Standard Bearer of Akinoso Ruling House in Owu Kingdom, Prince Olutoyin Ayoade, has described the 2026 Odun Omo Olowu as a global event with massive multiplier effect on the local economy of Abeokuta and Ogun State.
The stockbroker and culture enthusiast said the two-week festival has become a rallying point for Owu sons and daughters from America, Europe and across Nigeria who return home to celebrate heritage and invest.
He said the influx signifies that Owu culture has gone global and has economic value beyond entertainment.
“Yes, this signifies that it is a global event and it is also an economic event; an event that brings all sorts of businesses to come together and celebrate and of course every business that involves in this celebration actually makes good returns on their activities,” he said.
“There are event planners, food vendors, various professionals, journalists etc covering this event. It is an economic event over the two weeks period that we are celebrating Owu Day,” he added.
He listed Adire and Aso Oke makers, tailors, fashion designers, caterers, hoteliers, transporters, photographers, makeup artists, drummers and media professionals as direct beneficiaries.
According to him, ideally, cultural events like this usually have a multiplier effect as spending ripples through multiple value chains, with diaspora visitors spending hard-earned foreign currencies in Nigeria.
He said this is similar to what obtains in Brazil Carnival and Calabar Carnival which have become major forex earners.
“Yes, we’ve seen the effect in Brazil of this kind of cultural events and we’ve also seen the effect in Calabar Nigeria. Government needs to support a lot of these events,” he said.
Prince Ayoade, CEO of MBC Securities Limited, said government must empower the Ministry in charge of cultural development and fix security and transportation to unlock the full value.
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