Facts have emerged on reasons tourists of different nationals, who usually looked forward to each edition of the Igboora Twins Festival, were absent at this year festival.
Foreign tourists were a key feature of the twins festival where children produced by the same pregnancies are celebrated with funfair, sponsored by the Oyo State Government through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism complemented by other stakeholders.
TheTabloid.net gathered that the first edition of the festival was hosted in 2009 at the Cultural Centre, Mokola, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital while
Igboora hosted it for the first time in 2018.
Foreigners did what appeared like a deliberate disappearance from Igboora this year due to their alleged loss of confidence in the organisation of the festival, allegedly attracting subversive elements out to disrupt it.
“It was not a surprise when I heard that Baba Alaafin was embarrassed on his way out of the venue of the festival,” a source said.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade’s convoy was reportedly attacked by youths suspected to be hoodlums who turned up at the event to watch Portable, a controversial musician said to have been engaged to perform.
Contrary to the youths expectations, Portable failed to show up, a situation that ignited their anger which they transferred to Oba Owoade whose security details promptly saved from further attack.
Foreign tourists were said to have gathered intelligence reports on preparations for the festival, results of which were said to have guided them to change their minds and stay back in their respective countries.
However, a white tourist was sighted at the venue and he did not wait till the end of the programme before he departed the town.
Regardless of that gap, Oba Owoade, accompanied by his wife, Ayaba Abiwunmi Owoade, said Yoruba people are blessed with diverse cultural systems that are distinctly unique in their operations.
According to him, “from their language to marriage, to birth or naming
ceremony, to leadership, and most significantly their songs, chants
and folks are deeply rooted in all the Yoruba cultural systems .
“For instance, there are praise poetries and songs for children of various
birth circumstances such as Ibeji (twins). The popular question is expressed with astonishment when one sees two humans who look very similar, especially of the same sex, possibly even wearing identical clothing. Yet, as fascinating as it is, twin births are not as rare as you probably think; one in every twelve Nigerian is a twin”.
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