Initiators of the Twins Festival, Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye, have said they will project Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole to the world as the place with the highest number of multiple births, noted that it is one of the major aims of the project.
They stated this at Igbo-Ora, on Saturday, during the annual World Twins Festival, organised by the Igbo-Ora community, Twins World Creations and the state government.
“Our aim is to project Nigeria particularly Oyo State to the world as the country and state that have highest number of multiple births. Twins factor can attract people and also contribute to the growth and development of a town.
“World Twins festival is an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness of multiple births. We can use twins to drive destination and that is what you’re seeing in Igbo-Ora. We are focusing on two things this year; for economy recovery from the havocs caused by COVID-19 and to celebrate the lifetime of Alaafin of Oyo. He was a strong pillar of support for this program. He was our life grand patron and the festival started in his palace.
“This festival started as 9ja Twins Festival, it metamorphosized to Naija Twin Festival. It is over six years that we started, we thought of rebranding it to a world global acceptability. That is why we have World Twins Festival”, the most famous twins stated.
For them, the celebration cannot end and the recognition bestowed on them by the government especially on Igbo-Ora town which is now described as a pilgrimage ground for twins is one that has made it important for them to ensure the sustenance of the festival.
“Igbo-Ora has the highest number of twins in the world, that is why we have deemed it fit to be celebrating the festival here every year whereby twins, multiple births and the families of twins would come together to celebrate.”
They lauded Engr. Seyi Makinde for gracing the World Twins Festival 2022, adding that he is the first elected public official to identify with such a programme in Africa.
They equally asked the governor to initiate a policy to support twins and families with multiple births.
“Governor Seyi Makinde is the first Governor in Africa to associate with twins, we are appealing to him to design special package for the twins in the State and project the festival beyond this”, they said.
This as Makinde stated the readiness of his administration to add tourism as a major plank of its economic expansion agenda.
The governor declared that the Twins Festival, which is a celebration of Igbo-Ora’s renown as the world’s capital of twin and multiple births, has a great tourism potential for Ibarapaland and Oyo State, said that the government would do everything possible to make the zone a tourists’ destination.
He maintained that with his administration having been able to turn around the security situation in Ibarapaland, it would put in place adequate infrastructure, which will help tourism to gain foothold.
Earlier, the Olu of Igbo-Ora, Oba Jimoh Olajide Titiloye, thanked the governor for identifying with the land of twins and multiple births, declaring the support of his people for the governor’s re-election bid.
