The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, has condemned the violent incident recorded during the grand finale of Osun Osogbo festival held yesterday, Friday August 11, 2023.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Adams, who commented on the incident while addressing members of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, also said the invasion of the Osun grove by cultists was meant to affect the international status of the Osun Osogbo festival negatively.
‘It is unfortunate that cultists and miscreants have been taking advantage of the hospitality of the festival to create a platform for cult rivalry, which the Osun goddess abhors and we must collectively stop this trend.
This is an opportunity for Osun and Nigeria to attract tourism development. Osun-Osogbo is renowned globally and we must protect and project it to the whole world’ he said.
Three people died while twelve others were injured during the grand finale of the festival on Friday following a violent clash involving rival cult groups.
The cultists had also caused safety fears in the Jaleyemi and Isale-Osun areas of the state capital.
Chairman of the Hunters Group of Nigeria, Ahmed Nureni, said three bodies were seen in the grove area while 10 members of the group were also injured.
‘We saw three dead bodies, though we don’t know their identities. Our office in the Jaleyemi area was also vandalized and in the process, the ten personnel were injured’ he said.
In the meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke, who was attending the grand finale of the annual festival for the first time as chief executive of the state of the living spring, later tweeted about this on Friday noting that he attended the event as part of efforts to boost tourism in the state.
‘We were delighted to join our people for the Osun Osogbo Festival today. I stated that our administration has a tourism and cultural industry agenda. Our agenda targets genuine globalization of our cultural heritage as a major building block of our economy’ he wrote–Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
