THE PAKITI EXPERIENCE

Having learnt a lot about the merits of ecological tourism during my undergraduate days, I deemed it fit to always embark on tourism trips at least once or twice yearly. This would serve as a means to ease myself from the daily rigorous working activities, this would serve as a perfect avenue to relax my mind and physical body and at the same time feed my eyes with the beauty of nature. Interestingly, some friends expressed their passion to embark on this great adventure with me. They saw this as an opportunity to add to a list of historical sites they’ve visited, network and meet new friends.

Sunday 13th June, 2021 was the day we scheduled to visit the Owala Dam in Pakiti, Osun State, Nigeria. The convergence point for this journey was the notable freedom park located in the heart of Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. I got to the convergence point at about 10:11 am and in no time, other friends joined. We had to wait for few minutes for the arrival of the bus we booked to convey us to the site. While waiting for the bus, we all took time to interact on our expectations and took some few pictures.
The road trip from Freedom Park, Osogbo to Pakiti took about forty-five minutes; the roads were in deplorable condition which is typical of Nigerian roads.

The owala dam was constructed in 1996 during the administration then Old Oyo State for the sole purpose of providing water for the daily consumption of residents in the state. The dam is one of the four (4) dams in Osun State. The dam is presently controlled by the Osun State Water Coporation alongside the village head of Pakiti (the village head is also a staff of Osun State Water Coporation). The dam through the Osun State Water Coporation serves as a source of water for Ede, Osun State. Also, this dam was constructed with a view to generating hydro-electrical power for Osun State and in extension to other states in the South-West region. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been looked into by past and present governments of Osun State.

While at the dam in company of friends, the village head of Pakiti took us on a tour of the facilities in the dam, most notable was the main water outlet that supplies water to Ede, the control tower and the turbine system. The village head of Pakiti did so well to make us enjoy the visit by answering every question and also taking us through the 122 steps that leads from the control tower to the main water outlet.

After the tour of the dam and its facilities, we decided to move to the bank of the river. The locals in Pakiti are mainly into fishing and agrarian in nature. The community was rural and had little or no access to basic infrastructural facilities. We were close to the river bank when some village youths appeared and inquired about what our mission was. We calmly explained our reason for the visit to their leader and he was happy to hear that some group of individuals came to see the beauty of nature in their village. They welcomed us with warm hands and told us to have fun to the fullest but we should be cautious while having fun.

We settled beside the river bank and we also stepped into the river to have a feel of its warmth. To make the tour more interesting, we brought with us some board games and also light refreshments. We had a bit of chit-chat and moments of bonding on and off the river. We spoke at length the prospect of the government upgrading this site to a world class resort where people from the state, and other parts of the country can visit and have fun.
We wished to have canoe cruise but we were told that wouldn’t be possible because an individual lost his life recently in that river and they are still in the process of some ritual to appease the river goddess.

We had so much fun and we decided to leave back for our respective locations at exactly 6:00 pm.
It was indeed a great adventure for me and I looked forward to another trip to the next tourism site on my list.