The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, says Ile Ife will be the take-off point of the new Nigerian economy in a post oil and gas era.
Oba Ogunwusi expressed optimism that an exploration of the huge solid minerals in the state, especially gold, would give an unprecedented boost to the nation’s economy and shift it away from volatility of the crude oil market.
He stressed the need for focus to shift from oil and gas to other solid minerals in Nigerian states.
“All over the country solid minerals are everywhere. But we haven’t even exploited it.
“Indeed, we can survive without oil and gas. If we don’t have oil and gas, we can survive because the mysteries in this land are more than anywhere in the world.
“There is a huge potential in Ife. There is no solid mineral we don’t have. We have gold, Timberlight Gemstone… We have very large scale deposit of all those materials and I like to practice what I preach”, he said in an interview with channels television.
The Oba said that he was already working with the State and Federal Governments to promote solid minerals, tourism and agriculture to keep the youths engaged and promote the local economy.
