17 There is a phrase the Egba people have carried for over two centuries: ‘Egba, omo Lisabi’ – Egba, children of Lisabi. It is not a slogan. It is a declaration of origin, lineage, and the terms under which a people chose to exist in the world. Every year, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Lisabi Festival asks that declaration to be made again in cloth, ceremony, and the collective presence of a people who have not forgotten where they came from. The 39th edition of the Lisabi Festival runs from 17 to 29 March 2026, with the grand finale on Saturday 28 March at the Amphitheatre of Ake Palace, Abeokuta. This year’s edition carries the theme “Integrating Apprenticeship Training into Education: Opportunities and Challenges”. It is a 13-day programme that brings together traditional rites, sporting competitions, cultural exhibitions, educational seminars, and the most visually striking fashion showcase in Egbaland’s contemporary calendar. The festival is organised under the authority of the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, and chaired by High Chief Rasheed Raji, the Asipa of Egbaland. At the launch press briefing, the Alake set the register for the season: “Let it be sounded and richly re-echoed from the four corners of the universe that our season of genuine celebration has arrived with its pomp and pageantry.” That is not a ceremony for its own sake. It is a statement about what this festival means and why it continues to grow. The Warrior Who Built a People’s Freedom To understand the Lisabi Festival is to understand Lisabi Agbongbo Akala, the 18th-century Egba warrior and strategist whose revolt against the Oyo Empire became the founding act of Egba identity. Up until the 1760s, the Egba people lived in a cluster of villages around Orile-Itoko as subjects of the Oyo Empire, one of the most powerful political formations in West African history. The Alaafin of Oyo extracted tribute through emissaries known as the Ilaris, whose demands had grown increasingly oppressive. Resistance seemed impossible against an empire whose military force was overwhelming. Lisabi’s response to this was not a frontal assault. It was an act of strategic brilliance. He organised the Egba through the Egbe Aro, a cooperative farming network in which farmers worked each other’s fields in rotation. Under the cover of agricultural collaboration, he built a coordinated network of trust and communication that the Oyo Empire could not see or intercept. When the moment came, the Egba rose in a coordinated revolt between 1770 and 1780, expelling the Oyo tribute collectors and breaking the empire’s hold on Egba territory. As Egba Chief Mustapha Abdulhakeem Akinfiwatolu put it when recounting this history for Platform Times: “Lisabi was not just a warrior but a strategist who understood the power of unity. Through Aaro, he created a network that made resistance possible.” The victory did not immediately bring stability. The collapse of the Oyo buffer state exposed the Egba to raids from Dahomey and Ibadan warriors. Between 1825 and 1830, guided by Ifa divination, the Egba people migrated under the leadership of Chief Sodeke to the area around Olumo Rock and established Abeokuta in 1830. The name means “Under the Rock” in Yoruba, and it encodes the entire story: a people who found shelter, rebuilt, and refused to be defined by defeat. Every Lisabi Festival is a return to that moment. Every piece of Adire worn in the procession to Igbo Lisabi, the Lisabi forest, is cloth that carries that history. Adire: The Textile the Festival Wears It is not possible to discuss the Lisabi Festival without addressing Adire, the indigo-resist-dyed textile that is Egbaland’s most significant contribution to the global fabric of African dress. ‘Adire’ means, in Yoruba, ‘to tie’ and ‘to dye’. The technique involves applying resist agents, whether raffia tied around gathered fabric, cassava paste stencilled or painted by hand, or stitching, to protect parts of the cloth from the dye before it is immersed in an indigo pit. Where the resist was placed, a pattern appears. The cloth is, in its literal construction, a record of choices made before dyeing: which parts of the fabric to protect and which to surrender to the colour. Abeokuta has been the capital of Adire production since the 19th century. The Kemta-Itoku market, in the heart of the city, is the industry’s historic centre, where approximately 5,000 people are directly and indirectly engaged in the Adire trade. The craft was historically the domain of Egba women, who controlled both production and trade, and it became a vehicle for female economic authority and artistic independence at a time when few such vehicles existed. The Adire African Textiles archive records that by the 1920s and 1930s, Adire production in Abeokuta had become a major craft industry, attracting buyers from across West Africa. At the Lisabi Festival, Adire is not decorative. It is declarative. The fabric worn by chiefs, women’s associations, community groups, and festival guests during processions and ceremonies is a