Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has reiterated his government’s determination to explore tourism development as one of the platforms for achieving the economic expansion agenda of the state.
He maintained that the government achieved a level of success in its first term, when it chose to grow the economy with agribusiness and infrastructure development, adding that the decision to add tourism and solid mineral development, two areas where the state also has a comparative advantage, has also been yielding positive results.
The governor stated this on Wednesday, at the public presentation of a book authored by the Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, entitled “Know Oyo State,” held at the Emeritus Theophilus Ogunwusi Hall, University College Hospital, Ibadan.
He noted that the book showcased the culture, history and people of the state and would guide tourists to know about Oyo State, its potentials, as well as cultural and traditional heritages.
He lauded the author of the book on the book while also commending him for his commitment to the administration and progress of the state.
The governor, thereafter, launched 10 copies of the book with a sum of N10 million, while he called on the author to ensure the distribution of the book across the 33 local governments of the state.
He said: “I want to congratulate Prince Dotun Oyelade on this work. What a better time, really, because he was part of Omituntun 1.0 and led the Media and Information Team.
“He served as Chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) and demonstrated his commitment to Oyo State. When it was time to campaign for Omituntun 2.0, he was still there and played the same role.
“When the Oyo State people gave us the opportunity to serve them for the second term, I called on him that he would be the Commissioner for Information.
“I will say congratulations on this work, my dear Prince. Under Omituntun 2.0, we said tourism would also be a major part of expanding our economy.
“In the first tenure, it was agribusiness and infrastructure development. In the second tenure, we saw areas where Oyo State has other comparative advantages, and we said let us add solid minerals development and culture and tourism. Now, we have a book entitled ‘Know Oyo State.’
“Tourists will not come without knowing something about where they are going. I see a situation whereby this book and some of the things you can see here representing our culture and the tourist attractions in Oyo State, would be at the Ladoke Akintola International Airport, because foreigners would come in here.
“I glanced through the book, and I saw that it is rich in terms of our history as a state and efforts that have gone into making this state what it is today. You decided to focus more on the stats, not self-adulation.
“We have not been disappointed by Prince Oyelade’s contribution to our Team. Now, with your contribution to informing and educating our students, I will encourage you not to stop.
“Therefore, I will unveil the book and buy ten copies for N10 million.”
Speaking on his motivation for writing the book, Oyelade said the idea was conceived in 2012, and that the objective was to promote the uniqueness of Oyo State, which according to him, has a lot of uniqueness in terms of features and historical facilities.
In their separate goodwill messages, a former Minister of Education, Prof Emeritus Tunde Adeniran and the chairman, Solutions FM, Ibadan, Prince Adegboyega Taofeek, said the book is a monumental work and an encyclopedia on Oyo State.
They charged residents of the state to always contribute their quota to its development.
Also speaking, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Abimbola Owoade, described the book, “Know Oyo State” as an identity of cultural heritage, which would serve as one of the scholarly materials for the state.
The event had in attendance the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barr. Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; the former Military Governor of Old Oyo State, General Oladayo Popoola (retd); former deputy governor of Oyo State and the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; snd wife of a former governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja.
Others were former Nigerian Ambassador to Philippines, Chief Yemi Farounmbi; Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye; Okere of Saki, Oba Khalid Olabisi and the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Alao, among other dignitaries.
