Gani Adams Calls For Investment In Olumo Festival To Boost Economy

The Aare Onakakanfo, Iba Gani Adams on Friday, appealed to the Ogun State government to evolve a strategy that will catapult the annual Olumo Rock celebration into a global tourism destination not only in the state, but in Nigeria.

This is just as Adams also called for the decoupling of the Olumo Festival away from the Lisabi Day annual celebrations to accord to the Rock the spiritual and deity status it deserved in Yorubaland.

Iba Adams stated this while delivering his address during one week-long annual Lisabi Festival Day celebration, held at the Arcade ground of the Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Aare Adams argued that the Egba people’s cultural heritage being celebrated in the life of its Generalissimo, Lisabi Agbongbo Akala wouldn’t have been succeeded if the Spiritual Olumo Rock had not played the protective role of a Yoruba deity for the preservation of the Egba People of Abeokuta.

“I want to implore the Egba people not to forget what Olumo did for them. From documented history, many great warriors from Egba, including the great Lisabi and Sodeke, always appeased the Olumo rock for them to succeed in any war they fought. They should also not forget that when the war of the Oyo people was coming, they took refuge under the Olumo.

“Olumo Rock is a spirit that helps the Egba people to preserve the glory of its sons and daughters. So, no matter how we project the Lisabi Festival, we should not play down the Olumo Festival too.

“From our research, we realised that Olumo rock is one of the spiritual rocks with strong historical background in Yorubaland. This is why we at Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) deliberately decided to start celebrating Olumo Festival having recognised Olumo as one of the important spirits in Yorubaland.”

Iba Adams maintained that independent government budgeting for the event is essential to transforming the historic site into a high-yield global tourism asset.

Commenting on the economic trajectory of the festival, the Yoruba leader noted that while the current state of the economy presents challenges, the potential of Olumo Rock to drive revenue remains largely untapped due to a lack of dedicated resources.

Adams, who is the chief promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) noted that increased resources would allow for the packaging of a truly global festival capable of attracting international foreign exchange and boosting local commerce in Abeokuta.

“We encourage the Ogun State government to continue pushing the boundaries to ensure that Nigeria fully harnesses the immense tourism and commercial potential of this momentous site.”

In his goodwill message, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, commended Iba Gani Adams for his commitment to promoting the cultural heritage of Yorubaland and assured him of continued support from the Egba people.

The monarch urged all Egba indigenes to embrace the Olumo Festival as a vehicle for economic growth and development in Ogun State.