visible statement about cultural identity, economic sovereignty, and the value of what Egba hands have made for generations. The Ipate Agbongboakala, the Lisabi Trade Fair running throughout the festival week, places that argument in an explicitly economic register, turning the festival grounds into a market for Egba craft and enterprise. Egbaliganza 2026: When 50 Nations Come to Abeokuta Running within the Lisabi Festival grand finale on 28 March is Egbaliganza 2026, now in its third consecutive year and described by its organisers as Africa’s first official culture and fashion exchange. Convened by Aare (Dr.) Lai Labode, the Aare of Egbaland and President of the Confederation of African Fashion, has grown the Egbaliganza platform from a local celebration of Egba fashion identity into a continental initiative drawing representatives from over 50 nations. The 2026 programme includes the Parade of Nations, a large-scale cultural convergence opening the day’s events; the Walk of Heroes and Walk of Kings, which honour legacy and leadership within Egba society; the Egba Fashion Club Runways and Hackathons, which position Adire and Aso-oke at the intersection of tradition, technology, and commercial enterprise; and the Oja Egbaliganza showcase, which will present historic Egba garments and cultural artefacts, including pieces estimated to be between 3,000 and 4,000 years old. The evening closes with the Gala Night, Flame of a Continent, a formal programme of performances, ceremonial presentations, and cultural storytelling. Aare Lai Labode framed the scale of the moment precisely when he told The Nation: “At least 50 countries around the world are coming to pay homage to Lisabi and Alake of Egba land. It is no small thing that the world is being invited to Abeokuta. The Egba people have always known the weight of what they carry in their history, their craftsmanship, their language, and their identity.” It is worth noting that the Lisabi Festival Committee has made it clear, as reported by Vanguard, that Egbaliganza is a commendable initiative within the festival, not a replacement for its primary identity. The festival remains, first and finally, a solemn commemoration of Egba history and the person of Lisabi Agbongbo Akala. Egbaliganza gives the fashion industry a seat at the table. Lisabi built the table. Olumo Rock and the Geography of Cultural Memory No account of the Lisabi Festival is complete without Olumo Rock, the 137-metre granite outcrop at the centre of Abeokuta that the Egba people have understood as a spiritual and historical sanctuary since the founding of the city in 1830. The festival programme includes a ceremonial visit to Olumo Rock on 23 March, with traditional prayers for the Egba Kingdom performed by the Alake of Egbaland and his retinue. The rock, which is managed by the Ogun State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was refurbished and recommissioned in August 2025 with new infrastructure, including elevators, an art gallery, a restaurant, and souvenir shops selling Adire fabric. Governor Dapo Abiodun described the project as being about more than infrastructure: “It is about reviving memory, rekindling pride, and reaffirming our cultural roots.” For visitors attending the Lisabi Festival from outside Abeokuta, a visit to Olumo Rock before or after the main ceremonies is not a side trip. It is the context for everything the festival is saying. The Egba did not simply survive at that rock. They rebuilt their civilisation from it. ALSO READ: What African Men Are Wearing to the Office: A Visual Report From Lagos, Accra, and Nairobi The Return of the Well-Dressed Man: Why Men Are Investing in Personal Style Again The Omiren Argument The Lisabi Festival is not a cultural festival that happens to include fashion. It is an annual demonstration that dress and identity are inseparable for the Egba people and have been so since before Abeokuta existed. The Adire worn at Igbo Lisabi was not manufactured. It was made by hand, using techniques passed from Egba women to their daughters over more than a century. The Ofi wrapper worn by a chief at the Ake Palace procession encodes social rank and ceremonial purpose in its weight and colour in ways that no mass-produced fabric can replicate. The festival’s insistence on wearing these specific garments in these specific contexts is an editorial argument that Omiren Styles has been making since its founding: that African dress is not a trend, not a costume, not a spectacle. It is a primary source. What Egbaliganza 2026 adds is articulating that argument to the world. When representatives from 50 nations stand in the Ake Palace Amphitheatre on 28 March, what they are witnessing is not a local celebration opening itself up to international attention. They are witnessing a civilisation presenting itself on its own terms, in its own fabric, on its own ground. The Egba have always known the weight of what they carry. The festival is simply the moment when they carry it in public. Full 2026 Festival Programme at a Glance The official Lisabi Festival website carries the