NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Nigeria to host World “Orisa” Congress – Official

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By Joshua Olomu

Nigeria is to host the maiden edition of World Orisa Congress, an official has said.

Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, Executive Secretary/CEO of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO ) on Thursday said this at a news conference in Abuja.

He disclosed that plans are already underway for the epoch making event.

According to him, the planned annual World Orisa Congress is a global gathering of practitioners, scholars and enthusiasts of Orisa tradition, Yoruba traditional religion, from around the world.

He said Brazil, Cuba,Trinida and Tobago and other Caribbean nations that practice Orisa traditional religion were among countries that would participate in the congress in a yet-to-be-announced date.

“The World Orisa Congress is an affirmation of the coalescence of cultural identity with Africans in the Diaspora.

“It is our ultimate spiritual connection to all of us as a people with a common goal and destiny.

“This has become necessary, following the yearnings of Africans in the Diaspora who were taken from Nigeria into slavery over 500 years ago to connect back to their roots.

“There are about 500 million people across the globe that are related to the traditional religion of the African people and as Devotees of different deities, they are yearning to return home.

“It is therefore the Institute’s desire to tap into the vast treasure strove of these 500 million people of Orisa descents from Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and others to converge in their ancestral home/roots regularly.

“In Brazil alone, there are over 89 million people who are ready to key into this vision.

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“Sequel to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s State visit to Brazil, we received a lot of proposals and initiatives from the Brazilian authorities and people.

“These proposals are in tandem with what we have already conceived in NICO as an all-embracing spiritual, cultural and socio-economic collaboration: World Orisa Congress”, he said.

The NICO helmsman said the proposed congress would provide a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and best practices in promoting and preserving Nigeria’s cultural heritage

He said the project was also aimed at preserving and promoting Nigeria’s cultural history and heritage to the world .

Ajiboye expressed optimism that the event would generate five to six billion U.S dollars as Nigeria is expected to host mire than one million visitors.

He said beside playing critical role in cultural exchange and enrichment, the initiative also offered economic benefits through tourism and cultural trade, as well as promotion of global understanding and peace.

“This project is also necessitated by the exigency of pushing up Nigeria’s GDP, thereby generating revenue to improve living standard of Nigerians as promised by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his Renewed Hope Agenda.

“While Nigeria remains in dire need of creating ways and means of generating revenue and reflating the economy, one of the solutions to this challenge is through increased foreign exchange earnings.

“So far, the Diaspora in the United States of America, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and other Caribbean countries are ready materials and human resource for this project.

“The World Orisa Congress further seeks to break down cultural barriers and stereotypes, create a psychology profile for our foreign policy trust.

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“This is in the actualisation of Africans in the Diaspora and other global audiences, create future exponential revenue base on a sustainable basis in order to diversify our economy.

“It will use our traditional institutions as gatekeepers and standard bearers of our cultural patrimony, encourage cultural exchange and collaboration, and make Nigeria a foremost cultural tourism destination on an expansive scale of pilgrimage,” he said.

According to Ajiboye,with this project, Nigeria stands to enhance cross-cultural understanding and empathy, record an increase in global co-operation and rapprochement.

He said if sustained, it will enable the country to tap into the huge revenue stream of almost one million visitors annually on a sustainable basis.(NAN)(nannews.ng)

Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi

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Muhyideen Jimoh
Muhyideen Jimoh
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