Culture as the sum total way of life of a people is what keeps those people; unfortunately, in Nigeria for some reasons, the aspect of our culture like masquerades festival was somewhat abandoned until the present realities in the country dawned; SUNNY IDACHABA writes.
Masquerades are part of African culture and tradition because it’s believed that they reincarnate the spirits of ancestors. That is why in many ethnic groups that have reverence for culture, masquerades occupy a formidable position in their lives.
Place of masquerades in society
For obvious reasons, they often represent ancestral spirits, deities or supernatural beings that connect the community to their spiritual heritage; they reflect cultural identity, community’s history, values and traditions. In certain situations and societies, masquerades often tell stories through dance, music and costumes. Again, in some cultural rites, they serve as fortune tellers by passing cultural knowledge and history from one generation to the next.
Aside from these, they promote social cohesion by bringing communities together thereby promoting unity through shared cultural experiences.
Most importantly, masquerades provide entertainment and by it showcase the artistic expression and creativity of the people. The usefulness of this aspect of our culture cannot be underestimated.
It is for this reason that nations do everything possible to preserve their cultural values. Nigeria is not an exception as the present administration has given priority to the sector through the establishment of a ministry solely responsible for culture unlike the past when it was an appendage of the Ministry of Information.
As a form of cultural renaissance, attention is now being given to the revival and recognition of masquerades festival otherwise known as Egungun Festival.
A case for Egungun revival
At the just-ended 2025 World Egungun Festival, attention was drawn to the place of masquerades in galvanising the cultural bonds that hold the society together. For instance, in Oyo state, the state governor, Seyi Makinde restated his administration’s commitment to promoting Oyo’s rich cultural heritage through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Makinde who spoke through the Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal recounted the giant strides recorded in the state at the inception of ‘OmiTunTun 1.0’ to date where all religious faiths are not just recognised but allowed to practise freely as guaranteed by the constitution.
He emphasised the role of culture and tourism in the economic expansion and generation of more revenue for the government.
“The display of culture here today has been very amazing. From this event, we can see that the government is promoting culture and tourism. I’m impressed with what I am seeing here today. This event is one of the days to use culture and tourism to drive the economy. The Oyo state government is happy that masquerades from the Benin Republic as well as dignitaries from Ghana, Brazil, Cuba and all parts of the world attended.”
The Chairman of 2025 World Egungun Festival, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, noted that masquerades festival holds cultural and ancestral significance and commended Oyo state government for making a case towards World Egungun Festival for the global community to embrace the rich cultural heritage of Yoruba nation, in particular.
“What we are doing today is simply a call on UNESCO to enlist World Egungun Festival and endorse date for its celebrations worldwide as it did to the Sango Festival. During the festival, masquerades from across the South-west states of Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos and Oyo as well as Benin Republic performed at the event.”
Wither Abuja masquerades carnival?
Considering the unifying and economic role, aside entertainment that cultural festivals play, in 2003, authorities of the Federal Capital Territory introduced Abuja Masquerade Carnival where diverse cultures in the country meet to display their heritages. In essence, the main objective was to bring Nigerians from all the geopolitical zones to Abuja in a friendly atmosphere of cultural celebration.
It was an event for cultural troupes from the 36 states of the federation including the FCT to showcase their different cultural heritages. In the years when the Abuja Carnival was at its peak, Nigerians genuinely looked forward to it as artisans, petty traders, lovers of culture, artists and other stakeholders make quick money for use towards the Christmas and the New Year since the event holds in November up to early December.
It was also the best time for some Africans who had no hitherto reason to visit Nigeria to now do so in order to relish the cultural heritage of the various ethnic groups in the country. In the hey days of the Abuja festival, countries like Haiti, Mexico and some Caribbean nations participated in some of the events. It was such a delightful moment.
Just when the festival was on the verge of becoming a major income-earner and a unifying factor for the country, it was stopped.
In reaction to this, a commentator, Edozie Udeze, said if there was one festival that had helped to bring Nigerians together to forge unity, Abuja Carnival was it.
“If there is one event that helps to harness culture, bridge those nauseating and yawning gaps of ethnic hatred, indeed Abuja Carnival fits in. If it was so, why do we have to allow this wonderful event to die or lie fallow when we now glory in other people’s cultural carnivals while ours no longer holds?”
According to him, a couple of artists who met at the carnival courted and eventually got married.
“I know a number of stakeholders who became rich due to the contracts they got to do floats, build stalls, design costumes and engage in other businesses for Abuja carnival. There are local businesses that had prospered because the carnival provided the platform. It was there I learnt for the first time that locusts and crickets are harvested in large quantities in the north as delicacies that can be well-packaged and exported to different neighbouring countries. Interestingly, they are so highly prized in foreign and local markets as they are nutritious and edible.
“It was those moments when the carnival routes were decorated with different colours and then Abuja suddenly woke up from its habitual slumber and the people trouped out to have fun.”
Udeze noted that it was those glorious periods when masquerades of all shades and shapes, colours and so on invaded the streets of Abuja. At those moments, he noted that the excitement in the air became infectious and quite electrifying.
“Those times, the durbar was shown free and people became delighted, then it was time for the people to also watch the Jabi lake come alive and people would go home with plenty of smiles on their faces. Those were sights to behold how deep Nigerian cultural heritages had been kept, valued, cherished and promoted over the years,” he said.
In a rhetorical question, he concluded by asking, “What is tourism when culture is not allowed to drive tourism? If there is no culture, tourism naturally suffers and fizzles away.”
Cultural amnesia
According to Prof Chris Ugolo of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Nigeria’s many woes and challenges started at independence when our nationalists and politicians ignored the cultural dimension of nationalism and focused on politics.
“They did not realise that culture was a political ideology that could be used to aid development; they failed to mobilise the diversified cultures of Nigeria to firstly, create a Nigerian cultural identity and secondly define who the Nigerian people are. This, therefore, is the reason there is so much tension in our political life today and the different ethnic agitations that have led to our slow pace of development.”
The Ghana example
According to Ugolo, “Ghana got its cultural value right through Kwame Nkrumah who alongside the struggle for independence initiated a cultural revolution in every aspect of the Ghanaian life. Today, Ghana is more politically stable than Nigeria, thanks to Nkrumah who right from the onset defined for Ghana the role that culture could play in its economic development. Is it in their attire, attachment to their nativity, cuisine and application of traditional medicines, that country has since advanced in its cultural application to the amazement of the Western nations.”
With the call by Gov Makinde for the adoption of a day to mark World Egungun Day, like the game of football that knows no barriers to unity, this might be the antidote to solving the ethnic bigotry in the society.