Ooni To Transform Ile-Ife Into A World Mega Tourism Destination

The Ooni Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11, who is a business czar and owner of Inagbe Resort, one of the few privately run resorts located across Lagos waters.

From the Oba's first day of assumption of office he's not hidden his resolve to elevate the historical and abundant cultural wealth of his people and town by opening it to the world through massive investment in tourism related projects, which are aimed at transforming Ife from a mere tourism attraction to a mega tourism destination.

To this end, the Kabiyesi, his newly appointed chief tourism adviser and consultant, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, who is the Founder of La Campagne and Motherland Beckons, disclosed that Oba Ojaja 11 is set to declare Ife a tourism zone on February 26 and to kick start the development of the zone into a tourism destination of world class standard has concluded plans to build a N7.6 billion Ife Grand Resort.

Also in line with his resolve to foster peace and unity amongst his people, a major ingredient for sustainable tourism development, and put to rest the ghost of the over 200 years old conflict between Ife – Modakeke, the Ooni over the week brushed aside all

protocols and barriers to attend the Modakeke Day celebration even as he announced the employment of 20, 000 widows from the over 40, 000 widows recorded in the last Ife – Modakeke crisis to work in the tourism zone project with a promise to absolve the remaining 20, 000 widows alongside the teeming population of unemployed as the project gathers traction.

The Ooni’s attendance at the Modakeke Day celebration has been hailed by many people as a deft move by the Kabiyesi to finally bury the Ife – Modakeke intermittent conflict that has lingered for over 200 years as this has never been done by any Ooni in the past 200 years, as attending Akoraiye Day Modakeke, is a way of not only healing the wounds of the past but also clearing the negative past and replacing it with a prosperous future through tourism.

As part of the grand design to secure life and property in Ife, the Kabiyesi has approved the construction of a watch tower with standby rapid response squad that is fully equipped and which response time to any distress call should not be more than 10 minutes and this time frame hopefully would be cut to five minutes in the days ahead.

Akinboboye revealed that the declaration ceremony and the kick off for motherland beckons has been fixed for February 27 with the president of Black Lawyers in England and Wales, Peter Herbert, billed to deliver the key note address while the chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) America, among a host of other dignitaries are expected at the event.