By Adeola Ogunlade
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Alake of Egba land, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, and others have been billed to grace the World Alaga Day celebration organised by the Association of Professional Traditional Wedding Comperes on the 22nd of February at White Stone Event Centre, Oregun, Lagos.
The event tagged Promoting the Art and Language of Yoruba in Marriage will bring together over 2,000 Alagas’ from within and outside Nigeria which will feature a Health walk, seminar, dinner, and award night.
Speaking on behalf of other leaders in the industry, Mrs, Titilayo Adegboye said that though virtually every sector was evolving, insisted that certain things were sacred and fundamental innovations shouldn’t be allowed to expunge.
She stressed that traditional Alagas have an important role to play in preserving Nigeria’s culture and taking it to the next level.
“Marriage has been in existence from time immemorial. But we are now rebranding the ceremony in such a way that people will see what we are doing to promote different Nigerian beautiful cultures. Our culture is our pride and part of our pride in our language. Our language is what we have met on the ground, which we must protect from going into extinction.
“We are doing this to showcase the marriage industry in such a way that our traditional engagement ceremony will take a new dimension that will be cherished by all. People should be able to relax and enjoy such a social gathering.
“In essence, we are re-echoing the true meaning of culture through marriage and engagement ceremonies. We also add value and peculiarity to every function that we handle. We do research and ensure that the people that are celebrating are not misrepresented by the person anchoring the function. ”.
She said that the older hands in the industry were mentoring the younger ones through constant training, encouragement, reprove and discipline. She said that they are being tutored to handle the work better than the way they met it.
“Westernisation cannot threaten the industry because we are a unique people. Though it is affecting it in one way or the other, we stand by our culture,” she said.
Adegboye called on the government to encourage and reckon with her members so that they could easily surmount their challenges.