Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has reignited the cultural debate over the origin of the iconic Yoruba fabric, Adire, insisting that Osun — not Ogun — is the true home of the traditional textile.
The governor made the assertion during a courtesy visit by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the Osun State Government House.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Adeleke presented Gbajabiamila with a gift bag containing Adire materials while passionately affirming Osun’s historical ties to the fabric.
“This is Adire. Osun State is the source,” Adeleke said. “In fact, I registered it in Ede, then Osogbo.”
An evidently surprised Gbajabiamila replied, “I thought it was Ogun State,” to which Adeleke promptly responded:
“No, no, no. They stole it from us. They came to Ede, my town. You know Ede is just 15 minutes from Osogbo.”
Amused by the light-hearted exchange, Gbajabiamila teased, “Dapo Abiodun did that?”— referring to the Ogun State Governor.
“Yes!” Adeleke replied with a chuckle. “But since Abeokuta is Yoruba land, I don’t mind. I just want you to recognise and give us credit that Osogbo is the source.”
Adeleke then urged Gbajabiamila to wear the Adire fabric, noting that every Wednesday in Osun is celebrated as ‘Adire Day’.
“This Adire, I want you to sew it. We wear it every Wednesday just to celebrate Adire Day.”
Gbajabiamila jokingly asked, “I can wash it before I wear it?”, prompting Adeleke’s assurance: “You can wash it.”
To the laughter of those present, Gbajabiamila humorously remarked in Yoruba:
“Ko ma lo di bí ti PDP,” loosely translated as “Let it not turn out like the PDP’s version.”
