The Osun State government has advised tourists, devotees and visitors to the grand finale of the annual Osun Osogbo Festival on Friday not to drink water from the Osun River because of contamination.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Rafiu Isamotu, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Osogbo.
According to him, the authorities started a campaign of public education to warn people against drinking the festival’s water since it had been tainted by artisanal miners’ activities and was unsafe for consumption.
Isamotu stated that public health officials would be present at the grove throughout the festival to further educate attendees on the risks associated with drinking the water.
The Osun Osogbo Festival is an annual event usually celebrated in August at the Osun Sacred Grove, in worship of the goddess of fertility. The festival is usually attended by tourists from all over the world, as well as devotees.
Tourists, visitors, and devotees drank from the ancient River during the festival in hopes of receiving divine guidance; some even took the water home to use as bathwater.
Adekunle Fatai, the Osun Osogbo Grove’s curator and site manager, estimates that 60,000 tourists and devotees would attend the grand finale on Friday.
According to reports, the river was significantly contaminated with harmful substances that are harmful to human health, such as mercury, lead, cyanide, and others.
A geographical information analysis and laboratory tests carried out by a non-governmental organisation, Urban Alert, also affirmed the presence of heavy elements in the water.
