Traditional ruler woos investors, tourists to Epe

The Oloja of Epe Land, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun, Friday called on local and international tourists to explore the tourism potential in Epe town.

Animashaun made the call during a familiarisation tour to Epe town by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

The traditional ruler said that Epe town was well endowed with tourist sites like the famous fish market, Oju Alaro shrine, Epe resorts and Jubilee chalets with beautiful waterfront and lush-green vegetations.

He noted that the town was also known for different species of fish, urging the state government to assist in protecting the community’s tourism potential to the world for improved patronage.
“We also have our traditional festivals in Epe, we want tourists to come and watch our festivals.

“Epe is an ancient town with interesting history and beautiful culture, I want you all as tourism operators to help us market our assets.

“We also look forward to having investors around, we promise to provide the enabling environment for all forms of businesses to thrive,” he said.

Earlier, Mrs Surah Animashaun, Chairman, Epe Local Government Area, said the help of the state government was highly needed to groom the tourism sites in the town.

She said the ancient town had enormous resources yet untapped.
“We use this opportunity to call on investors into Epe, we have lots of untapped resources that could be exploited, we are friendly and hospitable,” she said.

Also, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, charged tourism operators to consciously work on bringing tourists into the community.

Read also: Why Africa’s tourism sector still holds potential for investors

Ikorodu Mornach calls on government to build tourism infrastructure

Meanwhile, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, on Friday urged the Lagos State Government to assist Ikorodu town in building infrastructure that could boost tourism in the area.

Shotobi made the plea during a familiarisation tour to his palace by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

The three-day tour with theme, “bestoflagosfamtour22”, which began on March 30 and ended on April 1, was organised by the ministry to familiarise tourism operators with attraction sites within the five divisions of the state.

The traditional ruler said that the town lacked the needed fund to put such infrastructure in place, even though Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had given the approval to build chalets.

He said that Ikorodu needed to have chalets, recreation parks and hotels, due to the limited number of such tourist attractions in the community.

He said that Ikorodu had been known as a community with beautiful festivals but limited tourism infrastructure.

“Please, we seek your assistance to build chalets, recreation centres, 5-star hotels and other infrastructure that can attract tourists to Ikorodu community.“We have the land already and we will give every support needed on our part, and you know this will also create employment opportunities for our youths,” he said.Shotobi urged his local chiefs to support the government through the provision of land in their various jurisdictions.

He said plans were underway to build tourist waterfront and recreation centres on a 12-hectare of land on the lagoon.

According to him, there were also plans to convert all cultural centres in Ikorodu into amphitheatres, where masqueraders can perform to the delight of tourists.

“We don’t want to be only known for our festivals but to be known for all forms of tourism.“By the time we are done with these tourism infrastructures, we will calendarise our tourism activities so that tourists can plan their time to visit Ikorodu during their choice tourist activity,” he said.

The traditional ruler who tried to allay tourists’ fear during their annual Oro festival said that the community had made arrangements to always conduct the exercise in some restricted areas.

He noted that the Ikorodu community would never jettison that ritual exercise that was used to stop the activities of a cult group that operated in the community years back.

“Our usual Oro festival is our core tradition here, and we are not ready to abandon it, this was what we did when we had a group terrorising us, we had sleepless nights conducting this festival of Oro to drive them away.“

Then, the state government did not assist us, we fought the war ourselves. So, I advise women to always stay off whenever we are conducting the ritual,” he said.

Earlier, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, appreciated the traditional ruler’s hospitality as she promised to look into his request.NAN reports that some of the sites visited during the three-day tour were: Freedom Park, Afrika Shrine, Vlekete Slave Market, Lagos Theatres in Epe and Badagry, Nike Art Gallery, Oshodi Art gallery, Ikeja and Oshodi bus terminals, among others.