Osun Oshogbo: Heritage beyond religion, race . Businessday. 2.9.11
…As state targets 20,000 tourists, N7.5bn by 2015

 

 

Ordinarily, tourists to Nigeria will prefer more cosmopolitan destinations such as Abuja, Lagos and Calabar for security, convenience, and accessibility. Against all odds, Osogbo, a medium-sized city in the South Western Nigeria with a population of about 1.5 million people, is attracting even more quality tourists on daily basis.

The global attraction to the city is the annual Osun Oshogbo Festival and its dense forest housing the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirt of the city, which is also one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria.

Besides, witnessing a reawakening of the age-long tradition of the Osogbo people and the African cultural heritage at large, the festival this year with the huge and calibre of tourists it attracts is a meeting point for travel and culture.​

Tourists and culture buffs travelled all the way from Brazil, America, Germany, Austria, Cuba, Great Britain, China and other European countries to witness the festival. The African Diaspora in their midst were particular about using the festival to reconnect to their roots. Their moods, dances, worships and cheers earnestly yearn for this needed connection as they join the Osogbo people in the communal identity that reflects in the strong bond that exists among the founding fathers of the town and its celebrated cultural heritage. This probably accounts to the improved turn-out of over 5,000 visitors.

The grove, host of the festival and also regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility - Osun, one of the pantheon of Yoruba gods, records the highest number of foreign guest this year than in other years. Apart from the traditional worships, the spectacular and breathtaking landscape of the grove and its meandering river dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honour of Osun and other Yoruba deities were enough attractions for the guests.

The inscriptions on the works that is part of the development of the movement of new sacred artists pioneered by Suzanne Wenger, an Austrian artist, priestess of the grove, is on its own a chronology of Osogbo spiritual and historical events.

The month-long festival climax with the worshipping of the Osun goddess at the Osun Shrine where the ‘Arugba’- the virgin girl, carries the calabash to the shrine, and Kabiyesi hosts the visitors from near and far to a big feast. Far from the scare about the royal tussle of the Atoja throne, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, the new Atoja of Osogboland had the support of his people and visitors at the event.
However, the town witnesses a surge in business activities within this period. More hotels, restaurants, cab operators are now springing up to relief the service and accommodation problems which most tourists and guests face before now during the festival.

Other places of interest such as art galleries, museums, local textile outfits made fortunes from most foreign tourists who purchase one or two items as evidence of partaking in this year’s Osun Osogbo Festival. Apart from the grove, Nike Gallery and Osogbo Museum were the most visited.
The festival also witnessed government, corporate and private sector presence led by MTN, the title sponsor. President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by Edem Duke, minister of culture, tourism and national orientation, as usual, says culture and tradition were critical to the socio-economic development of the country, and that the place of the private sector in economic development cannot be overemphasised.

For Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State, support and sustenance of the festival is critical to the development of the state because it brings the state to global spotlight and possible investment opportunities, especially in hospitality and infrastructure development.  He identifies culture and tourism as sources of employment generation and foreign exchange earners, and reiterates his administration’s commitment to the development of the cultural heritage of the state.
With the infrastructure renewal and new investments in the sector, the governor hopes to increase tourist arrival to the state from 5,000 at the festival this year to 20,000 with target revenue of N7.5 billion by 2015.

The governor explains to the crowd that the festival is an integral part of his administration’s tourism development project, adding: “Unknown to many people, tourism is one of the silent money spinning economic activities. In 2010 it was reported there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals which globally raked in $919 billion.”

The governor explains further, “Our unique selling advantage is in packaging Osun State as the cradle of Yoruba civilisation and our target market is the Yoruba nation at home and the Diaspora. There are estimated 91 million Yoruba people scattered at home and abroad in West Africa, Brazil, United States, The Caribbean, Europe, Venezuela and Colombia. Of these, our target by 2013 is to bring in traffic of 10,000 tourists and rake in N3.5 billion. By 2014, the figure would have jumped to 15,000 and our projected revenue would be N5.6 billion. In 2015, we would have hit the 20,000 mark and attain N7.5 billion in revenue.”

Already, he has created a full fledge Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Home Affairs headed by Sikiru Adetona Ayedun. They are charged with responsibility of turning the face of the state tourism around to a choice destination in Africa and revenue earner especially the 16 historical sites identified in the state.

Stakeholders from the private sector at the festival also express their readiness to partner with government to engender the development of the economy.

However, the commissioner welcomes all visitors-Nigerians and foreigners alike to keep visiting the state even after the festival because there are enough to explore with over 16 historical sites, best of art and craft works, the very hospitable people and a very friendly tourism investment policy that assures on return on investment in the state. Well keep a date with next year’s edition.

The governor says in his address, “This invaluable treasure is one leg of the tripod of development for our state – tourism. The other two legs are agriculture and solid minerals. As you must have noticed, this year’s festival is like no other before it.”