complete programme. Key dates and events for visitors planning to attend include the following: 17 March: Secondary School Quiz and Debate Competition finals, Centenary Hall, Ake Palace 18 March: LUXAIR Exhibition, Amphitheatre, Ake Palace 21 March: Chieftaincy Installations 22 March: Ipate Agbongboakala (Lisabi Trade Fair), opening day 23 March: Ceremonial gun salute at Olumo Rock; traditional prayers; Ayo Olopon game, Adire Hall 24 and 25 March: Ipate Agbongboakala continues; craft exhibitions; free eye tests, and apprenticeship training seminar 26 March: Procession to Igbo Lisabi by Obas, Chiefs, and Baales; medical outreach; Jumu’at service, Central Mosque Kobiti; dinner and awards ceremony; commissioning of the Lisabi-Alaje-Egbaliganza Unity Drum 27 March: Visit to the 2026 Hero of the Year, the Oyekan Royal Family; Olumo Rock visit with stopover at Itoku Cenotaph and Sodeke’s graveside 28 March (Grand Finale): Woro dance and horse riding from the four sections; homage by Egba chiefs and associations; Egbaliganza programme including Parade of Nations, fashion runways, and Gala Night, Flame of a Continent 29 March: Thanksgiving service, Cathedral of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta FAQs 1. Who was Lisabi Agbongbo Akala, and why is he celebrated? Lisabi Agbongbo Akala was an 18th-century Egba warrior and strategist who organised and led the Egba people’s revolt against the Oyo Empire between approximately 1770 and 1780. He built the coordinated resistance through the Egbe Aro, a cooperative farming network that served as a cover for a political and military organisation. His revolt broke the Oyo Empire’s hold on Egba territory and set in motion the chain of events that led to the founding of Abeokuta in 1830. He is regarded as the father of Egba freedom, and the festival held annually in his honour is the oldest continuous cultural celebration in Ogun State. His full historical account is documented at PM News Nigeria. 2. What is Egbaliganza, and how does it relate to the Lisabi Festival? Egbaliganza is a flagship cultural programme that runs as part of the Lisabi Festival, now in its third consecutive year. It was founded by Aare (Dr.) Lai Labode, the Aare of Egbaland and President of the Confederation of African Fashion, has created a platform for Egba heritage fashion and creative enterprise. In 2026, it is described as Africa’s first official Culture and Fashion Exchange, drawing representatives from over 50 nations to Abeokuta for runway presentations, fashion hackathons, a Parade of Nations, and a gala night. The Lisabi Festival Committee has clarified that Egbaliganza is a welcome addition to the festival’s programme, not its central identity. The festival remains a solemn annual commemoration of Lisabi Agbongbo Akala and Egba history. 3. What is Adire, and why is it central to the Lisabi Festival? Adire is the indigo resist-dyed textile produced by Egba Yoruba women in and around Abeokuta since the 19th century. The name means “to tie and to dye” in Yoruba. The cloth is made using resist techniques, including raffia tying, cassava paste painting, and stitching to create patterns on the fabric before dyeing. Abeokuta’s Kemta-Itoku market has been the historic centre of Adire production and trade for over a century. At the Lisabi Festival, Adire is the dominant fabric worn by chiefs, women’s associations, and festival attendees because it embodies Egbaland’s specific cultural identity. The full documentation of Adire’s textile history and production techniques is available at Adire African Textiles. 4. How can visitors from outside Nigeria attend the Lisabi Festival 2026? The 2026 Lisabi Festival runs from 17 to 29 March, with the grand finale on Saturday 28 March at the Amphitheatre, Ake Palace, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Abeokuta is approximately one and a half to two hours by road from Lagos. The full programme and schedule are published on the official Lisabi Festival website. For international visitors, the Egbaliganza programme on 28 March is the primary draw, with Adire and Aso-oke sourced at the Itoku market and a visit to the renovated Olumo Rock Tourism Complex as complementary experiences. Egbaliganza Africa handles accreditation for Egbaliganza media coverage. Lisabi festival 2026Nigerian traditional festivalsYoruba cultural festivals 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTelegramEmail Rex Clarke I am a published author, writer, blogger, social commentator, and passionate environmentalist. My first book, "Malakhala-Taboo Has Run Naked," is a critical-poetic examination of human desire. It Discusses religion, dictatorship, political correctness, cultural norms, war, relationships, love, and climate change. I spent my early days in the music industry writing songs for recording artists in the 1990s; after that, I became more immersed in the art and then performed in stage plays. My love of writing led me to work as an independent producer for television stations in southern Nigeria. I am a lover of the conservation of wildlife and the environment.