OYO State yesterday unveiled plans to establish an international market for Aso Ofi, the Yoruba traditional fabric.
Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Mr. Toye Arulogun, said this at the Aso Ofi Day, a ceremony marking the World Tourism Day in Iseyin, Oke-Ogun area.
Arulogun said the international market is a mark of the Senator Abiola Ajimobi-led administration’s determination to promote Iseyin’s rich cultural heritage.
He added that the market, to be located in Iseyin, will come with an Internet platform to market Aso-Ofi to the international community.
Iseyin is the hub of Aso Ofi production in Nigeria.
Arulogun noted that the Aso-Ofi day became imperative, because the government found it needful to harness tourism potential in all local governments.
He stressed that this will promote the state’s rich culture and tourism potential.
Highlighting the importance of the product, the governor, represented by his wife, Florence, called on governments to use the diversification from oil and gas to develop local products to rescue the country from recession.
Ajimobi said identifying and developing local produce as well as tourism potential would be one of the most effective means of growing the economy, adding that attracting tourists would eventually translate into investments.
The Aseyin of Iseyin land, Oba AbdulGaniyu Adekunle, Ologunebi 1, appealed to the government not to relent in its efforts at resuscitating the dying Aso-Ofi industry.
He noted that it was an age-long fabric, which has long been neglected by past administrations.