The World Orisa Congress (WOOCON) has been consummated with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi as Chairman, Board of Trustees.
This development was confirmed in statement made available to newsmen through the Media Assistant to the NICO Executive Secretary, Caleb Nor.
Part of responsibilities of the Board as released by the office of the Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO); the federal government organ spearheading the idea is to oversee policy areas on how to run the Congress.
Other members of the Board are Olori Francis Meshioye as Vice Chairman; Executive Secretary of NICO, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye as General Secretary; with Professor Kolawole Raheem and Augustus Babajide Ajibola as Members.
Already, some International Committees have been constituted with members cut across Nigeria, Brazil, United States of America (USA), Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago as well as the Local Organizing Committee. The Committees have the responsibility of rolling out operational strategies and methods for the smooth execution of the proposed congress, liaise with Governments where attendees are coming from, create and superintend all ideas that can bring the project to success.
Executive Secretary of NICO, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye says World Orisa Congress is a federal government idea, aimed at bringing the collective spirituality of the Yoruba people to international scale, recognizing the fact that well over 450 million people across the world are connected to this spirituality called Orisa.
“This is purely a government idea on Public Private Partnership basis with the overall objective of generating foreign exchange for Nigeria; increase Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); place Nigeria’s culture on a sound pedestal of international tourism; preserve Nigeria’s cultural heritage and seek to internationalize it; create awareness on the cultural richness of Nigeria as well as promote Nigeria’s cultural diplomacy”.
“Nigeria has risen to the challenge to take advantage of this opportunity and create a global convergence of interested parties. We cannot continue to fold our arms and watch. This way, the country will become a cynosure of all eyes in the area of cultural tourism and explore tourism to attain its greatest heights, which is one of the top diplomatic means to reflate its battered economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
“I say this because Mr. President has encouraged all his appointees to see how best the country can generate revenue and make Nigeria bounce back in its glory; economically, financially and otherwise”.
“Nigeria is in dire need of creating ways and means of generating revenue. Our economy has nose-dived and in dire need of revival to the extent that what is most paramount in this instance is the ability to generate foreign exchange”.
“This project is based on the exigency of pushing up Nigeria’s GDP, which plays heavy in the scheme of global tourism. It is estimated that in no distant time, Nigeria shall play host to over one million visitors, which is estimated to generate about USD 6 billion”, he said.
