Ranking the first place on our list of the most famous festivals in Nigeria is the Durbar festival. The Durbar festival is an annual cultural, religious, equestrian and famous festival held in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zazzau, Bauchi, Bida, and Ilorin, among other northern Nigerian cities. The event commemorates the end of Ramadan and the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitri.

The Emir and his retinue of riders, musicians, and artillerymen begin with dawn prayers, followed by a colorful mounted procession of the Emir and his retinue of horsemen, musicians, and artillerymen. Noblemen travel to the Durbar festival to pay tribute to the Emir and pledge their allegiance to their respective emirates.

Kano, Nigeria's largest city, has hosted the event since the 14th century. The Kano durbar festival is a four-day luxury, horsemanship, and street parade spectacle.

Some claim that colonial rulers introduced the Durbar festival to Nigeria with political goals in mind. The word Durbar is Persian in origin, and it was first associated with ceremonial gatherings commemorating Queen Victoria's declaration as Empress of colonial India. Colonialists produced assemblies and celebrations of key events in Northern Nigeria, and the ceremonies drew together pre-colonial parts of the martial display.

Location: Northern Nigerian cities

From ancient times to the present, yam has been regarded as one of Nigeria's most important crops since it is grown in almost all of the country's states, and anyone who owns a yam barn is considered one of the community's wealthiest individuals. Yam is regarded as more than just food in Nigeria, and is one of the most common foods used as bride price when a man seeks a woman's hand in marriage. Due to numerous mystical ideologies surrounding Yam from ancestors' stories passed down to them until today, the event is predominantly celebrated by the Igbo people.

Since some or most common Yams are annual crops, but they are frequently viewed as permanent crops due to their life-cycle, the New Yam Festival is held every year to commemorate the conclusion and beginning of a new season. It is also said to be a taboo to eat the new Yam before the celebration because it is a way of pleasing and appealing to the gods and spirit of harvest, as well as the god of the Earth, and thanking them for a bountiful harvest, making the god happy and bringing more good harvest in the coming season.

Location: Southern, Western, and the Idoma tribe in Nigeria

Date: August

The Argungu Fishing Festival stands at the third place among the most famous festivals in Nigeria. The festival is a four-day event held every year in the town of Argungu in the Nigerian state of Kebbi. It began in 1934 as a sign of the end of years of antagonism between the Sokoto Caliphate and the Kingdom of Kebbi.

In February or March, the festival takes place on the Sokoto River. Thousands of fishermen compete to catch the biggest fish using only nets. Dance and music performances, sporting activities, and art and craft exhibits are among the other attractions. People travel from all over the world to witness or observe the most famous festival in Nigeria.

The Argungu Fishing Festival is thought to have begun during the historic peace visit by Alhaji Hassan Dan Mu'azu, the 16th Sultan of Sokoto at the time. It is thought that the Sultan's prayers during his visit, after being greeted by a large fish, made the argungu waters fertile and special, leading to a yearly remembrance of the Sultan's visit.

Location: Argungu, Kebbi, Nigeria

Date: February or March

The Adamu Orisha Play, also known as the Eyo Festival, is a Yoruba festival held in Lagos, Nigeria. It is now presented by the people of Lagos as a tourist attraction, and it is customarily performed on Lagos Island due to its history.

The “senior" eyo group, the Adimu (identifiable by a black, broad-brimmed (hat), goes public with a staff a full week before the event (usually a Sunday), according to travel writer and culture reporter Pelu Awofeso in his book Nigerian Festivals. When this occurs, it indicates that the event will be held the following Saturday. From Monday through Thursday, the four other Eyo groups: Laba (Red), Oniko (Yellow), Ologede (Green), and Agere (Purple) take turns in that order.

The following items are not permitted during the Eyo Festival:

• Motorcycle taxis from Okada
• Bicycles
• Sandals
• Suku - a prominent Yoruba hairstyle in which the hair converges in the middle, then shoots upward before tipping downward.
• Female with a head tie, headgear, or any other type of head covering Male with any type of cap
• The Eyo outfit can be worn overnight or to cross a river or lagoon.

People who utilize any of the prohibited things are known to be beaten with their staffs by the masquerades.

Location: Lagos Island

The Osun-Osogbo festival, also known as the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, is a sacred grove located on the banks of the Osun River, just outside of Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. The Osun-Osogbo Grove is a centuries-old sacred woodland that originally surrounded the boundaries of most Yoruba cities before major urbanization. The Sacred Grove was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, in recognition of its global significance and cultural worth.

The Osun-Osogbo festival is held at the Grove every year in the month of August. Thousands of Osun worshippers, onlookers, and tourists from all walks of life attend the most famous festival in Niger. The festival is extremely beneficial to Nigeria's tourism industry. It allows the community to offer its culture to tourists from all over the world as well as from within the country.

