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Lukman Olabiyi
Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has called on the Federal Government to initiate policies that will enable it to look inward in order not to solely depend on crude oil as a major source of revenue.
Adams urged government to exploit all its potential in the tourism sector to cushion the effect of the crash in the price of oil at the international market.
He made the appeal at a media briefing in Lagos while unveil a series of programmes scheduled for the 2020 edition of Eledumare Festival.
According to him, “it is high time government looked in the direction of tourism as a major source of revenue generation, particularly now that there is a crash in the price of oil in the international market.
“Over reliance on crude oil will continue to expose our economy to danger; what some countries are generating as revenue from tourism is even bigger than Nigeria’s budget. If you check what Saudi Arabia is generating from tourism, you will be shocked. Nigeria is blessed with many historic sites, cultures, festivals but we are not exploiting our potentials.”
Meanwhile, Adams, who is also the Chief Promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF) has urged the South-West governors to declare a two-day public holiday in celebration of the Eledumare Festival across the region.
The occasion is one of the festivals being celebrated annually by Aare Onakakanfo in the annual calendar of the foundation
He reiterated the need for the six states to promote the core values of the Yoruba race.
Adams said he was making a case for the development of the tourism destination across the South-West.
