Aso Ofi Day: Yoruba Nation Is too Blessed To Be Economically Poor - Ooni Of Ife

The Ooni of ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi says it is high time the resources the Yoruba Nation is blessed with, be developed for economic benefit of its people and the entire nation.

Ooni Ogunwusi also called on government to support initiatives that could guarantee gainful employment for the teeming youth populace and strengthen earnings of local business men.

The monarch, who spoke in his palace in Ile Ife, at the launch of this year's edition of Aso Ofi festival holding in Iseyin, a town in Oyo state, said several vocations synonymous with the Yoruba race are big enough to provide employment for many people.

The monarch is therefore calling for the blending of tradition and modern technology for the nation's economic development.

According to him,Aso-Oke which used to be every day cloth for all and sundry but are now only worn during ceremony must be promoted as a way of bringing back one of the values of Yoruba people.

Going back memory lane, Ooni said: "Oduduwa was the first to discover cotton plant and transformed it to wool thread to make Aso Ofi in ancient Ife.

"He got the inspiration from spider cobwebs and grew large cotton plantation. The fittings of Aso Ofi was later perfected by the children of Ogun (1st blacksmith), Abere (needle)and Obe (knife).

"Olokun, who is also known as 'Oluofi' started the venture with loom thread weaving along with Segi beeds (remnants of the production site ws recently discovered in ife and scientific dating gave over 4000 years old).

"Their descendants migrated to settle in Iseyin and later to teach thier other descendants - Anu(Ethiopia) and Nubia (Sudan) all the way to present India (Orissa region now known as Odisha in India) and now all over the world.

"Iseyin people still practice Aso Ofi venture till date. If we don't tell our stories by ourselves, nobody will?" Ooni queried.

In his remarks, The Oluseyin of Iseyin Oba AbdulGaniyu Adekunle Salawu who will host the world during the Aso-Oke festival said their engagement in weaving Aso-Oke has provided the youth with gainful employment and eliminated restiveness.

According to him, weaving business in Iseyin employs several people, owing to this, crime rate in the town has been  very low.

He urged businessmen, cultural enthusiasts and promoters to key into the project and participate in the festival.