Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has restated his government’s determination to explore tourism development as one of the platforms to further grow the economy of the state.
He maintained that his administration achieved a level of success in its first term, when it chose to grow the economy with agribusiness and infrastructure development.
Makinde added that the decision to add tourism and solid mineral development, two areas where he said the state also has a comparative advantage, has also been yielding positive results.
The governor stated these at the public presentation of a book, “Know Oyo State“, authored by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, held on Wednesday at the Emeritus Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
Speaking on the book, Makinde said it 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 for writing the book and also commended 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 ₦10 million, while he called on the author to ensure the distribution of the book across the 33 local government areas 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 titled ‘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 ₦10 million.”
Speaking on his motivation for writing the book, Oyelade said the idea was conceived in 2012.
He said 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, Professor 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 state deputy governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; a forme military governor of old Oyo State, General Oladayo Popoola (rtd); a former Oyo deputy governor and the PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and wife of a former governor of the state, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja.
Others present included former Nigerian Ambassador to Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi; 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.
