Revisiting and resuscitating local craft productions in Ogbomoso: a path to economic revival and global recognition by OluBunmi ODEWUMI

Ogbomoso, the land of hardworking people and rich heritage, is blessed with craftsmanship. Our soil did not only produce warriors and scholars, it also produced hands that shaped wood, wove cloth, molded clay, bent iron, designed gold etc.

Alas, today many of these crafts are fading. Yet their echo still lives in the names of our areas, in our stories, and in the memory of our elders. It is time we revisited and resuscitated these local crafts productions.

Ogbomoso: A town built on craft

There is hardly any area in Ogbomoso where a craft was not once practiced. Our history is woven into our geography:

1. Mat and raffia weaving: Once a major occupation. Our mats adorned homes and palaces across Yorubaland (Oja jagun).

2. Pottery making: Women molded pots, water jars, and cooking utensils that served generations (Ebu koko Taraa, Okelerin etc).

3. Local soap making: “Ose Dudu” and other herbal soaps made Ogbomoso a reference point for natural wellness (Baaki, Akandie etc).

4. Local indigo dyeing – “Adire Eleko:” Our women dyed cloth with indigo in patterns that told stories (Ita Alaro).

5. Blacksmithing: Forged cutlasses, hoes, and tools that fed the farms of Oyo and beyond (Isude, Ologbo etc).

6. Aso Oke weaving: The royal and ceremonial cloth that gave dignity to our culture (Fedegbo, Okolu, Agbomojo etc).

7. Calabash mending and crafting: Our artisans built the traditional carriages and later adapted to modern woodwork (Alakia, Afigbaoge, Asungba etc).

8. Wood carving: Lineages like the Abogunde, Osuntedo and Olukutan families of Ogbomoso became renowned for intricate wood carvings, doors, stools, and sculptures that are still in demand today.

These crafts were not just jobs. They were identity. They were schools. They were tourism before the word existed.

Why we must revisit and resuscitate now

1. Source of income and wealth creation: Reviving these crafts will create small, medium, and large enterprises. A revived Aso Oke or Adire industry alone can employ hundreds and generate export revenue.

2. Reduce unemployment and idleness: Our youths need productive hands. Apprenticeship in blacksmithing, carving, and weaving will engage them and keep them away from social vices.

3. Education and training centres: We can establish craft and vocational centres where old masters teach young apprentices. This preserves knowledge and creates a skilled workforce.

4. Tourism and cultural centres: Imagine a “Ogbomoso Craft Village” where tourists come to see live pottery, watch Aso Oke being woven, and buy authentic Ogbomoso soap and carvings. This will project our town globally.

5. Preserve heritage and identity: When a craft dies, a part of us dies. By reviving them, we keep the names of our areas meaningful and we honor our ancestors.

The way forward

To make this a reality, these suggestions are put forward:

1. Government support: The local government and ministry of trade should provide grants, workshops, and exhibition spaces for artisans.

2. Partnership with institutions: LAUTECH, OYSATECH, and other schools should include traditional crafts in their entrepreneurship curriculum.

3. Cooperatives and associations: Artisans in each craft should form unions for bulk purchase of materials and joint marketing.

4. Marketing and branding: “Made in Ogbomoso” must become a brand. We should use social media and trade fairs to project our products locally and internationally.

5. Honoring the masters: Let us document and celebrate the Abogundes, the weavers, the dyers, and the gold and blacksmiths while they are still with us.

Conclusion

Ogbomoso was/is great because our hands were busy and our minds were creative. The echo of mat weaving, pottery, soap making, Aso Oke, and wood carving still calls to us from the names of our streets and compounds.

If we revisit and resuscitate these local crafts, we will not only create jobs and wealth, we will reposition Ogbomoso as a cultural and economic hub. The world is looking for authenticity. Ogbomoso has it.

Let us go back to our craft. Let us build again. Ogbomoso o ni baje o!

Dr. Odewumi is a member of the Friends of National Museum, behind Ogbomoso SLG. Sunsun, Ogbomoso.