Ulaga Masquerade Steals Show as PUNCH Celebrates Nigeria’s Cultural Diversity

Traditional attire, indigenous food, music and masquerade performances took over the PUNCH headquarters as employees gathered for the fifth edition of the company’s annual “Rep Your Tribe” cultural celebration.
The 2026 event brought staff from different ethnic backgrounds together to showcase traditions from across Nigeria while marking the country’s Independence anniversary.
Representations included Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and Igede cultures, as well as traditions from communities in the South-South.
But one performance became the centre of attention.
An imposing Ulaga masquerade, accompanied by traditional drums and chants, entered the venue and delivered an energetic performance that drew cheers, cameras and considerable excitement from staff.
Ulaga masquerade becomes the star attraction
The masquerade was introduced during the Igbo cultural presentation.
Covered in raffia and colourful decorative materials, it moved through the venue to the rhythm of traditional percussion before launching into a vigorous dance.
At different points, the performer repeatedly lowered and struck the masquerade’s headpiece toward the floor as the drumming intensified.
The display immediately became one of the most memorable moments of the celebration.
Masquerade traditions hold different meanings across Igbo communities and can combine performance, storytelling, entertainment, spirituality and the preservation of community traditions.
The precise meaning and customs surrounding a masquerade can vary considerably from one community to another.
The Ulaga tradition itself has been documented in different parts of Igbo-speaking communities and can involve energetic dancing, music and performances connected with cultural celebrations.
At PUNCH, the performance was presented as part of the company’s celebration of Nigerian heritage.
Management joins traditional procession
The cultural atmosphere began even before the formal programme.
PUNCH Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief Dr Joseph Adeyeye joined other members of the management team in a traditional procession into the venue.
Igbo drums and songs accompanied the group as staff danced their way inside.
The event took place at the company’s headquarters in Magboro along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Rather than the regular corporate atmosphere of suits and office clothing, employees arrived in traditional outfits representing different parts of Nigeria.
That transformation is one of the central ideas behind Rep Your Tribe.
For one day, employees are encouraged to showcase their backgrounds through clothing, language, food, music and performance.
Nigeria’s different cultures take centre stage
The programme extended beyond the masquerade performance.
During the Igbo presentation, staff demonstrated traditions involving kola nuts, garden eggs, palm wine, greetings and music.
The Yoruba group presented songs, drumming, dancing and traditional praise poetry.
Hausa representatives also staged a cultural presentation, while the Igede group demonstrated elements associated with traditional marriage ceremonies.
Together, the performances created a small representation of the much larger cultural diversity found across Nigeria.
Nigeria is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and languages, meaning no single workplace celebration can represent every tradition.
But events of this kind can provide an opportunity for people to learn about cultures they may otherwise encounter only from a distance.
Fashion becomes part of the celebration
Traditional clothing was another major part of the event.
Employees participated in best-dressed competitions featuring outfits inspired by different Nigerian cultures.
Pelumi Okeowo won the male category.
He appeared in a white agbada with matching traditional clothing, accessories and a walking stick.
Christabel Ndoeche emerged as the winner of the female category.
Other staff members also competed in colourful traditional outfits incorporating beads, headwear, patterned fabrics and cultural accessories.
Beyond the best-dressed competition, Adetutu Sobowale and Idowu Abdullahi were selected as PUNCH’s 2026 female and male Cultural Ambassadors respectively.
The recognition gives staff another way of participating in the company’s annual cultural programme.
A playful traditional marriage moment
One of the lighter moments came during the fashion activities.
Co-host Moyin Olajide incorporated a playful traditional marriage-style performance into the programme by carrying a gourd of palm wine while moving among male participants.
She eventually presented it to fellow compere Pelumi Okeowo.
The moment was treated humorously by staff and became one of the most talked-about scenes of the programme.
It reflected how familiar cultural practices can be adapted for entertainment without necessarily representing an actual marriage ceremony.
Nigerian food becomes another attraction
Food was also central to the celebration.
Different groups presented dishes associated with their communities.
The Igbo table included foods such as oha soup, abacha, ugba, kola nuts, garden eggs and palm wine.
The Yoruba group presented dishes including ifokore, ekuru, egusi soup, fried fish and other delicacies.
Ofada rice and accompanying dishes were also available.
Traditional food can serve as one of the easiest ways for people to experience another culture.
Ingredients, preparation techniques and dining customs often carry histories connected with particular regions and communities.
At events such as Rep Your Tribe, the food therefore becomes part of the cultural storytelling rather than simply refreshments.
