The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has called on corporate organisations operating in the state to sponsor cultural festivals as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts.
Diri appealed on Monday during the opening of the 69th Odi Ogori Ba Uge International Festival in Odi, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area.
He said festivals such as the Odi Ogori Ba Uge celebration were rooted in the people’s history and economic survival, making them deserving of sustained private sector support.
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The governor described the festival as a symbol of unity, resilience and freedom, recalling how the community overcame a mysterious buffalo that disrupted livelihoods many years ago.
He praised the people of Odi for preserving their history through the annual celebration and urged greater involvement from businesses operating in Bayelsa.
“I am happy with what you are doing, but it is not yet enough. I want to see the private sector as part of the sponsorship of festivals like this,” he said.
Diri specifically called on banks and other companies in the state to support cultural events, noting that similar celebrations globally were largely financed by private organisations.
“I want to see banks in Bayelsa sponsoring activities like this. Celebrations like this across the world do not depend on government as they are mostly private sector sponsored,” he said.
He also urged participants to understand the historical significance of the festival instead of merely attending the celebrations.
According to the governor, hunters united to kill the buffalo that prevented residents from accessing their farms, restoring freedom and normal economic activities.
“This celebration actually means freedom for the people, who were imprisoned by a buffalo. In unity they fought back because they wanted freedom,” Diri said.
Chairman of the Festival Planning Committee, Prof. Ebikisei Udisi, described the festival as a living history reflecting the origins and identity of the Odi people.
He explained that the event commemorated the community’s victory over a wild and supernatural buffalo that terrorised residents for about five years.
According to Udisi, the buffalo disrupted traditional, social and economic activities, leaving the community in hardship, hunger and uncertainty.
“Today, 69 years after the historic killing of the Ogori, we gather for the 69th edition of this great festival. This is not just another festival,” he said.
He described the celebration as a tribute to survival, unity and the transformation of painful history into identity, culture, pride and hope.
Udisi said the community would continue to honour its ancestors, including King Akabagu Ofurugbo, during whose reign the terror occurred, and Akara Edike, whose gunshot killed the buffalo.
“The story of Odi teaches us that adversity can be transformed into strength and that history must not merely be remembered; it must be preserved and passed on,” he said.
