The tourism industry has been adjudged from time immemorial as the most vibrant industry in expanding the revenue base of any country’s economy. Any diverse natural settlement that is well marked in terms of footpath, wild zones, leisure areas among others, is what make up tourist sites.
Unarguably, they are places not put together by the government but are usually censored by the government, meaning the government spends no dime because it is not made but the government gains handful of monies from the industry. People from within and outside the country are often attracted to places with unique features, like Agodi park in Ibadan, Erin-ijesha waterfalls in Osun state, Olumo rock in Abeokuta, Obudu cattle ranch in Cross River state, Idanre hill in Ondo state and the host of others, they all pull a significant number of fun seeking people, especially those who want to give their families a treat during festive periods.
Ordinarily, there is no way your heart would not be filled with anxiety when your cronies or the people around you talk about the intriguing feature of a place. That feeling that makes you want to confirm their stories is what brings about the increasing number of tourists to a particular site. This informs the reason why the Ikogosi confluence river pull the largest crowd and never gonna be short of it for its timeless specs: the river housing both hot and cold water in Nigeria.
Subconsciously, a lot of people, especially those having authority over a site, have not come to the realization that the better facilities and equipments that ease the exploration the more followers they get and the more boost the economy of such area gets. Seeing to the all round well being of the face of a site must be place on the same pedestal as that of religion because it is a place averagely trampled by a thousand persons in a week, which may render a single hand useless for it is as elusive as an airport, though, it is given by nature, much is needed to keep it gloomy hence, the fusion private and public commitment.
A rider to the above assertion goes thus: a lot of notable and prominent people in the country have spoken on the need for government to turn to tourism for wealth in the wake of economic recession and it is imperative to have it replicated here in Osun state alike, what other administrators of one tourist site or the other are doing to sustain the economy of their domain.
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who advocated in a vanguard publication recently, said that cultural tourism was an integral part of the nation’s economy with direct positive impact on the people.
Consequently, the monarch advised all tiers of government to invest in tourism as one of the means to shore up the revenue base of the governments.
He lamented that relying only on funds from federation account by states would not bring development just as he said relying on oil by the Federal Government would not help the economy.
Oba Ogunwusi said cultural tourism would serve as an alternative source of revenue in the face of the dwindling oil price at the international market and economic challenges facing the country.
The monarch noted that the country’s economy is built around oil while there are other sectors like cultural tourism if when properly exploited can be used to create wealth, empower the people and generate employment.
Oba Ogunwusi said Nigeria is blessed with many tourist attractions which have been suffering from neglect but said investing in this sector will further showcase the cultural heritage of the country to the world and will also boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He added that tourism was an everlasting product that serves as alternative source of revenue and discourages over-dependence on perishable and exhaustible products like oil.
“Cultural tourism is just to showcase our heritage and our culture to the world. Our people depend so much on government for everything. Private sector should take the lead. Look at what happened here today, 100 per cent private sector. Let private sector come in.
“We have the richest culture in the world, but the challenge is for the people to come and fact find our cultural heritage for us. The major impediment is comfort, that is, where they would stay in the entire land.
“All over the world, private sector is the engine room of any e c o n o – my. So as a result, w h e n p r ivat e s e c t o r starts, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and government can come to support. My belief is that we don’t need to depend on government for everything.
“If you go to South Africa, their economy is driven by tourism, Gambia don’t have crude oil, the entire France don’t have crude oil and if you go to all the Caribbean island, they don’t have crude oil and their GDP is even better than our own in Nigeria that we have crude oil.
“If we have more places like this, both in the North, South, West and the East, people will be moving from one point to the other. This will even boost our GDP… we always travel out of the country to go and do the similar thing. Why should we do that? Let us encourage ourselves.”
This no doubt, explains the benefits embedded in the field that requires little spending but lump some of gains and the discontent of the people who are with the consciousness that, the Erin Ijesha waterfall lying literarily idle in their state could feed the entire civil servants in Osun plus other responsibilities.
