Practice of animism affecting tourism in Nigeria– Iwo monarch

The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has said tourists will continue to shun tourism attractions in Nigeria as long as they are associated with animism.
Oluwo said Nigeria was blessed with many interesting places which have potentials to draw millions of tourists if they were properly packaged to make them appealing to Christians and Muslims.
Although religion and culture were related, he said religion should not be mixed with tourism to avoid discouraging tourists who do not believe in a particular religion a tourist site is associated with.
He said, “Nigeria has many interesting sites which have the potentials to attract tourists from all over the country and even beyond. But these sites may never be visited by some tourists especially because animists attached some gods to these sites. These sites are the wonders of God deposited in our country but some people just turn them to objects of worship and this practice is driving away many tourists from them.
“Our religion should be separated from tourism. There are many Christians and Muslims who will like to come to Iwo to see where Osun River and Oba River meet, but many of them will not come because some people are already worshiping one god or another at the spot. There are tourist attractions scattered all over Nigeria but there are few of them where animists are not worshipping one god or the other. This should be stopped.”
The monarch urged the government and individuals to show more commitment towards developing tourism in the country.
Meanwhile, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has appealed to Nigerians to show religious tolerance.
Receiving Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners in his palace, Ogunwusi stated that all humans, whether Christians, Muslims or atheists, directed their prayers to one God.
The artistes, led by its former President, Jimoh Aliu, seek the support of the monarch in securing interest-free loan for the association for special drama productions.
The ANTP said they would want to be part of Federal Government’s programmes on culture and tourism.
The monarch pointed out that his life was shaped by some lessons he learnt from television dramas he watched as a child.