Culture expert Edi Lawani has highlighted the benefits of celebrating culture in Nigeria’s developmental journey and its tourism potential.
Lawani, who is the director of Órüpézá Festival, made the remark in a statement yesterday in Lagos to unveil Freedom Party Week 2025.
According to him, celebrating culture is investing in Nigeria’s future.
The cultural enthusiast, who noted the need to build on cultural tourism’s legacy, said festivals remained germane not only to preserving heritages but also to boosting tourism and the economy.
“As Nigeria grapples with questions of cultural diplomacy and soft power, Órüpézá Festival may well be showing the way.
“Festivals are more than fleeting moments of spectacle; they are cultural testaments to memory, identity, and aspiration,” he said.
Lawani said that Freedom Party Week 2025, billed to hold between September 28 and October 1, would position Lagos as a hub where heritage and contemporary expression meet in robust dialogue.
He recalled that the 2024 edition transformed Freedom Park into a kaleidoscope of sound, colour, and conversation.
He added: “With more than 15,000 participants, it affirmed the festival’s growing stature as a cultural marketplace where tradition embraces innovation.
“Beyond the music, art exhibitions and culinary journeys, the 2024 outing underscored a broader truth—that festivals are not mere diversions but engines of cultural diplomacy and tourism, shaping how communities see themselves and how the world sees them.”
According to him, the choice of Freedom Park as the anchor venue is rich in symbolism.
Lawani said: “Once a colonial prison, the site has evolved into a sanctuary for memory and creativity, a living metaphor of transformation.
“For the festival organisers, this partnership is no coincidence. “Órüpézá Festival embodies the very spirit of Freedom Park—transforming history into a gathering point for resilience, freedom, and identity.”
He said that what distinguished Órüpézá remained its commitment to cultural freedom—” a curatorial ethos that refuses to treat heritage as static”.
According to him, instead, Órüpézá insists that tradition can dance with the modern and that history can inspire contemporary expression.
“This year’s Freedom Party Week will feature cultural parades, fashion showcases, live concerts, film screenings, intellectual panels, and a curated marketplace of artisans and culinary innovators.
“Órüpézá is not just a festival; it is a reclamation of narratives, an assertion that African culture is dynamic, youthful, and globally resonant.
“Freedom Party Week 2025 deepens that vision—inviting communities to celebrate, question, and reimagine culture together,” he said.
According to Lawani, projections suggest that attendance at the Órüpézá 2025 Festival may exceed 20,000 visitors, from local enthusiasts to international tourists.
“For Lagos, it is both an economic opportunity and a cultural calling card—reinforcing the city’s reputation as a creative capital.
“For the public, it is a reminder that festivals remain a stage where identity is negotiated and freedom is performed,” he added. (NAN)
