By Oluwakemi
The traditional ruler of ancient town of Ado-Awaye in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, Oba Ademola Olugbile Folakanmi has said that the only natural suspended lake in the world situated in the in town, has the potential to generate fifty percent of the state Internally Generated Revenue ( IGR).
The monarch while speaking on Monday during a Press briefing to ursher in the maiden edition of “Iyake Mountain Climbing and Obstacles Race Festival” pointed out that the role of tourism development in the nation can not be overemphasized
Oba Olugbile noted that their vision was to create a veritable platform aimed at placing Iyake Festival as a convergence where sporting activities, tourism, entertainment, arts and business potentials are explored maximally
According to him, Ado-Awaye remains the only suspended natural lake in the world, followed by artificial suspended lake located in Colorado, United State of America.
“Ado-Awaye is a town with a lot of potentials, this Iyake Mountain Festival is a special adventure tourism package
“The Iyake Festival is to be a foremost tourism brand in Oyo State that we will be proud of in years to come, it not only uniques for being the only natural one in the world, it is also unique being a spiritual source, medical source, emotional resource, educative and cultural resources destination in concept and nature
The monarch, however, called on everybody to rally around the project not just by giving it their supports but all by opening their business networks within corporate Nigeria and beyond to aid in marketing initiatives of the brand
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Red Alert Counsult Limited, Sir. Babatunde Obalana noted that the commissioner for Infomation, Culture and Tourism in Oyo State has endorsed the project, adding that he and his team are determined to change the nomenclature of tourism in Southwest Nigeria
He said, “The fastest development project is the tourism, our plan is to turn around Ado-Awaye into a world class tourism destination, we have been on this for the past nine months ago, so this is not just an idea we only wake up one today to do, we want to make the lake an international brand
“We have made a lot of consultation with the present administration in the state, and the state government has also visited Ado-Awaye twice, a lot of investors has also been approaching us on the tourism and we are sure that the government will reason along with us as the needs arises
The maiden edition of Iyake Mountain Climbing and Obstacles Race Festival was initiated by the Ado-Awaye Tourism Heritage Development Initiative, in conjunction with Red Alert Consult Limited, and powered by Dr. Oludare Akande, who is the Founder, American Polytechnic of Nigeria, Wasinmi, Oyo State
