Inside Ojude Oba Yoruba cultural festival rides on in Nigeria DW News YouTube

For the first time in 65 years, the Ojude Oba festival in Ijebu-Ode, southwestern Nigeria, took place without a king. The Awujale, who helped transform it into a global showcase of culture and fashion, died in 2025, and no successor has yet been named. Yet thousands still showed up, in horseback parades and other vibrant displays, to honour his memory and keep a 130-year-old tradition alive. DW West Africa Correspondent Azeezat Olaoluwa reports on what it takes to pass culture from one generation to the next, and whether a festival so closely tied to the throne can endure in its absence.

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