By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Baale of Idi Oro Town, Onidundu, Akinyele local government areas, Oyo State, Alhaji Kasali Abdulahi has appealed to the sons and daughters of the ancient town to return home to rebuild dilapidated and old structures in the ancient town.
This is as he called on Governor Seyi Makinde to consider harnessing the traditional worship potentials of the town to boost the tourist potentials of the state.
The traditional rulers who doubles as the Secretary, Baale Agbe of Oyo State said the call became necessary in view of ongoing development programmes within the town.
He gave the charge while addressing the sons and daughters of Idi Oro during the annual general meeting which was attended by the descendants from within and outside the state.
Speaking, the traditional ruler said if the children don’t come back home to rebuild the dilapidated structures of their families, they may be left behind in the ongoing revolutionary development sweeping across the nooks and crannies of the ancient town.
Idi Oro is one of the ancient towns in Akinyele local government of Oyo state. Aside its agrarian nature, the secular town also got recognition for the mutual co-habitation of the three followers of the three known religions including Christianity, Muslim and traditional religions as well as its popular traditional festival for its curative potentials of various health challenges.
Baale Kasali, a board member, National Cotton Association of Nigeria, Abuja said “I want to charge sons and daughters of Idi Oro, home and abroad on why they should look back and give attention to the community.
“To iur people across Nigeria and across the border, I want them to look back at home. This area is developing rapidly. We don’t want Idi Oro to be left behind in this area, especially with the government putting a lot of structure around.
“Any community that is not developing along the line of these development will become a trash. We don’t want that for Idi Oro. We want you to come back.
“Come and rebuild your father’s house and develope their old structures. We are having people buying land, putting structures around now.
“We don’t want the people that are buying land to occupy all our potential area. Come back and develop your place. So that we all be here together to develop. So that our ancient town will be as great as it was during the time of our father. I think I need your help.”
Commending Governor Seyi Makinde’s effort that is attracting rapid development to the axis, the traditional ruler appeal to the governor on the roads linking the farms to the market, as well as provision of hospital facilities, noting that the closest medical facility has always been hard to reach in times of late night emergencies.
He also urged the governor to consider harnessing the cultural potential of the town to boost its tourism potentials and generate revenue for the local government and the state as a whole.
“Our roads that links all our farms, all our villages are not so good, especially during the rainy season. The government is doing infrastructures around the main road. We want them to look into it, to help us appeal to the local government to continue repairing all these roads that link to our farms. Because bringing out our farm produce to the market is a tedious thing because of these road.
“Idi Oro needs clinics. I want governor Seyi Makinde to help us look into it. Although, there’s one at Onidundu, but, it is still far from us, in respect of if someone is in dire need in the wee hours of the day.
“The governor is making effort to develop tourist potentials of the state, our traditional worship in Idi Oro is a tourist potentials that has provided healing for many ailments, even foreigners have come to get treatment and have been healed.
“We want government to look into this, even during the festivities, all hotels around here get fully booked. So if the government can just look into it and help us develop the very area where this thing is happening, It can bring more money to the government”, he added.
