Members of Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu are celebrating their Iyalode, Folashade Ashabi Kasali, as she marks her birthday on Thursday, 24 September 2026, bringing several days of goodwill, prayers and affectionate tributes within the group to a joyful peak.
The celebration has gathered momentum over the past three days, with members honouring a woman whose place within the group reflects the enduring importance of leadership, fellowship and cultural identity among Ijebu age-grade societies.
For Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu, the occasion is more than a personal birthday. It is also a celebration of sisterhood and of the relationships that keep traditional associations vibrant across generations.
The group belongs to the wider Ijebu tradition of Regberegbe, the age-grade societies that remain one of the most recognisable features of social and cultural life in Ijebuland. These groups are particularly visible during the annual Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu-Ode, when male and female age grades appear in coordinated attire, celebrate their shared identity and pay homage at the royal forecourt.
Ojude Oba itself has grown into one of Nigeria’s best-known cultural festivals. Official festival information describes the Regberegbe parade as a central part of the celebration, with the age-grade societies forming an important mechanism for social cohesion, community mobilisation and cultural continuity in Ijebuland.
The Regberegbe system reaches beyond the spectacle of festival day. Historical accounts of Ijebuland describe the age grades as organised structures through which people of similar generations build fellowship and contribute collectively to community life. The Otunba Council of the Awujale describes them as instruments of social cohesion and mobilisation, with members coming together in times of need and in support of the wider development of Ijebuland.
At Ojude Oba, that community role becomes visible in a particularly striking way. The age grades process before the royal institution in coordinated ceremonial dress, bringing together heritage, friendship, service and a healthy sense of pride. The festival’s official history places the Regberegbe parade among its defining traditions, while contemporary coverage continues to show how central the groups are to the event’s colour and sense of continuity.
For the women of Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu, participation in this tradition also places their own fellowship within a much larger story. Their celebrations, meetings and milestones form part of an institution that connects individual members to a shared Ijebu identity, whether they live in Ijebuland, elsewhere in Nigeria or abroad.
For Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu, Folashade Ashabi Kasali’s birthday has become a celebration of the bonds of sisterhood, service and cultural pride that hold the group together.
Those values are strongly reflected in the public image of Ijebu women’s age-grade groups. At Ojude Oba, their carefully chosen fabrics, jewellery, headwear and coordinated presentation are not simply about fashion. They are part of a cultural language through which identity, dignity, belonging and collective pride are expressed.
Within that larger cultural landscape, women’s Regberegbe societies are part of a tradition that gives age-grade members a visible place in the life of Ijebuland. Their participation in communal celebrations reflects the wider purpose of the institution: fellowship, cultural continuity and contribution to the community.
Against that background, the birthday celebration of the Iyalode carries particular meaning. Leadership within such associations is intertwined with the responsibility to sustain relationships, encourage participation and preserve the social bonds that give the groups their strength long after the festival colours have been folded away.
For members at home and in the diaspora, occasions such as birthdays also provide another opportunity to renew those bonds. Messages, photographs and tributes circulate across locations, turning a personal milestone into a shared celebration and demonstrating how traditional associations continue to thrive in a modern, connected world.
Podium News has a special connection to this celebration, as the Chief Executive Officer of Podium is a member of Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu. The publication therefore joins members, friends and well-wishers in celebrating the Iyalode and recognising the spirit of community that surrounds her birthday.
As Folashade Ashabi Kasali begins another year, the wishes surrounding her are for good health, fulfilment, continued grace and many more years of meaningful service and joyful fellowship.
The celebration also offers a reminder of something larger: cultural institutions remain strongest when they are lived, not merely remembered. Through gatherings, shared milestones and the continued participation of members, the Regberegbe tradition remains a living part of Ijebu identity.
Podium News invites members of Egbe Tobalase Obalofin Obirin Akile Ijebu, friends and well-wishers to share their birthday messages and memories in the comments as the celebration continues.
