Check out TOP 10 Famous Festivals in Nigeria

5. EYO FESTIVAL

The Eyo Festival, otherwise known as the Adamu Orisha Play, is a Yoruba festival unique to Lagos. Traditionally performed on Lagos Island, the festival is presently showcased by the people of Lagos as a major tourist event.

The word ‘eyo’ refers to the costumed dancers, known as masquerades, that perform during the festival. The origin of its observance is found in the clandestine activities of secret societies. It is believed that the play is one of the manifestations of the customary African revelry that serves as the forerunner of the modern carnival in Brazil. On the Eyo day, the main highway in the heart of the city (from the end of Carter Bridge to Tinubu Square) is closed to traffic, allowing for a procession from Idumota to the Igaldungaran palace. The first of such processions was held on the 20th of February 1854, to commemorate the life of Oba Akintoye.

The participants pay homage to the reigning Oba of Lagos. The white-clad Eyo masquerades represent the spirits of the dead and are referred to in Yoruba as agogoro eyo (literally: “tall eyo”).The festival takes place whenever occasion and tradition demand, though it is usually held as part of the final burial rites of a highly regarded chief in the king’s court.