THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja 11), over the weekend, disclosed that the historic Ark of Noah and the Tower of Babel as well as many mystical signs, primeval artefacts and ancient relics are all in the ancient town of Ile-Ife.
He made the disclosure in his palace, during a visit by the Director-General of the Nigeria Tourism Department Corporation, Mrs Sally Nwechue Mbanefo and her team.
The monarch officially declared Ile-Ife town a tourism zone for the entire world.
Oba Ogunwusi, who expressed optimism that the historical assets in Ile-Ife are enough to empower Nigeria and Africa at large, beckoned on all tourist lovers across the world to thrill themselves with old artefacts available in the town.
According to him, “the Ark of Noah which the entire world has been searching for is in Ile-Ife. The Ark of Noah has been in existence and it is in Ife land.”
While lamenting the neglect of culture, Oba Ogunwusi observed that African endowments and culture were gradually being threatened with extinction, just as he called on Africans to come together to salvage their heritage.
He stated “both anthropology and archaeological findings attest to the origin of mankind from Africa,” saying that there were more than enough evidence to show that the actual origin of creation is Ile Ife.
“The world is gravitating towards the African culture but we Africans, the custodian of culture, do not value it. The bottom line is that everything started in Africa and it has been established by researches and historians. Wherever in Africa the origin of man started, it’s our general asset. We have to take the continent out of the poverty that we are,” Oba Ogunwusi remarked.
“The positive spirit of the creation is behind the successes of sons and daughters of Yoruba across the globe. Yoruba settlements are found in all the regions of Africa, North and South America, Europe and United States of America, Australia and many other parts of the world. Yorubas are about the half of the population of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Haiti, Brazil and many other nations.”
The monarch, however, urged the African-Americans to visit Ile-Ife to discover their root just as he called on the entire world to explore the tourism potentials of the ancient town.
