Abeokuta's weather yesterday was benign. No cloudy sky threatened a downpour nor an overweening sun foreshadowed a scorcher. Just the friendly atmosphere favourable for crowding, bustling and buzzing, concomitant to a festive day.
Yesterday was not just a festive day in Abeokuta, it is assuredly a special day. By the early dawn, guns of hunters in the city had boomed atop the ancient Olumo Rock to herald the commencement of Lisabi Festival, the 38th edition and a 7-day affair of a fiesta that has never failed to attract all indigenes, home and abroad. It also affords foreigners and festivegoers the unique opportunity to taste firsthand that famed Egba Omo Lisabi's luscious hospitality.
But yesterday was also the Eid-al-Fitr, "festival of the breaking of the fast," which marked the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. It is reputedly a joyous celebration of gratitude to Allah for the strength to fast and for the spiritual rejuvenation earned through fasting.
Muslims during the Ramadan celebration unite in communal prayer (salat), visit families and friends, and share meals. It's a time of official receptions and private visits, when friends greet one another to give charity (sadaqah al-fitr) to ensure everyone can celebrate the end of fasting with a meal.
They wear new clothes and greet: "Eid-Mubarak" meaning "blessed Eid".
It's a public holiday in many Muslim countries, with schools and businesses often closed. Nigeria not being different, yesterday was a public holiday as well as today.
To be continued
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