Okoshi Festival 2025: How WICE Iwopin Turned Culture into Classroom

By Azeemat Alausa

I am Azeemat Alausa, an SSS1 student at Wisdom College of Excellence, Iwopin. Last month, I had the chance to be part of something bigger than our classrooms when WICE joined the just concluded Okoshi Festival, the Boat Regatta that brings Iwopin and Makun Omi alive every year. Many thanks to our Kabiyesis- the Liken of Iwopin and Osobia of Makun-Omi respectively.

For us in Ogun Waterside, the Okoshi Festival is more than a celebration. It’s when the Ifara River, Agan and Iwopin Lagoon becomes a stage for beautifully decorated boats, drumming, dancing, and the stories of our people. This year, we had better plans than subsequent years. Our school didn’t just come to watch. We came to serve, to learn, and to document.

Becoming a State Water Festival

I was happy to know there all the legislative processes to make the Okoshi festival ( Boat Regatta) are underway at the Ogun State House if Assembly. Thank you Hon. Lawee. We would continue the advocacy with you.

WICE on the Ground: Health, Fitness, and History

Our first activity was a Keep Fit programme early in the morning. Teachers and students led aerobics and stretches for community members who gathered before the regatta started. It was fun, but the point was serious: staying active helps prevent lifestyle diseases. Many of the elders told us they don’t usually exercise, so seeing students lead made them smile and join in.

Right after that, WICE ran a medical outreach tagged “Kick Out Hypertension.” I worked with the SSS3 science students to help with registration and record keeping. We offered free blood pressure and blood sugar checks, BMI checks, and one-on-one counseling. A lot of people had no idea their blood pressure was high. Nurses from the team explained what to eat, how to reduce salt, and why exercise matters. It felt good to see people leave with both medication and advice they could actually use.

The third part was history lessons. Our teachers organized a short session where elders spoke about Iwopin’s role at FESTAC ’77, when our kingdom represented Ogun State and won first position. I recorded some of it on my phone. Hearing those stories made me understand why the Okoshi Festival matters. It’s not just boats and music. It’s our identity.

What We Did as the Students’ Media Team

I’m part of the WICE students’ media team, and the festival was our biggest assignment yet. We didn’t sit on the sidelines.

Graphics Design: We designed flyers and banners for the keep fit and medical outreach using Canva. The bright colors of the regatta gave us so much inspiration.
Video Editing: We filmed the boat race, the keep fit session, and the medical outreach. Back at school, we edited everything into a 3-minute highlight video. It’s the first time I edited a video with real footage I shot myself.

Media Marketing: We posted live photos and short clips on our school’s page. People from Iwopin and even Lagos were commenting and sharing. It made me see how media can put small communities on the map.
Creative Writing: I wrote captions, short reports, and this article. Writing about what I actually experienced made it easier than classroom essays.

What I Learned

Being at Okoshi taught me more in three days than I expected. I learned how to work with a team under pressure, how to talk to elders respectfully, and how to turn an event into a story. I also learned that health education is important. If we don’t teach people early, many will only go to the hospital when it’s too late.

Most importantly, I felt proud. Proud to be from Iwopin, proud to be a WICE student, and proud that our school is using knowledge to serve the community. This is what my principal means when she says WICE is about “skills for today, future leaders.”

The Okoshi Festival reminded me that learning doesn’t only happen in class. Sometimes it happens on a riverbank, with a camera in one hand, jogging to keep fit and a health chart in the other.

I hope next year, more students join us. The water is waiting, and so are the stories.

Azeemat Alausa is an SS1 Student, Wisdom College of Excellence (WICE), Iwopin