By Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD
The celebration of Isese Day in Lagos is more than an occasion for cultural expression. It is an invitation to think deeply about the place of religion, culture and identity in a country as diverse as Nigeria. In a society where religious differences are often presented as sources of tension, the recognition and celebration of Isese offers an opportunity to reconsider religion not merely as a boundary between people, but also as a possible bridge across those boundaries.
Isese, broadly understood within the Yoruba worldview as the observance of indigenous Yoruba religious and cultural traditions, occupies an important place in the historical identity of the people. Its celebration provides an avenue for the preservation of indigenous knowledge, spirituality, language, festivals, values and communal memory. In Lagos, a city defined by extraordinary ethnic and religious diversity, the public recognition of Isese is particularly significant. It reminds us that the identity of a modern city does not have to be constructed by erasing its cultural roots.
The Lagos experience is important because Nigeria is a heterogeneous nation. Christianity, Islam and African indigenous religions coexist alongside one another, while numerous ethnic groups and cultural traditions contribute to the national identity. The challenge, therefore, is not necessarily to make Nigerians identical in what they believe, but to develop a civic culture in which difference can exist without becoming a reason for hostility.
This is where religion can become a bridge. This is how religious differences can be understood and approached from the angle of mutual respect.
Religion is often discussed in Nigeria through the language of division. Political actors sometimes exploit religious identities, while social conversations can reduce individuals to the labels of Christian, Muslim or traditional worshipper. Such categorisation can make religious difference appear more consequential than our shared humanity. Yet, at its best, religion teaches values that can bring people together: compassion, justice, respect, responsibility, humility, honesty and peaceful coexistence.
The Isese Day celebration should consequently not be interpreted as an attempt to elevate one religious tradition above others. Rather, it should be seen as an affirmation that indigenous spirituality and culture deserve space within Nigeria’s pluralistic environment. Recognising one tradition does not necessarily diminish another. In fact, genuine pluralism requires that citizens are confident enough in their own identities to allow others to express theirs.
There is also a broader cultural argument for celebrating Isese. For generations, African indigenous knowledge systems have frequently been dismissed as primitive, superstitious or incompatible with modernity. While every religious tradition deserves critical examination, cultural self-confidence requires that indigenous traditions be studied and understood rather than simply condemned. There is knowledge embedded in indigenous philosophies concerning community, nature, morality, family, leadership and social responsibility. Indigenous tradition also encompasses alternative medical therapy and many instruments of social cohesion and control. The Yoruba “OMOLUABI” ideology, for instance, is one that can serve as a framework for achieving social stability and societal harmony. Scholars, policymakers and cultural institutions should therefore approach these traditions with intellectual seriousness; reflecting on its multifaceted benefits.
The celebration also raises an important question about the relationship between culture and religion. For many Africans, culture and spirituality have historically been intertwined. Consequently, attempts to separate culture completely from religion may sometimes produce an incomplete understanding of indigenous identity. At the same time, celebrating culture should not become an excuse for coercion, exclusion or intolerance. The freedom to practise one’s tradition must coexist with the freedom of others to disagree with it or practise another faith.
Lagos, with its cosmopolitan character, is uniquely positioned to demonstrate this principle. A city can celebrate Isese while Muslims celebrate Eid and Christians celebrate Christmas and Easter. These occasions need not be competing claims for public legitimacy. They can become different expressions of the diversity that makes Lagos—and Nigeria—what they are.
The most important lesson, therefore, is not that every Nigerian must embrace Isese. It is that every Nigerian should be able to understand and respect the right of another Nigerian to embrace it. Tolerance begins where sameness ends. We do not need to share the same faith to share the same society.
Perhaps this is the deeper significance of the Isese Day celebration in Lagos. It offers Nigeria a chance to move from religious coexistence to religious understanding; from mere tolerance to mutual respect; and from viewing difference as a threat to seeing diversity as an asset.
Religion can divide when it is weaponised. Culture can exclude when it is politicised. But religion and culture can also connect when they are approached with humility, knowledge and respect. In a heterogeneous Nigeria, the task before us is not to build a society without differences. It is to build one in which our differences do not prevent us from recognising our common humanity.
Isese Day, therefore, should not merely be a celebration of the past. It should become a reminder of the kind of future Nigeria can build: one in which every citizen has the confidence to celebrate who they are, while having sufficient respect for others to allow them to do the same. That is the essence of pluralism. And that, perhaps, is where religion can become not a wall between Nigerians, but a bridge.
(c) 2026 Ganiu Bamgbose writes from Lagos.
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose, PhD
Department of English,
Lagos State University, Ojo
[email protected]
08093695359, 07084956118
