The Soun of Ogbomoso, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, Orumogege 111, has expressed optimism that the Ogbomoso Cradles Carnival, scheduled to hold between December 19 and 24 this year will be the biggest culture and tourism event in Nigeria.
Speaking during a private dinner and fund raising event for the coming carnival at Imperial Heritage Hotel, Ogbomoso on Sunday, Oba Olaoye said activities for the carnival will be events that everyone and, even, culture and tourism enthusiasts will be looking forward to.
The 21st Soun of Ogbomoso said the event forms part of his 25 Year Development Plan for Ogbonoso, adding that the carnival represents one of his plans to make the people of Ogbomoso come together and love their town and king.
He said the planned carnival will contribute to the commerce and economic development of Ogbomoso zone and beyond.
“The potentials in Ogbomoso is very humongous and my vision as a king is to inspire the sons and daughters of Ogbomoso for us to turn our communities around and make Ogbomosoland a model city.
“We want our people to love Ogbomoso because if they love their town, they will want to develop it. We want our people to love their king because if they do, they will want the communitues to develop and they will invest in their communities.
“And that is why I have my 25-Year Development Plan. I want to sacrifice anything humanly possible to ensure that Ogbomosoland becomes a model of development in Nigeria.
“Tonight, we have come here to demonstrate our love for this land. Ogbomoso people are everywhere in the world. One of the things that God has put in my heart is to create an environment where our people will come and be proud of Ogbomoso. The light has come to Ogbomoso.”
Speaking on some of the foci of the December carnival, Oba Olaoye said, “We know that masquerades do their exhibition in July. We have so chosen December for this carnival and it will also involve masquerades. We have also decided to bring the Oole Oba Festival from January to December. There are a lot of events lined up for the carnival.
“This is an annual programme that we want everybody to key into and showcase the beauty of our culture and tradition. The golf tournament is also part of it. This will also development our commerce and economy. I just want to inspire the sons and daughters of this land.
“The Obas in the five local government areas of Ogbomoso zone love this lofty idea and what we have been doing are for the sons and daughters of the land. There will be other phases, including the one for traditional institutions in Ogbomosoland.
“We want to return Ogbomoso to the rightful position it deserves among the comity of cities in Nigeria.
“In the area if Egungun, we want our people to eschew violence that used to be the order of the day during Egungun festival in Ogbomoso. You all will soon begin to see masquerades that appeare to have gone to extinction.”
He, however, called for cooperation of Ogbomoso indigenes, both at home and in the Diaspora to supports the event morally and financially.
Dr Oladejo Akanni, chairman planning committee in his welcome adress said the six days event aims at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of ogbomosland and promote tourism potentials for economic development
He added that the committee has lined up a robust and an all encompassing events that will make people from visitors and residents to always look forward for it.
The fundraising, which had eminent people of Ogbomoso origin and beyond, was the third fundraising, after the two that earlier held in Abuja and Lagos.
The event was attended by businessmen across different strata, ethnic nationalities, culture exponents, entertainmen, culture enthusiasts, and others too numerous to list.
