The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) Director-General, Obi Asika, has commended the cultural ambassador, Farooq Oreagba, for his significant role in the success of the 2025 Ojude Oba festival.

According to Asika, Oreagba’s authenticity, cultural understanding, and influence were instrumental in mobilising close to N2 billion in sponsorship for the festival.

In a recent conversation at the West Africa Economic Summit, Asika highlighted Oreagba’s ability to attract major brands to the festival, which he said had a significant economic impact on the host community.

Asika wrote on Instagram, “Last week at the West Africa Economic Summit, I reconnected with Mr Steeze, #farooqoreagba, and we had a conversation about his experience since we #ncac_nigeria made him an ambassador for the culture.

“I recall someone asking me why we did that. I thought it was obvious, but not, he is authentic, represents his culture, respects all of our various cultures and understands the business of culture and entertainment as a senior leader in the financial services industry.

“As you can see from this short interview, he was able to impact close to N2bn sponsorship and massively expand #Ojudeoba at Ijebu, and we can all see that many other festivals are pushing for attention.”

Oreagba, who was conferred with the title of Honorary Cultural Ambassador by the NCAC in 2024, described the 2025 Ojude Oba festival as the “biggest ever,” with over N2 billion generated in sponsorship and $10 million in the local economy, according to CNN.

The festival’s success has been attributed to Oreagba’s influence, which sparked a wave of corporate interest in the event.

Brands such as Goldberg and Polo Avenue partnered with festival participants, further amplifying the event’s reach.

Oreagba said: “Ojude Oba 2025 was the biggest ever. From the pictures, you could see that even the arena could not contain the number of people, so we had to adjust the whole structure.

“A lot of people don’t realise this, Last year, I got my Airtel endorsement after Ojude Oba, it set up a wave of things. This year, I can tell you virtually every family got endorsed.

“I’ll admit a lot of the endorsements came towards me, and I just turned them down and channelled them to other families.

“So my friend, my young Aburo, Doyin Alatishe–Goldberg, Princess Adesile – Polo Avenue.

“In total, by my rough estimates, in terms of sponsorship for the festival and the riders, we generated over N2bn, and according to CNN, within the Ijebu economy, about another $10 million was generated.

“People spent money, all hotels were booked, everything. People had to go and rent hotels outside Ijebu Ode. People were spending money”.

Asika emphasised the need for improved production, communication, and branding across Nigerian festivals to make them self-sustaining and impactful.

He congratulated the organisers and participants of the Ojude Oba festival, wishing them continued growth and success.

He wrote, “For all our festivals we want to see better production, communication and branding to deliver product and merchandise so that the festivals can become self-sustaining and improve.

“We know that security, logistics and hospitality in terms of accommodation can improve but the first thing is the product. Congrats to all involved with #ojudeoba and to #ObaAdetona Awujale Ijebu, Governor #dapoabiodunmfr and people of #ogsgofficial, we are proud to see what is happening and wish it continues to grow.” (The Nation)