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Bayelsa State Government has again urged traditional rulers and people of the state to make conscious efforts towards harnessing their tourism and cultural endowments for export to the rest of the world.
The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made the call at when he paid a courtesy visit to the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo in his palace at Gbarantoru in the Yenagoa council area of the state.
A statement made available to newsmen by the state Deputy Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, quoted the him as saying,that Bayelsa is endowed with some of the best tourist sites and cultural resources in the world.
Ewhrudjakpo noted that when developed, tourism and the rich culture of the various clans in the state have the capacity to raise the standards of living of the people, in addition to shoring up the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state.
He asserted that most of the festivals people spend their fortune to attend in far away Brazil and other countries of the world are not as meaningful and colourful as some of the cultural fiestas in the state,urging Bayelsans to cherish their giftings, believe in themselves and take steps to harness their natural endowments for their personal and collective development.
The state number two citizen assured that the present administration was putting measures in place to diversify the state’s economy through agriculture, tourism and entrepreneurship,noting that the state government had made the teaching and learning of the Ijaw language in all the primary and secondary schools in the state compulsory as part of its cultural renaissance programme.
“Some of the festivals people travel to attend in Brazil and other parts of the world, are not as endowed as what we have here. But what seems to be limiting us is that we lack the capacity to escalate ours.Brazil and others have used their knowledge to unleash their capacity to make their endowments more popular and international. We can also do it. So we are here to encourage you and other traditional rulers to make more efforts to develop our culture”, he said.
“There is no part of Ijawland that we don’t have a unique culture that if we harness properly will not give us some revenue. So, this is a charge and encouragement to all our people.As you are aware, as part of the cultural renaissance we want to engender, the prosperity administration has made the teaching of Ijaw language compulsory in all our schools. This is because language is a vehicle of culture”, he added.
Responding, the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama, His Royal Majesty, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada the (1V),commended the Deputy Governor for his efforts at promoting the sustenance of tradition and culture in the state.
King Dakolo, who also expressed gratitude to Senator Ewhrudjakpo and his entourage for the visit,just as he noted that part of his vision as a monarch was to develop and project the Ekpetiama culture into International limelight through the Okolede Annual festival.
Among the entourage of the deputy governor on the visit included, the Senator representing Bayelsa Central, Senator Moses Cleopas, the lawmaker representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma-Opokuma at the House of Representatives, Prof Steve Azaiki and some members of the state House of Assembly.
Others were members of the state executive council, special and technical advisers to the Governor, National Vice Chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Thompson Okorotie and former Commissioner for Education, Dr Oyovwi Osusu.
In same vein the state deputy governor has inaugurated a scultural work made by a young Bayelsan Art entrepreneur, Mr Ebipa Okoya along the Agudama/Ekpetiama roundabout as part of activities commemorating the Ekpetiama clan annual Okolede festival,describing it as a masterpiece,just as he reiterated the commitment of the prosperity government led by senator Diri to continue supporting young citizens of the state with skills and talents to excel in their chosen careers.