Cultural event gets a digital upgrade
One of the most unusual aspects of the 2026 edition was the introduction of an in-house web application created specifically for the event.
The platform allowed employees to view the programme, access photographs from previous editions and vote during activities in real time.
The application was developed by a team that included Gbenga Bambeke, Omolara Ogunleye, Rebecca Erureh and Temitope Olusesan-Biala.
PUNCH management said the project emerged following a creative artificial-intelligence summit in which managers were placed into teams and challenged to develop practical web applications for the organisation.
That meant an event focused heavily on heritage also became a demonstration of modern workplace technology.
Traditional clothing, masquerades and indigenous food existed alongside real-time digital voting.
Culture and technology do not have to compete
That combination raises a wider point about cultural preservation.
Technology is sometimes presented as something that replaces traditional practices.
In reality, digital tools can also help preserve them.
Photographs, video archives, websites and online databases make it possible to document traditional clothing, languages, music, food and ceremonies for younger generations.
Digital platforms can also introduce cultural traditions to people who may live far away from the communities where those traditions originated.
PUNCH’s event application was relatively simple in that context, but it demonstrated how a cultural event can integrate technology without removing its traditional character.
Outstanding employees recognised
Rep Your Tribe was not exclusively a cultural programme.
PUNCH also used the gathering to recognise employees whose work had stood out during the previous quarter.
Those honoured included Deborah Tolu-Kolawole, Ismaeel Uthman, Saheed Oyelakin and Michael Omadime.
The employees received recognition including commendation letters, plaques and prizes.
Their photographs were also expected to be displayed at the company's reception.
Combining employee recognition with the cultural celebration gave the event both a social and workplace-development dimension.
PUNCH management uses event to promote unity
PUNCH Chairman Angela Emuwa said the cultural event was intended to bring Nigerians from different backgrounds together.
Managing Director Joseph Adeyeye also used the occasion to discuss ethnic relations in Nigeria.
His broader message was that public discussion, particularly on social media, can sometimes amplify ethnic differences more than everyday relationships between Nigerians actually do.
The company therefore presented Rep Your Tribe as an opportunity for employees to concentrate on shared identity while still celebrating their individual backgrounds.
That idea is particularly relevant in workplaces where employees may come from many states, ethnic groups, religions and linguistic backgrounds.
Cultural diversity can strengthen workplaces
Cultural events in corporate environments can sometimes appear purely recreational.
But they can have another purpose.
People often work beside colleagues for years without knowing much about their backgrounds.
An employee may know someone primarily as an accountant, journalist, engineer or administrator without understanding the traditions that shaped that person's upbringing.
Activities built around food, language, clothing and music can create conversations that might not otherwise happen during normal working hours.
That does not automatically eliminate ethnic prejudice or misunderstanding.
But greater exposure can make unfamiliar cultures less distant.
Celebration must avoid reducing cultures to costumes
There is also a challenge with events designed around cultural diversity.
Culture is deeper than clothing, food and dance.
Traditional beliefs, languages, family systems, oral histories, artistic practices and community institutions can carry meanings that cannot be captured in a one-day festival.
Workplace celebrations therefore work best when they are treated as introductions rather than complete representations of an ethnic group.
A masquerade, for example, may have very different significance depending on the community in which it appears.
Likewise, one traditional meal or outfit cannot represent every member of an ethnic group.
Recognising those differences helps cultural celebrations remain respectful rather than turning heritage into stereotypes.
Ulaga returns for the finale
The masquerade that had dominated attention earlier in the programme returned for another performance as the event moved toward its conclusion.
Traditional drums again filled the venue as employees gathered around to watch.
The return provided a fitting ending for an event built around music, performance and cultural identity.
The masquerade may have attracted the loudest reaction, but the wider programme reflected something larger.
Employees who spend most working days producing newspapers, managing business operations or maintaining digital platforms temporarily stepped outside their professional roles to represent parts of their heritage.
One workplace, many identities
Rep Your Tribe ultimately demonstrates how a workplace can contain many identities at the same time.
Someone can be Nigerian while also identifying strongly with an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Igede or another cultural heritage.
Those identities do not necessarily need to compete.
The fifth edition of PUNCH’s cultural celebration attempted to place them side by side — through clothing, food, language, dance and performance.
And in 2026, it added another layer: technology.
A traditional masquerade danced while employees voted through a newly developed web application.
That contrast may be one of the clearest illustrations of contemporary Nigerian culture.
Heritage does not have to remain frozen in the past.
It can enter the modern workplace, coexist with new technology and still give people a reason to stop what they are doing, raise their phones and watch.