By Folayimika Akanbi
About 500 horses have been assembled for public display and parade during this year’s Ilorin Emirate Grand Durbar.
The festival will hold at the Baseball Park, Adewole, Ilorin on Thursday, the day after Eid-el-Adha, according to the organizing committee.
Addressing a media briefing in Ilorin on Monday preparatory to the event, the Chairman, Ilorin Emirate Grand Durbar Committee, Engr Suleiman Yahaya Oba Alapansanpa, said the fiesta was designed to showcase the distinct identity of the Emirate among its peers.
Alapansanpa, who spoke to Journalists alongside top officials of the committee, disclosed that the annual cultural festival serves as a rallying point for national unity with Nigerians across political, ethnic and social divides coming together.
He said this year’s Durbar themed “Prosperity in Diversity,” reflects the historic identity of Ilorin as a city known for peaceful coexistence among various ethnic and cultural groups.
“The Emirate has, for centuries, accommodated Fulani, Yoruba, Nupe, Baruba, Hausa, Kanuri, Gobirawa and several other communities living together in harmony,” he said.
Alapansanpa, who is the Danmasani of Ilorin, explained that the Durbar would project the message that unity and mutual respect remain critical to national peace and development, especially at a time many societies are facing growing divisions.
“In a world increasingly confronted by division, intolerance and social fragmentation, Ilorin continues to offer a timeless example of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and shared destiny,” he said.
The committee chairman described the Durbar as more than a cultural festival, noting that it had become a platform for strengthening identity, promoting peace and encouraging social cohesion.
He also stressed that the palace and the Durbar institution remain symbols of unity above partisan politics.
Declaring that the Durbar itself is not a partisan platform as it belongs to the people and their shared heritage, Alapansanpa urged political leaders, traditional institutions, youth groups and citizens to see the festival as a common ground for unity.
He noted that new initiatives would be introduced into the festival with the aim of deepening public understanding of the Ilorin Emirate’s history and cultural heritage through storytelling, historical interpretation and digital documentation.
Part of the innovations, according to him, is the establishment of a Directorate of Storytelling, Digital Media and Cultural Documentation to preserve and project the Emirate’s heritage for younger generations and international audiences.
Alapansanpa also disclosed that the 2026 Durbar would feature a Vendor Fair and Cultural Market aimed at creating opportunities for local businesses, artisans, creatives and entrepreneurs from Kwara State and beyond.
He said the event was being positioned as a major cultural and tourism destination capable of attracting visitors, investors, researchers and members of the Nigerian diaspora.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the Durbar Committee, Professor Ibrahim Jawondo, said the committee was striving to ensure that the Ilorin Emirate Grand Durbar is placed on the first list of the United Nations to be at par with leading cultural festivals in the world.
He disclosed that the team was also working in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and The Creative Economy and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to mobilize resources to achieve the objective of the festival.
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