Tourism in Abia state has in recent time been on the spotlight as stakeholders involved in the industry have been looking forward to endless improvements in the culture and tourism sector.

The AFNews team which is focused on checkmating the progress and updating the general public on the happenings within ministries and agencies was able to have a media chat with the newly inaugurated culture and tourism commissioner,Mrs. Ojo Loveth Adimoha.

During the interaction, the honorable commissioner highlighted the improvements, challenges and way forward of the ministry of culture and tourism.

When she was asked on the several tourist sites scattered across the State, for instance, the Ojukwu Bunker, the War Museum in Umuahia, and the Slave trade route which is located in Arochukwu among others, She reiterated her commission’s intention of turning these sites to full tourist sites and also another revenue avenue for the state.

In her owns words:

We have gone to know where all these sites are located and we have seen how the places are, i have been to Ojukwu Bunker myself, I trek from that place down to the War Museum through a path. During the war we leanrt that Ojukwu refines is fuel there and we were able to see it that day.

Talking about Bende, the slave market at Uzoakoli where they call Agbagwu, my team and i visited there too. We are working hard to package these places and bring them to limelight through the media as tourist sites.

 

On this issue of our cultural heritage that is scatter everywhere in Abia State and how it can be well packaged, the honorable commissioner had this to say;

 

What we have done in Abia State is to create what we call ”EJIRIMARA ABIA”, this Ejirimara Abia includes the way we dress, our food, our handwork, type of music, dance, rhythm and what we do in our various communities as cultural displays. It is important i state that culture is a catalyst for economic development, if you do away with peoples culture, then you have thrown away so many things.

Every part of the world have their way of life, formally we don’t know what is noodles, these kind of foods have made so many people forget our cultural nutritive and health foods. We want to reverse our culture, even our dressing now, you can see our women dressing on jeans and opening some part of their body such is not our culture.

I am doing alot and planning on different programmes that will help our people. For example, we are working on how to have a joint Iriji in Abia State. We will come together, cut the yam , eat it together and create a new history for our children by making them know that Yam is the king of all crops.

 

The commissioner gave hope that the Ministry is doing everything possible to resuscitate these positive cultural values and project the Abia nation.

On a final note, she enumerated some tangible, identifiable things her administration has recorded ever since she assumed office amongst which are reviving the hospitality sector and also preaching its relevance and hosting the ejirimara Abia festival.

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