Visit Kwara platform, a private-owned organisation is geared towards positioning Kwara State as a haven of economic prosperity and amazing cultural diversity with great tourism potentials.
When one browses the net for information about Kwara, you’ll barely find data that is convincing enough about how phenomenal the state and its people are. In fact, many indigenes and residents of Kwara have limited knowledge about the richness of the state in human, non-human and natural resources.
We the people of Kwara state only need to blow our trumpet, but how do you blow a trumpet whose existence you are unaware of? I am delighted that the Visit Kwara platform has begun to blow this trumpet.
In commemoration of World Tourism Day 2022, it is time for us to take tourism beyond cerebration and put our thoughts into actions. We, as youths, are the future of many sectors of the economy, including tourism. Nonetheless, tourism is every citizen’s business as the sector has been proven time and again to be a formidable catalyst for rapid economic development.
Think of how much GDP some places rake in courtesy of tourism all over the world, like Hawaii in the USA, London in the UK, Paris in France, Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy. I could go on and on. At Visit Kwara, we are proud to take the bull by the horns with our team of like-minded youths who are passionate about contributing our quota to the development of Kwara State.
It will interest you to know that Kwara State is blessed with five waterfalls. Amongst them is the breathtaking Owu Falls which is the highest and most spectacular waterfall in Nigeria. Also, the Esie Museum which is the first to be established in Nigeria and doubles as the museum with the highest number of soapstone figurines in the world can also be found in Kwara State.
These are but a few of what make Kwara home to wonderful treasures that the world needs to know about. The state is not only rich in cultural and natural attractions but also in human capital.
Since the establishment of Visit Kwara in 2020, the team has worked assiduously to document the people, culture, history, monuments, festivals and natural wonders in Kwara, cutting across the 16 Local Government Areas in the state.
This documentary birthed the Visit Kwara Book (A Photographic Documentation Showcasing the People, Places and Culture of Kwara State, Nigeria; and the Visit Kwara film (The Scenics: A Short Film on Kwara’s Tourist Attractions).
With a Foreword written by Mallam Saliu Mustapha (The Turaki of llorin Emirate), the book, VISIT KWARA: A Photographic Documentation Showcasing the People, Places and Culture of Kwara State Nigeria is a publication with over one hundred and eighty pages displaying the gems of Kwara State in photographs.
Kwara is a rapidly developing state in North Central Nigeria and the photobook covers attractions from all its sixteen Local Government Areas.
The Visit Kwara Film was also put together to complement the Visit Kwara Book launch. The film is a fusion of great storytelling and spellbinding aesthetic visuals.
“The tourism sector in Kwara State has not been fully tapped because despite the fact that it is home to a multitude of exciting and stunning site attractions, they are relatively unknown to tourists from within and outside Nigeria. I saw this obscurity as a major setback for the state’s economy and decided to take on the task of documenting as many of these attractions as I could”
An excerpt from the book authored by Abdulraman Yusuf Dolapo:
This project, which includes The Visit Kwara Book and The Visit Kwara Film, has numerous benefits to the state’s development:
- ● UNESCO is committed to preserving outstanding cultural and natural heritages around the world. The Visit Kwara project can serve as a means of attracting funding from such an international organisation to increase awareness and multiply the state’s tourism revenue.
- ● The project has the capacity of spreading the news of Kwara’s resources and putting the state on the world’s tourism map.
- ● Upon the completion of Ilorin Visual Arts Centre, the book and film would be useful additions to equip the facility for the education of the visiting public.
- ● Attracting local and foreign investors is a key goal of the Visit Kwara project. Through images, the project gives investors a vista of economic potentials that abound in Kwara state.
- ● Both the Visit Kwara Book and the Visit Kwara Film can serve as educational materials in secondary and tertiary institutions, NYSC camps and organisations in and outside the state. In essence, these two can help spread more awareness about the state’s attractions, its history and cultural diversity.
- ● The project can also be an inspiration for the Kwara Tourism Masterplan.
- ● An understanding of the state’s people and their culture can greatly improve socio-cultural ties and foster unity amongst Kwarans and Nigerians in general.
The Visit Kwara Book and Film are scheduled to launch and premiere in January, 2023. The event will be free and aims to provide an opportunity for Kwarans to gather together in celebration of Kwara State’s beauty in diversity. Thus, the event will not only fill a space in the year’s tourism calendar but also offer locals, visitors of the state, international communities, investors, students and tourists the opportunity to meet and discover the talents, cultures and flavours that shape Kwara’s mosaic; This is in the spirit of beauty in diversity, inclusion and cultural exchange.
We therefore call on individuals, the state government and organisations with aligned interest to sponsor and partner with us on this project in order to bring the Visit Kwara dream to life and further materialise other developmental plans.
=======
Abdulraman Yusuf is a Photographer, Filmmaker and a Culture and Tourism Practitioner. Yusuf is the founder of Visit Kwara. He can be reached via abdulramanyusuf4@gmail.com. He tweets @xultan_visuals.
