Residents of Ilupeju-Ekiti, in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State have vowed to make the town one of West Africa’s tourists’ attractions.
They said the town, strategically located in the local government has the potential to become one of the best tourists’ sites in Nigeria.
The National President, Ilupeju-Ekiti Development Association (IDA) Chief Femi Babalola spoke at the get-together tagged Iyan Day organised by Lagos Zone II (Ota) of the association at Dalemo, Ogun State.
The former Deputy General Manager Risk Management Department of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, said those indigenous to the town would not relent from supporting government’s efforts towards the development of the town, even as he said they would continue their assistance in that regard through donations that will help in providing infrastructural facilities for the people’s well-being as well as make Ilupeju-Ekiti become relaxation centre for travellers.
According to him, the town falls within the Ekiti-speaking area of Yoruba land, surrounded in the east by Itapa-Ekiti, to the west by Oye-Ekiti to South by Ire-Ekiti and to the North by Imojo- Ekiti.
He said Ilupeju-Ekiti lies on the strategic Lagos-Abuja Highway, while its geographical location is unique as the town is almost equidistant from Nigeria’s economic capital, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Chief Babalola urged both federal and state governments to utilise the town’s potential as great tourists’ centre to improve the country’s economic growth.
He reeled off some of the natural deposits which the town boasts to include oroke ejia, the Granite Tosk situated at Aita which the Eseta warriors used as an effective military platform to mount surveillance and launch attacks and counter-attacks against enemy forces during the inter-tribal wars in Yoruba land.
He said the town has tillable land for variety of foods and cash crops such as oil palm, kola nuts plantain and citrus fruits.
The Chairman Lagos State chapter of IDA, Pastor Sunday Bamisaiye-Oni said the association was established as a forum for citizens in the Diaspora to have a way of communicating, chart a new way that they and their friends could contribute to the development of the town.
He said through this, they have contributed greatly to the construction of the town’s modern palace, civic centre, Chief Magistrate’s Court and the ongoing Menara Market modernisation project.
He appealed to those indigenous to the town to continue being united and ensure they contribute their quota to the development of the town to make it become a proud tourists’ centre in the future.
The Chairman IDA Ota Zone II, Mr. Femi Durotawo said the programme was aimed at enabling the sons and daughters of Ilupeju-Ekiti come together, unite and pool their resources to pursue a common goal of developing the town.
He said the programne tagged Iyan (pounded yam) was to practicalised Ekiti culture. He noted that it has been observed that generally people of Ilupeju-Ekiti relish pounded yam among other foods, even as he said the event was also aimed at ensuring that such tradition transcended to every Ekiti unborn children and those born in other parts of the country.
Durotawo stressed the need for all sons and daughters of the town to embrace the programme for the progress of the community, saying government alone could not provide all the facilities needed by the community
Source: The Nation Online, June 26, 2019
