As the Tourism World marks this year’s edition of the World Tourism Day, Kwara Development Foundation (KWADEF), has urged the Kwara state government to tap into the abundant tourism potentials of the state and unleash it to develop the state.
In a statement signed on Friday 25th September by the group’s president, Dr. Kolawole Afolabi, he observed that the reality of an economy without reliance on crude oil earnings has become one of the fall-outs of the COVIF-19 pandemic.
Afolabi explained that since Kwara state plays no direct part in this petroleum-based economy except as a recipient of federal revenue, the government should therefore key into the new reality and tap into the new gold mine which tourism represents worldwide.
KWADEF in the statement identifies some tourism landmarks in the state to include:
Owu Waterfalls, ancestral Rocky mountain similar to Olumo rock in Ogun state, Awon Festival, Emir’s Palace Located at Oja Oba market in Ilorin, Ilorin Central Mosque, The first Ilorin central mosque built in 1820.
Other areas of attraction in the state include Dada Pottery, Ilorin; Mungo Park Cenotaph, Jebba; Esie Museum, Esie; the first museum in Nigeria established in 1945; Patigi Beach, Patigi; Ahoyaya Falls, Jebba.
Other places of interest include Owe Kajita falls, Tomb of past Emirs and Obo Aiyegunle Lakes.
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The group maintained that Kwara state stands a great chance of surviving the current economic downturn facing the entire globe if the government can focus more on cultural tourism.
It, therefore, advises the State to forge a solid partnership with foreign countries in developing and marketing tourism in order to enhance the patronage of local and foreign tourists.
The president also described the Kwara Development Foundation (KWADEF) as a non-partisan group of committed patriots which our intervention shall be non-partisan. Our focus is on Kwara state and Kwarans in the collective struggle to chart a new path to prosperity and happiness.
