Ebola fear hits Osun ahead of Osun-Osogbo festival

Some residents of Osogbo have expressed worries over the heavy presence of monkeys in the state and the influx of people to Osun/Osogbo festival, saying there could be breakout of EBola virus since monkeys are known to be carriers of the virus.

The grove, where a large number of people visit during the annual Osun/Osogbo festival, is known for attracting monkeys.

During an interview with NAN on Thursday, some people maintained that the chances of contacting the virus were high because of contacts with many tourists and the presence of monkeys in the state.

A resident at Dada Estate in Osogbo, Mrs Olayinka Ajibola, said the outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa would adversely affect tourism sector, including the Osun /Osogbo festival.

Ajibola said the annual Osun festival always attracts many tourists from far and near, especially the neighbouring Lagos state where the virus had been reported.

She called on the state government to put in place robust mechanism to forestall any outbreak by reducing the number of tourists entering the state.

Another residentof the town, Mr Shittu Akeju, said most of those who visit the groove during the festival might have a rethink this year.

“The celebration of Osun festival this year will suffer a little setback because of the menace of Ebola virus that is threatening the communities in the West Africa, including Nigeria,” she said.

“You will agree with me that aside the fear of contacting the disease from the crowd, the groove is also a thing of concern to them due to presence of monkey.

“It is common knowledge now that animal like monkey is a first-class carrier of the disease. This make the venue of the celebration a great danger for the  people.”

Meanwhile, Dr Abiodun Ogunwale of the Department of African Languages, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has called on the government to protect the tradition with diplomacy.

Ogunwale told NAN that the outbreak of Ebola virus should not stand as a clog to the celebration of peoples’ heritage, but he appealed that necessary caution should be taken to prevent the virus.

He explained that diplomacy should be brought to bear when taken measures to protect the people in order not to give an erroneous impression about the state, and commended the Lagos state government for being proactive in its response to the outbreak.