The Nigerian government has been advised to urgently preserve all identified tourist sites in the nation and turn them to avenues of creating wealth.
The Director of Natural History Museum at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in Osun State, Dr. Adisa Ogunfolakan, gave the advice on Tuesday.
He was addressing a colloquium organised by the Traditional Religion Worshippers Association in Osun State, southwest Nigeria, to mark the 2016 Isese festival in Ile -Ife, Osun state.
The Museum Director said the sites could become a major source of revenue for the Nation at a time that the price of crude oil, which is the nation’s major source of revenue, had dropped.
In his speech on the theme, “Traditional Religion as Bedrock for the Development of Tourism Potentials of Osun State”, Dr Ogunfolakan pointed out that foreigners placed higher premium on Nigerian States’ culture and traditional beliefs more than Nigerians.
This, according to him, explains why tourists from across the world troop in to Nigeria to visit the tourist sites Nigeria is blessed with.
“Unfortunately they are usually disappointed with the condition of the sites,” he stated.
The guest speaker further stressed the need for the government to ensure that all roads leading to the sites were tarred.
He also advocated for the provision of adequate security at the various sites to encourage tourists.
According to him, “government at all levels must look inward to invest in the tourism potentials to generate fund now that oil money was no longer coming as expected.
”This is telling us that we can use our cultural festivals to get away from our economic travail because the festivals remain the vehicle for economic development no doubt”.
“There are a lot of people who want to know about us. They want to know about our festivals, about our culture and this is an avenue to showcase it to them so that we can generate money from them especially now that money is no more coming through oil as expected”.
Promote Yoruba Culture
He also appealed to the traditional rulers in Yorubaland to continue to encourage every endeavour that could promote Yoruba culture and tradition especially in the interest of the unborn ones.
Another speaker, the curator of the National Museum, Mr Williams Makinde, also emphasised that preservation of various traditional spots and tourist sites would attract more tourists and boost the State’s economy.
The Permanent Secretary in the State’s Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs Webster Esho, assured the gathering that the State government would continue to create a level playing ground for all religions.
Earlier, the President of Traditional Religion Worshippers Association in the State, Oba Olawuni Alao, said no stone would be left unturned to showcase the beauty and rich culture of Nigeria’s heritage to the entire world.
