The globally recognised Visit Ekiti Cap, a cultural identity symbol of Ekiti State’s tourism brand, has been honoured with the prestigious World Headdress Celebration International Award in recognition of its outstanding role in tourism branding, cultural promotion, and heritage preservation.
The award was conferred at the annual World Headdress Celebration organised by the Omo Yoruba Atata Socio-Cultural Initiative (OYASI), held at the Adamasigba Stadium, Ibadan, Oyo State, where culture enthusiasts, traditional stakeholders, creative industry players and heritage advocates gathered to celebrate the cultural and spiritual significance of traditional headgears.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of OYASI, Mr. Olawale Ajao, emphasised that caps and traditional headdresses occupy a central and sacred place in Yoruba civilisation, noting that beyond adornment, they serve multi-dimensional purposes including protection, medicinal relevance, social identity, spiritual balance, royalty symbolism and fortune alignment.
According to him, in Yoruba cosmology, the head (Orí) represents the seat of destiny and authority, and whatever adorns it carries deep symbolic, spiritual and cultural implications that transcend aesthetics.
He added that the vision of the organisation goes beyond cultural preservation to encouraging scientific, anthropological and academic research into the deeper meanings, metaphysical functions and socio-cultural values of traditional headdresses within Yoruba heritage and global indigenous knowledge systems.
Ogbeni Ajao further disclosed that the awards bestowed on recipients were without any financial obligation, describing the honourees as cultural ambassadors of the World Headdress Celebration whose roles are to identify with, support and add value to the organisation’s cultural advocacy events whenever called upon.
He explained that the initiative is driven purely by the desire to recognise individuals and institutions who have deployed headgears as instruments of identity projection, enterprise development, cultural diplomacy and heritage sustainability.
Other distinguished personalities honoured at the global cultural event include Chief Mrs. Nike Okundaye of Nike Art Gallery, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, the late sage Obafemi Awolowo (posthumous), Abdulazeez Arisekola Alao (posthumous), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and Alhaji Onaolapo Gbolagun, all recognised for their contributions to cultural promotion, indigenous enterprise and the projection of Yoruba heritage.
Ogbeni Ajo particularly commended Chief Mrs. Adenike Okundaye and Ambassador Wale Ojo-Lanre for creatively positioning and projecting their works, brands and cultural advocacies through the instrumentality of headgears, noting that their efforts have elevated traditional caps from ceremonial accessories to global cultural branding assets.
Cultural scholars and stakeholders at the event stressed that traditional headdresses have evolved into veritable tools of enterprise, tourism promotion, creative economy expansion and cultural diplomacy, serving as mobile symbols of identity, pride and economic expression while also reinforcing spiritual consciousness and social status within traditional belief frameworks.
Receiving the honour on behalf of the Ekiti tourism brand, Ambassador Wale Ojo-Lanre described the award as a validation of Ekiti State’s strategic deployment of culture as a development tool, noting that the Visit Ekiti Cap has become a prominent Cultural-Tourism signature featured in festivals, tourism exhibitions, diplomatic engagements and international heritage showcases.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Bureau to continue innovating around cultural assets, transforming them into vehicles for tourism investment, youth empowerment, creative industry growth and global cultural recognition.
