By Taiye Olayemi
Lagos – A professional Tour Guide, Mr Anago Osho, on Friday advised the Federal Government and private investors to create replicas of Togo’s “Akodessawa Fetish Market” in different states in the country to attract tourists.Osho gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.NAN reports that the Akodessawa Festish Market is located at Akodessawa, a district of Lomé, the capital of Togo; it is the world’s largest voodoo market where different animal heads, skulls, dead birds, crocodiles,
skin and other products of dead animals could be found.These animal parts and herbs are sold to cure different kinds of ailments by traditionalists who reside within the market.Osho said that establishing the fetish market in Nigeria would further attract more tourists into the country, as international tourists get fascinated with aspects of a nation’s culture which were considered fetish.
He said the Akodessawa fetish market had herbalists residing within the market who constantly render spiritual help to tourists, as they visit the place to learn how to concoct herbs for the healing of different kinds of ailments.According to him, Nigeria has all it takes to establish such markets in some states of the federation as the nation is also blessed with numerous traditionalists, magicians and herbs.“As Africans, everything we see as fetish about us is what interests the international tourists; so,
it is permitted to use what we have to get what we want.“Establishing the fetish market in Nigeria will change the tourism outlook of the country.“So, when we have this fetish market in about 15 states in the country, we will have huge inflow of tourists into these states and our internally generated revenue will gain some boost,” he said.
Osho said that having observed the rate at which tourists flock to the fetish market in Lome, he created one in Abeokuta, close to Olumo Rock, about three years ago.The tour guide said he included the fetish market in his packaged tour for international tourists, and this had yielded huge monetary returns for him over the years.
According to him, most of those who had visited the site craved to revisit as most have taken the destination as their second abode.He said the fetish market should be sited in states that have good potential of curative herbs.
Mr Anago Osho, a professional Tour Guide“As an experienced tour guide, I am selling this idea to government and private investors to latch on to and take this up and stop lamenting about joblessness.“When government establishes this market in states across the federation, unemployment problem will be minimised.“I have test run this with the fetish market in Abeokuta, which was established by me and some of my colleagues; most tourists are fascinated by our culture, tradition and heritage which are seen there,” he said. (NAN)