Olojo Festival: Osun Assembly advocates preservation of cultural heritages

Osun State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt Hon.Najeem Salaam has advocated the preservation and full development of historical and cultural heritage of the Yorubas.

The assembly which described the measures as potent ways out of economic quagmire in Nigeria made the call in a statement signed by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye to congratulate the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and the people of Ifeland on the celebration of 2016 annual traditional Olojo Festival.

It said, there are a lot of potentials hidden in the cultural heritage of Yorubas that can be annexed and developed to drive as well as unleash economic development of the zone.

The Assembly regretted that the heavy reliance on oil has whittled down  the countrys concentration on other sectors such as tourism.

“There is several hidden treasures in the cultural heritage of the people of Nigeria, especially in Yoruba land, that have been left untapped and under-developed.

“This inaction of ours has contributed to the pains of economic recession when there was fall in the price of oil that we focused on, because the country had no alternative of economic development to fall back on.

“No doubt, we are very rich in culture, tradition, heritages and festivals that can be developed to serve as a long term solution to economic quagmire in this country, but we are not paying serious attention to them.

“In Osun for example, we are blessed with cultural heritage such as Olojo Festival, Olojo has potential of evoking a pilgrimage potential especially for the black in Diaspora

“Other land marks such as Oranmiyan staff and Oduduwa Shrine among others in Ile-Ife; Osun Osogbo festival and grove in Osogbo; Olumirin waterfall in Erin-Ijesa; Kiriji Memorial war site in Imesi-Ile and many more all over the state are notable and worthy of attention.”

“These potentials have the capacity to create job for youths, enhance their creativity and sell the tourism potential of the state to the world for a self-sustaining economy”, it said.

Noting that though, the government of Osun under Governor Rauf Aregbesola has done a lot to invest in the tourism sector, the parliament said there is the need for greater partnership between the state and the Federal Government towards making the tourism potentials more attractive.

Congratulating Oba Ogunwusi and the people of Ile-Ife for the Olojo festival celebration, the Assembly urged all stakeholders to support the monarch and the government towards making the festival more attractive.