Tourism, like other sectors, has not been having good time since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the globe. For faster recovery, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has initiated a strategic five-point action plan tagged: CHIEF anchored on domestic tourism, according to its Director-General Mr. Folorunso Coker, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

 

Director-General Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mr. Folorunso Coker has said that the continued drop in value of the Naira has made it more imperative for NTDC to ‘deploy strategies to attract our citizens to consume more of Nigeria to grow the Naira and our economy.’ He stated that with travelers considering destinations closer to home due to travel restrictions and safety concerns, countries with higher shares of domestic tourism are likely to recover earlier and faster.

According to a report titled Nigerian Tourism – The Next Four Years (2021 – 2025), Coker said the fallout of COVID-19 pandemic informed NTDC’s early recognition and deployment of domestic tourism as a national policy that will stimulate the complete tourism value chain because it is cheaper and more affordable, with little to zero bureaucratic restrictions.

Coker said that going forward, the corporation will provide education and informs the citizens on the diversity of experiential benefits that exist across the country- generates employment for the youth and women who are the most vulnerable in society, reduces local or rural poverty, enhances the creative sector, galvanises economic growth and contributes to infrastructure upgrade where government is committed to its development.

The Tour Nigeria brand, he said, was created to build the premier online destination for authentic Nigeria content, using technology, creativity, arts and culture to push the new national agenda.

“In line with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021 – 2025), we are determined to deepen the initiatives for diversified growth and sustainable development in the country whilst accentuating and providing a coordinated approach for harnessing the inherent potentials in our economy, particularly through the promotion of non-oil exports. At NTDC, we recognised the abundant investment potentials in the tourism industry and realised the urgent need to explore and promote the best of Nigeria domestically and internationally.

“As the apex tourism regulator and promotion agency in Nigeria, the Corporation had created the Tour Nigeria brand to encourage domestic tourism and showcase the best of Nigeria since 2017 because domestic tourism is six times larger than international tourism,” he added.

Coker described Nigeria as the economic and entertainment hub of Africa with the greatest concentration of black people in the world, enriched with diverse people, distinct cultures, unique art, good music, food, fashion, film, sport and religion.

“We have an advantage: our population; majority of the countries benefiting from tourism revenue such as Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles etc. do not have the population and demography of Nigeria. In fact, the total inhabitants of some countries do not equal the total population of Lagos dwellers – over 20 million. The percentage of our population with the purchasing power for tourism is above 30per cent, out of over 180 million Nigerians,” he said.

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According to Coker, in seeking to achieve a sustainable tourism agenda, NTDC created a Strategic Tourism Development Roadmap / Action Plan (2017-2021) titled the CHIEF plan, which laid the foundation to open up Nigeria as a major tourism destination in Africa through the development of Domestic Tourism. The Roadmap, he said,, utilises strategic ideas to encourage Nigerians to spend their holidays in Nigeria and learn more about this greatly endowed nation.

But, in the next four years, the CHIEF plan will continue to serve as a roadmap for further stimulation of the tourism sector to harness the tourism assets whilst deploying effective communication through media channels to promote tourism.

NTDC’s plan of action will be anchored on the introduction of national tourism five-Point Action Plan C-H-I-E-F, which consists of corporate governance and regulations, human capital development, infrastructural development, events and marketing, finance and investment.

He lamented the unexpected and unprecedented incursion of Coronavirus in last year, which resulted in massive disruptions in the travel and tourism ecosystem leading to a need for all to rethink tourism post COVID-19. This, he said, has brought about sudden changes and shifts in both the supply and demand sides of the entire tourism value chain.

This unprecedented event also offers us as a nation an equal opportunity with other nation states to re-imagine Tourism Post COVID-19 and chart an accelerated path for recovery for the industry in Nigeria.

“At NTDC, we had focused on domestic tourism as our recovery solution to create healing for the people, healing for prosperity and healing for destinations and in line with the above, we conceived the Tour Nigeria brand to drive domestic consumption of tourism products in Nigeria, commercialise tourism and generate employment. The brand is hinged on the identification, exploration, exposition, enhancement and promotion of creative assets across the country using sustainable approaches. We believe that an entrepreneurial mindset to tourism business brings a fresh innovative perspective to tourism governance’’, Coker assured.

No fewer than 13 professional associations and guilds representatives converged on Lagos recently to interface on key issues of interest concerning film and video sub-sector of the creative industry. The interaction tagged: Safer Internet Dialogue On Hate Speeches, was at the instance of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

 

 

The lingering issues of double taxation and the supremacy of federal laws over states’ when conflict arises took  the centre stage at a recent meeting of registered professional associations, guilds in the movie subsector and the media in Lagos.

Despite a Federal High Court, