The Ogori Descendant Union (ODU) President, Dr. Gabriel Aiso, envisions Ogori as a premier tourist destination, urging Kogi State Government to invest in developing tourist sites around the UNESCO-recognized Ovia-Osese festival
The President of the Ogori Descendant Union (ODU), Dr. Gabriel Aiso, has projected that Ogori, an ancient community in Kogi State, has the potential to become a significant tourist destination.
He called on the Kogi State Government to invest in the development of numerous tourist sites in the Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area, centered around the annual Ovia-Osese festival.
Speaking to journalists in Lokoja as part of activities marking the commencement of the 2025 Ovia-Osese festival, Dr. Aiso appealed to the state government to partner with the union in developing these sites.
He believes that such investment would transform the festival into a major tourist attraction, placing Kogi State and Nigeria prominently on the global festival map.
Dr. Aiso described the Ovia-Osese festival as a unique and flagship identity of the Ogori people. He emphasized that the development of the area’s tourist sites holds significant cultural and economic benefits for the people of Ogori, Kogi Central, and Nigeria as a whole.
My vision is to build tourists sites around Ovia-Osese which is the only festival in the state that is registered nationally and recognized by UNESCO. We have many historical sites, which when developed will attract huge revenue to the state through tourism,” stated Dr. Gabriel Aiso, President of Ogori Descendant Union.
Highlighting the untapped potential, Dr. Aiso noted, “The spot where the Ogorians won the war between them and Jambadi a Nupe warrior is still there, we have spring water that does not dry even during dry season, we have palm trees with three heads among others that we want our governor Alhaji Usman Ododo to help us develop so that it can benefit the Ogori people, Kogi central and the entire state.”
Discussing the festival itself, the ODU National President explained that Ovia-Osese is an age-old tradition, as ancient as Ogori itself. The festival is an annual event marking the initiation of young girls, known as Ivia, into womanhood.
He further elaborated that the festival symbolizes chastity, virginity, and purity, aligning with the laws and social norms of the Ogori people, emphasizing its purely cultural nature devoid of any fetish practices.
“Ovia-Osese is an ancient festival. It is like a school where young girls are taught to be responsible to their husbands and the society. There is no fetish activities attached to the festival. It is purely cultural,” Dr. Aiso concluded.
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