The 38th edition of the Lisabi Festival was a resounding celebration of history, heritage, and the creative evolution of the Egba people. Held on the 5th of April in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the festival honoured the enduring legacy of Lisabi Agbongbo Akala — the valiant warrior who liberated the Egba people from the tyranny of the Oyo Empire in the 18th century. This year’s event, themed Ègbáliganza 2025, did more than honour a hero; it redefined cultural celebration as a dynamic tool for global visibility, economic empowerment, and artistic excellence.
The Egba PeopleThe Yorubas are one of the three major tribes in the southwestern part of Nigeria. In the past centuries before the colonisation of Nigeria by the British, the capital of the Yoruba people used to be Oyo, which controlled the kingdom of all subtribes of the Yoruba people, such as the Ijebus, Egbas, Aworis, Ilajes, Ekiti, Ife, Modakeke, Owus and many others, even reaching the Ketu, now part of the present-day francophone country, Benin Republic.The Egba people are one of the Yoruba sub-ethnic groups comprising Ake, Owu, Oke Ona and Gbagura in Ogun Central Senatorial district, which is divided into six local government areas, namely, Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ewekoro, Ifo, Obafemi Owode and Odeda local governments. The Egba people migrated from the Oyo Kingdom to the Egba forests, now Abeokuta, Ogun State. The Egba subdivisions of Ake, Owu, Oke Ona and Gbagura are ruled by different kings, namely Alake of Egbaland, Olowu of Owu, Oshile of Oke Ona and the Agura of Gbagura Kingdom, respectively. Lisabi was a native of Itoku in Abeokuta, and he resided at Igbein during his time. Lisabi’s feat as a warrior and a leader prompted the Egba people to reserve the right of Balogun of Egbaland to people from Igbein. As part of the annual Lisabi festival celebrations, Egba people, led by the Alake of Egbaland, always march to the Lisabi Sacred Forest (Igbo Lisabi) where the Hero is reported disappeared in Oba village, Obafemi/Owode Local Government, Ogun State to pay obeisance to the Egba Hero.