…Declares every Thursday Adire Osun day
By Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
The Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has launched mass production, promotion and marketing of Adire Osun.
This is as the Governor further made it compulsory for all public and civil servants to wear the local fabric as he declared every Thursday of the week ‘Adire Osun Day.’
The initiative is in furtherance of the Administration’s efforts to preserve and promote the production of Adire Osun as well as bolster the image of Osun as a culturally correct and indigenous product inclined State.
He said the International Fashion Week and the Launch of Adire Osun are no doubt giant strides towards diversifying the State’s economy and creating jobs for the teeming youths.
To achieve the initiative and take its plans to fruition, the State Government has partnered with Musty Great Development and Alexandria Jones Couture, U.S.A., to organise the International Fashion Week, for the promotion of Osun brand of Adire (Adire Eleko) for Global exhibition.
Oyetola said Adire is indigenous to Osun and that it is not for nothing that Osogbo, the State capital, is referred to as ‘Ilu Aro’ (Home of dye).
Launching the initiative in Osogbo on Saturday, Oyetola said the initiative was to reawaken the people’s consciousness towards sociocultural and artistic renaissance in the State.
Oyetola who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, reiterated the Administration’s commitment to promote and project culture to the world in a way that will draw attention and attract humongous revenue to the State.
He stressed that the State under his watch would continue to support the cause of employing indigenous resources to grow her revenue base, saying the initiative for cultural repositioning, renaissance and economic recovery were in line with the Administration’s Development Agenda.
He said, “Due to the various commitments of the State Government, the Federal Government and other Private and Public Development Partners are collaborating with the State for the provision of infrastructure and the upgrade of our cultural and tourism sites to global standards.
“In furtherance of efforts of this Government to preserve and promote the production of Adire Osun as well as bolster the image of Osun as a culturally correct and indigenous product inclined State, every Thursday has been declared Adire Osun Day. Consequently, effective from August 27th, 2021, all Public and Civil Servants in the State shall wear Adire to work,” he declared.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Adebisi Obawale, said the initiative was aimed at building marketing channels through which Adire products would be produced, promoted and marketed globally.
Obawale noted that the epoch-making event has brought participants from far and near, most importantly from five countries of the world to Osun as part of efforts to ensure that Osun takes its rightful position in culture and tourism.
“In our Adire Osun repositioning strategy, we have identified three levels to be addressed: production, promotion and marketing, and the commitment of our partners includes building a marketing network where designers outside Nigeria will purchase Adire directly from producers in our State,” Obawale said.