Kayo-Kayo Festival

The tradition & historical record

Kayo-Kayo festival is an annual religious and cultural state festival celebrated by the descendants of Oba Kosoko for the historical arrival of King Kosoko to Epe in the year 1851. Kayo-Kayo which literary means “eating to satisfaction” is known with the Epe community of Lagos State. The festival is usually observed during the first month of the Islamic calendar in commemoration of ‘Yaom-al Ashura’ the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar, which is about a month after the Muslim festival of Eid-El-Kabir. The Kayo-Kayo festival has grown to become a veritable platform to advance, develop and promote the local economy, to discuss the socio-economic challenges of the community and most significantly, to propagate their rich cultural heritage. ¹

In 1851, King Kosoko arrived with 1500 people to lay the foundation of Eko-Epe. This brought about the yearly traditional kayo-kayo festival that is observed to commemorate his arrival. And the festival has been celebrated ever since then, to mimic how King Kosoko came to Epe. ¹

The 2016 edition of the festival featured the former governor of Lagos State, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who declared open the festival with other various top dignitaries. Also, the 2017 kayo-kayo festival was attended by the former Governor of Lagos State as well as the commissioner for physical planning in Lagos State, Biola Anifowoshe. ¹

In 2018, over 50,000 indigenes and non-indigenes were expected to participate in the festival, it was recorded that over 20 hostels situated in Epe town was fully booked during the festival. The 2018 kayo-kayo festival hosted former governor of Lagos State, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Otunba Gani Adams, the Aare Oona Kakanfo of Yoruba; Dr. Abiola Dosunmu, Erelu of Lagos, traditional rulers in the state as well as music stars including Malaika, Queen Salawa Abeni and Sugar Boy. ¹

The 2019 edition of the festival was more centered and focused on the economic well-being of the community through meaningful investment in the youth segment, aside the cultural and social values that makes up the annual feast. They launched a scholarship scheme to support the educational pursuit of 35 tertiary students. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, a former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly was present in the 2019 edition where he urged Epe indigenes to pray for Mr Ambode's successful clinching of the All Progressives Congress’ ticket at the governorship direct primary election. Also, popular Fuji singer, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma drove the entertainment content of the 2019 kayo-kayo festival. ¹

Despite the virulent COVID-19 pandemic, the ancient town of Epe still held its cultural festival of kayo kayo with strict compliance to COVID-19 safety protocols. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kayo-Kayo Festival”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Kayo-Kayo Festival is lagos State of Nigeria festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²