By Chinedu Onyejelem

Two days of events to mark this year’s Ogun Day will be held in Dublin on 12-13 September. According to Tunde-Babs Nurain, president of the Association of Ogun State Indigenes in Ireland (AOSI Ireland), “over 60 per cent of Nigerians in Ireland are traditional Yoruba language speakers” and one in three can trace their heritage to Ogun State in southwestern Nigeria.

Nurain said the festival which “will feature guests from Nigeria, Europe and America who will provide a fair-like atmosphere” for the various groups in attendance, including traditional rulers, or royal fathers; local ethnic organisations; figures from business and politics; and others “contributing directly and indirectly to fund educational programmes that empower” the Ogun community in both Ireland and in Nigeria.

The event is also intended to bring together descendants of Ogun State to pool resources and ideas with the aim of facilitating “effective integration into the Irish community,” among other aims.

The two-day celebration will include a heritage night, a gala dinner and the return of Yoruba Got Talent, “a competition that encourages Yoruba language and brings out the hidden talent in the children born in diaspora,” according to Nurain, who said prizes will include a laptop, tablet and smartphone. The second day will see AOSI Ireland promote cultural heritage and social integration, in particular the significance of “giving back” to the community.