Abiodun Felix
22 November 2009
Osogbo — Determined to maintain and sustain the sanctity of the Osun Osogbo Groove, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments has put in place long lasting measures aimed at preserving the groove.
The groove, which was listed as a United Nations World Heritage Site in 2005, has continued to experience upsurge in the number of tourists and Osun Osogbo adherents whot daily throng the site.
At a stakeholders management meeting held last week, a 10-man committee was set up to fashion out ways through which the groove would maintain its sanctity as well as prevent it from being encroached upon.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the National Museum, Osogbo, Adewale Shehu, the Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments would head the committee which also has the Ataoja Oba of Osogbo, Iyiola Matanmi III, as the vice chairman.
Other members of the committee include the state curator, Mr. Funsho Adedayo, Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, representatives of the state Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, it was agreed that security surveillance would be increased in the groove in order to protect the area as well as improve control over its buffer zone.
In an effort to reduce traffic flow through the groove, it was agreed that the Osun state government embark on construction of a bisecting road outside the groove, to protect the sanctity of the groove and preventing encroachment on the land.
Speaking further, Shehu said the committee had swung into action with useful discussion with other agents like the Osun Sacred Art, the Adunni Olorisa Trust and other stakeholders in the state.
"We are determined to ensure that the groove remains the best in the country as well as maintain its sacredness. Visitors to the groove would be amazed at the reconstruction work that would take place there. We would still maintain the sacredness.
"All riverbeds in the groove would be cleared and cleaned on regular basis and this would be handled in conjunction with the National environmental Standard Regulations Agency (NESREA) and the Osun State Environmental Protection Agency (OSSEPA) and the Ministry of Environment", he said.
Shehu also said work would soon be completed in the Artists Village, which would be managed by the Osogbo contemporary artists.
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