By Olamilekan Shittu
Conceived in honour of the legendary Egba hero, Lisabi Agbongboakala, and inspired by the royal guidance of Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Egbaliganza continues to evolve as a vibrant expression of Egba courage, creativity, and collective identity.
Now firmly established as a key cultural component of the Lisabi Festival, Egbaliganza has grown into a powerful cultural and creative platform bringing together traditional institutions, youth, the business community, and Egba sons and daughters in the diaspora.
Chairman of the Lisabi Festival Committee, Captain Raji, described the festival as a powerful declaration of unity across Egbaland.
“Lisabi Festival is our annual declaration that Egbaland is one strong, focused, and indivisible,” he said. “Under the guiding spirit of our hero, Lisabi Agbongboakala, and the royal inspiration of Kabiyesi Alake, we have built a platform where culture, commerce, and community walk hand in hand.
“For the third year running, Egbaliganza has brought together our traditional institutions, our youth, our business community, and our diaspora in one powerful cultural conversation. As Chairman of the Lisabi Festival Committee, I affirm that Lisabi Festival is our rallying point, Egbaliganza is our creative engine, and the unity of Egbaland remains our non-negotiable mandate. We are not just preserving heritage; we are positioning Egbaland for the future.”
Running as a major cultural initiative under the authority of the Lisabi Festival Committee, Egbaliganza has grown beyond a conventional event to become a unifying platform showcasing the elegance, enterprise, and cultural pride of Egba sons and daughters worldwide.
Visionary Custodian of the Lai Labode Heritage Foundation, Lai Labode, noted that the initiative was originally conceived as a gift to the Egba people and a living monument to Lisabi Agbongboakala.
“Under the leadership of the Lisabi Festival Committee and the royal blessing of Kabiyesi Alake, Egbaliganza has become a strategic cultural engine within the Lisabi Festival,” he said. “Our focus is clear: to use creativity, heritage, and organised celebration to strengthen the unity of Egbaland, amplify Egba identity, and open new social and economic doors for our people.
“Lisabi Festival gives us the platform. Egbaliganza gives us the expression. The unity and progress of Egbaland remain our purpose.”
Labode added that through the foundation and its consulting role to the festival, efforts are ongoing to ensure that each edition of the Lisabi Festival and Egbaliganza continues to elevate Egbaland’s cultural profile nationally and internationally.
“Together, Lisabi Festival and Egbaliganza are positioning Egbaland on the global cultural map — honouring our past, celebrating our present, and strategically shaping our future,” he said.
“In unity of purpose, we present Egbaliganza 2026 as a timeless gift to the Egba people and a bold statement to the world: Egbaland is united. Egbaland is ready. Egbaland is rising.”