By Ovio Peters
Seaman’s Schnapps has renewed its sponsorship of the 2026 Ekimogun Festival in Ondo Kingdom, placing commercial brand participation alongside efforts to preserve and monetise indigenous cultural heritage.
DEVELOPMENT:
The brand served as lead sponsor and official prayer drink at the annual Ogun Festival, which brought together traditional rulers, residents, tourists, dignitaries and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Its activation included traditional performances, an Ayo Olopon competition, cultural competitions and a Prayer Hut. The brand also presented Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom, Oba Victor Kiladejo, with an honorarium and commissioned portrait, while supporting a cultural troupe performing around the palace.
Senior Brand Manager, Nigeria Distilleries Limited, Nnenna Uche-Onyenacho, said that the partnership was about cultural continuity.
“The Ogun Festival is a celebration of strength, creativity, and identity… We are honoured to stand with the Ekimogun people in preserving and promoting a heritage that belongs not only to Ondo but to all Nigerians.”
She stated: “Our presence here is not about a logo on a banner. It is about being part of a living culture and helping to preserve and pass it on to future generations.”
Marketing Manager, Nigeria Distilleries Limited, Gbemileke Lawal, said that the company’s continued support for the Ekimogun Festival and other cultural celebrations reflected its commitment to treating Nigerian culture as a living expression of national identity.
DATA:
The festival combined traditional ritual, music, dance, games, food competitions, tourism and commercial activation, creating multiple points through which cultural participation can generate economic value.
SIGNIFICANCE:
For Nigeria’s creative economy, the festival illustrates how indigenous culture can function as an economic asset when festivals, traditional institutions, brands, tourism and cultural producers operate within a viable ecosystem.
The participation of a commercial brand also demonstrates the potential for private capital to support cultural preservation, audience development and the documentation of heritage.
NEXT MOVE:
The key opportunity is to move beyond annual sponsorship towards structured cultural enterprise, including tourism products, creative commissions, intellectual property, heritage documentation and stronger platforms for local artisans and performers.
OUR LENS:
The deeper signal is that cultural heritage is not merely something to preserve. Properly organised, it is productive economic infrastructure capable of creating markets, attracting visitors, supporting creative workers and strengthening place-based identities.
Ovio Peters is a journalist, reporting on arts, creative economy, business, policy and economic developments through a sharp and analytical lens.
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