People of Esie community in Kwara State have commended the Federal Government for the construction of a  befitting gallery for the National Museum, Esie to complement the old one built by the colonial government many decades ago.

In a statement issued by the Esie Monuments Festival Committee and made available to Community News in Ilorin at the weekend, the people said that preparations were in top gear to host tourists and connoisseurs of culture from Nigeria and abroad to this year festival scheduled for April 4 an 6.

The statement jointly signed by chairman of the committee, Professor (Mrs) Bolanle Awe and the Secretary of the committee, Mr. Ololade Oyeyipo, further urged the federal, state and local governments to accord Esie National Museum and the host community the attention, assistance and respect they deserve.

It added that this year festival would feature presentation of academic papers by the Vice Chancellor, Kwara State University, Malete, Professor AbdulRasheed Na’Allah.

Other speakers expected at the workshop entitled: “Establishing a centre to unravel the mystery of Esie stone images for the development of Kwara State”, include the Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Abuja, Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman, Prof. Demola Jolayemi of Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ekiti State and Prof. David Aremu of University of Ibadan, among others.

It would also feature cultural dances, hunting expedition, food exhibition, fashion  parade, raffle draw and visit to the Museum on the last day of the occasion.

According to the statement, the committee was established by concerned culture patriots of Esie origin with the primary purposes of ensuring the preservation, protection and projection of all Esie cultural heritages for the economic benefit of the people, Kwara State and the country.

It appealed to the Kwara State government to lend its support to the efforts of members of the committee because “the Annual Esie Monuments Festival is growing with amazing rapidity in popularity and patronage with the attendant enormous pressures and challenges of funds and facilities.

“As we prepare for this year Esie Monuments Festival scheduled to hold between April 4 and 6, with a huge estimated budget hanging on our neck, we wish to appeal to the Kwara State government for substantial financial support that would make it less burdensome for us to organise a befitting festival,” the people said

The committee also called on the state government to hasten the fulfilment of its earlier promise to sink two boreholes and water system toilets on the festival grounds on the National Museum Road, Esie.