Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon. Adijat Adeleye-Oladapo made this affirmation during a tour to the Egba Museum, Ake Palace in Abeokuta alongside her Permanent Secretary, Mrs Oluwatoyin Oloko and other management team in the ministry.
Hon. Adeleye-Oladapo commended the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egba Land, HRM, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, for the great initiative of constructing the museum which houses great artefacts of the people of Egbaland, including their past rulers and for his unrelenting efforts in putting Egbaland on the front burner of Cultural events.
” Stepping into this museum building today, I have this impressive feeling of being an Egba woman. I am impressed with what I saw here. Kabiyesi continues to bring great and new initiatives every day to put Egba on the front burner of culture. As we all know that asides Benin city which places so much value on culture and tourism, this Egba Museum is the next. I want to assure you that the Ministry is ever ready to synergise and support this project. We have a Director of Tourism who is very passionate about tourism that will always be availabe to assist in whatever way to see that it succeeds”. Adeleye-Oladapo stated.
Responding, Oba Gbadebo stated that the museum was conceived as a means to ensure that the rich cultural heritage of the Egba people does not go into extinction, especially among the younger generations, adding that the museum contains artefacts and other historical materials that would attract tourists to the museum.
‘The museum contains historical facts of Egba Land fore fathers and kings, regalias, crowns e.t.c all with the aim that our culture and history does not go into extinction. I believe with the support of the State government and the ministry , the museum will go places and boost the tourism image of the State. It will be commissioned come Septembér 12th, 2023 , a day to my 80th birthday,’ Alake stated.
Earlier in his welcome address, a renowned educationist and scholar and the curator of the museum, Prof.Olukayode Oyesiku who expressed delight at the readiness of the ministry of culture and Tourism to work with the Egba Museum disclosed that the museum is the sole initiative of the paramount ruler which is intended to house Egba artefacts from 1894 till date, adding further that the present building within the Ake Palace is its temporary site and is divided into four sections comprising of career
and academics tourism, political tourism, entertainment tourism and entrepreneurs.
