabi Festival several notches higher with its sponsorship which has, in no small measures, added value to the festival in scope and scale. With Globacom powering Lisabi Festival, the story has been the rise and rise of the festival. For this support, Egbaland has been gratefully buying the special Lisabi SIM cards designed for the festival while indigenes have embraced the Caller Ring Back Tunes on various Egba lyrics, including the anthem.
The Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, described the just concluded 2015 Lisabi Festival as the best since he got to the throne nine years ago and the first to be attended by the Osile of Oke Ona Egba and the Agura of Gbagura, submitting that this was a very healthy development for the unity of Egbaland. His words, “Lisabi Festival is growing bigger and bigger every year. This is the best so far. By the grace of God, you ain’t seen nothing yet as next year’s edition will be twice better than this year’s event. Unity is paramount and all Egba are one. Let us remain united wherever we may be, either at home or in the diaspora.”
Oba Gbadebo described Globacom as the most culture friendly telecommunications company in the country wholly committed to the preservation of worthy legacies of past heroes for the edification and guidance of young ones. He urged the proudly Nigerian company to continue to support cultural endeavours in the country and thanked the company for designing special Lisabi SIM cards and caller tunes for the festival, adding that each edition of the festival had been better than the last one since Globacom took over the sponsorship.
In his keynote address at the grand finale, the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who facilitated the attendance of other Egba kings at this year’s festival, declared that his administration will continue to place emphasis on grassroots development and urged Egba indigenes in the diaspora to come and invest in Ogun State by building industries. Governor Amosun challenged members of the Lisabi Festival to come up with innovative and creative ways to make the festival more interesting next year, promising to transform the pavilion into a more conducive venue.
Delivering the message of Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr (GCON), the Glo Business Director, Lagos, Mr. Ayo Ogunranti, enjoined Nigerians to contribute meaningfully to efforts to preserve and develop the country’s rich cultural heritage in order to chart a roadmap to a glorious future .
Dr. Adenuga noted that knowledge of the past especially the legacies bequeathed by heroes and heroines would help shape the emergence of a just and egalitarian society, adding that Globacom was committed to building the best and biggest global brand focused on making life more abundant for the generality of the people.
The week-long festival was flagged off with booming of guns on Olumo Rock, followed by a procession to the palace by all the federating communities to pay homage to the Paramount Ruler. Furthermore, Quiz and Debate competitions were held amongst secondary schools in Egbaland while Ayo and Football Competitions were held amongst the federating communities. Ake Football team emerged victorious, followed by Gbagura Football team while the Oke-Ona Football Team came third.