Osun in focus always and the Erin Ijesha waterfalls is one of the reasons for this bustle. The much coveted waterfall, which is adjudged the most visited site in Nigeria as of 2014, is deteriorating gradually in every of its parts: from the mountains to the path way, all are fast becoming an eyesore even after the government claimed that it had entered into an agreement with a private sector, which would see to the finite well being of the place – no one know if truly exists because the place doesn’t look like one on the government shoulder.
I have always stumbled on a lot of conversations about the experience of the waterfall but the only shortcoming it posses, according to most of its revellers, is that you don’t get all the comfort you want when you get there although they said, every other thing about the place is cool.
“The place is the best place to be. As in it stands out of all the places I have visited in this country but one thing seems to be a problem that it is difficult to take kids to that place for the steps that leads to the mountain is a hell on its own. I almost collapsed the day attempted to walk up the step.
“Good that the place is good but a lot of things are still missing, like if there can be an elevator in that place it would be easy for people to bring along their children to the place. Because it is unthinkable seeing that kind of step with a 2 feet height. Not everyone can put it into use and it doesn’t typify a good tourist site,” Tope, a linguistic student recounted.
It is so disheartening that the site, which has the potential of creating more than 20 poly specie of jobs that could supplement the efforts of the government in banishing hunger and stand shoulder to shoulder with other top tourist sites in the world – Obudu is also in this country and in terms of brand they have earned themselves one that even a toddler is aware of the quality of treatment you get at Obudu.
Just a few days ago, some students of a department in Osun State Polytechnic, revealed plans to go have fun at the Ijesha waterfall, when they were asked not to think about it. The Head of their department predicate that cases of people slipping off the mountain and escaping death by a whisk were on the increasing.
As a result, the students had to change focus to Olumo rock in Abeokuta because the grove in the state cannot get them in the groove talk less rocking their day as youths on expedition.
A study, which examined the socio–economic impact of Erin Ijesha waterfall, Erin Ijesha in Osun State posited that, “it was discovered that the full potentials of the waterfall are yet to be harnessed due to lack of commitment from stakeholders especially the Government to invest in the development of the waterfall.
“Developing the waterfall will not only be a source of revenue to the government, it will equally generate substantial employment, thus reducing the burden of unemployment in the State and the Country at large.”
The claimed development the government claimed to have brought to the site still remain transparent as all that were said to have been done appear to be gotten from the lots of grade one carpenter – the entire pros and cons in that site can never be found anywhere near the compound of an I’ll educated person – who lacks the dexterity to beatify a place with woods.
It disturbs to still hear the government saying it publicly that the place is putting a lot dough in their pocket. That hoteliers were now enjoying the dividends of the attention they were giving to the site.
The then Osun State Commissioner for Tourism, Mr. Sikiru Adetona Ayedun, said the state had started reaping dividend from tourism.
“We are already generating revenue, I must be sincere with you. And if you ask round even from those doing the hospitality business, they will tell you they have been having dividends of the improvement we are talking about. We are already reaping the dividends of that investment. If you had been here like two, three years back, you will discover that the number of hospitality ventures we had then was not the same as what we have now.
” And more importantly, the peace that reign in the state today is encouraging and attracting a lot of people to this state. And even when you are talking of tourism, it is more than just going to the groove and all that. We have a lot of other things that attract tourists into the state.
” Every hotelier is employing unemployed youth in the society. And that, at least reduces the burden of the government which is the essence of what the government is looking at in our tourism industry.
“Tourism is the income generating aspect of the administration which we have started. First of all, we have started visibility studies on how to enhance tourist potential of the state of Osun through Public Private Partnership (PPP).This is because the financial involvement to transform the potential of tourism in the state to what we want it to be is very huge. direct revenue for the citizens of the State of Osun.”
Nevertheless, ‘O ba ni ko tii baje’ there is still much ado to engender a place of everyone’s dream. Although, it is still a nightmare of quality fun seeker, the government in conjunction with private entities could answer all the prayers. There is an agreement on ground already as claimed once again, but it is still dicey as to whether the contract does not give an outright responsibility of overhauling the place to those issuing tickets to visitors. If money are being collected from people then taking care of the place should not be a big deal, except they collect for the service they don’t render – extortion.
Mustapha Aleem wrote in from Osogbo via aleem_mustapha@yahoo.com.
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