Culture and tourism great tool for Job creation - Oyintiloye

Emeka Ibemere

The House of Assembly member representing Obokun Constituency of Osun State, Honourable Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has said investments in culture and tourism by the Federal and State Governments would boost job creation and the economy.

He made the submission in Ibokun, Obokun Local Government while speaking at the 2015 Obokun Festival.

According to him, tourism development would not only serve as alternate source of income, but would also reinforce the fight against social vices and help address societal ills by instilling high moral standards, and cultural values.

Bringing to mind the economic challenge faced in the country, Oyintiloye lamented that economic challenges being experienced in the country was largely due to heavy dependence on the revenue from petroleum products and the concomitant effect of the fall in global oil prices. He advocated that it was high time Nigeria began to look beyond oil and diversify its economy.

Outlining areas of job creation in the sector to include tour guide, horticulture, food services, entertainment industry, craft and Arts productions, and waste recycling to mention a few, he maintained that it was the prerogative of Nigerians to tap into advantage of these opportunities.

While lauding the state of Osun for developing tourism master plan which he said had a robust and global outlook, he maintained that the blueprint had the mindset of economy of scale as it focused on development of local content.

He expressed strong hope that the Master plan which was meticulously and diligently developed by the State Tourism Board when fully implemented would set the pace for others to follow.

Oyintiloye cited example of Olumirin Water fall, saying through effective management by agency of the state government attracted over 50,000 as visitors in 2014.

The lawmaker, who noted that Obokun cultural value and tourism potentials were enormous, called all stakeholders including sons and daughters of Ibokun at home and in Diaspora to contribute their quota towards its development.

Pointing out that strict supervision was necessary to explore the gains in the sector, he said, "it is not enough to allocate money for the sector, but we must guard our investment, to see it flourish and help develop our economy, because that is what some countries primarily depend on to survive. If some countries depended solely on tourism to survive, nothing stops Nigeria from developing the sector to the maximum," he added.

He also used the occasion to call for preservation and restoration of cultural and moral values, in order to restore Yoruba culture which was gradually fading away, adding that the positive impacts of culture preservation would  not only include national  integration but moral re-awakening.

Also speaking, the Oba Ibokun of Ibokun, Oba Festus Awogboro, charged the government to encourage the Obokun festival and other such cultural event in the state, saying they are source of revenue generation for government. Describing Ibokun as the source of Ijesha people, the monarch called on sons and daughters of the town to also find ways of attracting development to the town.