The Osun-Osogbo festival also serves as a major unifying element in Osogboland, as it brings people together every year to celebrate the goddess, regardless of their social, economic, religious, or political beliefs.

Location: Osogbo, Nigeria

Date: August

Calabar Carnival, often known as "Africa's Biggest Street Party" or "Pride of Nigeria," is an annual carnival held in Cross River State in Nigeria's south-eastern region. The carnival is conducted every December and was designated by the then-governor, Mr. Donald Duke, as a Christmas celebration activity, with his vision being to make Cross-River a center for tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa. The quality of this celebration has improved over the years, and it is now an international festival and Nigeria's largest carnival.

It used to be a month-long festival that started on December 1st, but when Benedict Ayade was elected, he cut it down to two weeks. Governor Ayade stated in his statement at the 2017 carnival that the carnival is meant to promote Africa as the richest continent and a wonderful location where young people should be happy to call home. The Calabar Carnival has always been a promising one, with various competitions and large monetary prizes, and it has always been a colorful one.

Location: Cross River State, Nigeria

Date: December

The Ofala Festival is an annual celebration that Igbo people, mainly those from Onitsha, Umueri, Umuoji, and other nearby areas, participate in. The famous festival normally begins with a 21-gun salute and continues all night with drumming, dancing, and other cultural activities. The Obi's cabinet of chiefs, guests from other communities, various age groups, ladies, and youngsters from the community customarily flood the palace grounds or Ime Obi in traditional or ceremonial costume befitting the celebration event in the afternoon.

The emergence of the Obi in his royal regalia to the cheers of the crowd is the highlight of the Ofala Festival; a cannon shot announces the entrance of the Obi, who is usually dressed in ceremonial robe and wields a bronze sword; he walks to the sides of the arena or a third of the arena, acknowledging the cheers of the crowd. The Obi then retires, and the red cap chiefs pay tribute to him in order of seniority, following which both the Obi and the chiefs reappear when another cannon shot is fired.

Date: October

The Ibegwu festival is a traditional and famous festival celebrated by the Igala people of Kogi State in Nigeria's north central region. The festival takes place every year in March and April. It is one of Nigeria's most anticipated events, including many traditional African exhibitions.

Ibegwu festival is only for the purpose of appeasing the deceased (ancestors) for their kindness and care. It is a holiday in which every household visits their ancestors' or forefathers' graves and appeases them with the blood of a goat and a cock, as well as the spilling of a locally manufactured drink known as Oburukutu on the spot where their ancestors are buried.

This is conducted to please the ancestors, who will cleanse the village of all filth and offer peace, blessings, and protection from sickness and disease.

During the festival, it is performed by a large number of animals, and masquerades are paraded in practically every section of the territory. There's also a part dedicated to Igala traditional dance, known as (Ogba), as well as music.

Location: Kogi, Nigeria

Date: March or April

The Sango festival is one of the most famous festivals in Nigeria. Sango festival is an annual Yoruba festival conducted in honor of Sango, a thunder and fire deity who was a warrior and the third ruler of the Oyo Empire after his elder brother Ajaka. The celebration, which was renamed World Sango Festival by the government of Oyo State in 2013, is held in August at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo and is also celebrated in over forty nations around the world.

Sango festival is held once a year by traditional Yoruba extract worshippers. Animals are slaughtered, Yoruba songs are played, and ethnic dance is performed throughout the celebration. Various natural outfits and designs are also used to enhance the occasion.

During the 2021 festival, the Ayabas brag about how, after consulting the Yemoja and the Sango priest, they were able to prevent rain from disrupting the ceremony. The event is also supposed to begin with Iwure Agba, or elders' prayer, which is normally led by the Sango priest.

The UNESCO-recognized festival is held to aid Yorubas in the diaspora in their return home, as well as to honor Sango, the Yoruba race's greatest hero.

Location: Oyo, Nigeria

Date: August

The Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria perform Mmanwu, a traditional masquerade. They are only performed by men in secret groups and involve the wearing of elaborate, colorful costumes intended to evoke ancestral spirits.

Masquerade traditions serve a wide range of purposes, including enacting parables or myths, performing epic drama based on community cosmology and lore, ushering in new months and seasons, honoring totems and ancestral spirits, and ushering in new months and seasons, with entertainment and community building serving as a consistent commonality.

The Mmanwu practice is only open to men, and there are stringent guidelines for how each gender interacts with the masquerade. The masks' construction, maintenance, and use are completely the responsibility of men. Men are buried within their homes because they are masqueraders, and their souls return to the terrestrial world from time to time to offer spiritual instruction.

Women, on the other hand, are forbidden from touching the masks or even comprehending their spiritual significance. Women are permitted to observe the ceremony, and many do so, but they must maintain a safe distance.

Location: Enugu, Nigeria

Date: October and November