National Coordinator of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, has revealed that the congress supported the successful implementation of the just-concluded 2015 Osun Osogbo Festival with N4 milllion.
Adams said in Lagos on Wednesday that this was to promote and add cultural and socio-economic values to the festival, and identify with cultural activities of the country.
“It is part of the mandate of the Odua Peoples Congress to support and promote cultural activities in the country.
“The N4 million was spent on cultural activities organised by the OPC to make the just-concluded Osun-Osogbo festival a fun-filled one,“ Adam said.
He said that majority of the visitors that attended the festival were the various groups of the OPC.
“The OPC members came to Osogbo in no less than 300 buses.
“We also invited a popular musician to entertain us and the visitors; provided various types of foods for them and also ensured that they all stayed within a befitting environment.
“The group also organised lots of cultural activities to entertain its guests, tourists and visitors at the event, “ he said.
He said that the participation of the OPC added colour and value to the celebration.
Adams said that the Osun-Osogbo Festival had translated into an aspect of tourism that could be used to attract foreign tourists and investors into the country.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to tap the tourism potential across the country to boost the nation’s economy.
He said, “Nigeria is blessed with enormous tourism potential that can be used to shore-up its economic development.
“There are countless monuments and thousands of attractions spread across the length and breadth of the country.
“If all these resources and potential are developed, it will help to improve the nation’s economy and enhance its holistic development, “ Adams said.
He said that Nigeria’s strength was based on its rich diversity based on its dense population of over 160 million with over 250 ethnic groups.
From all these diverse cultural backgrounds, Nigerians had been able to evolve hundreds of amazing cultural festivals, he said.
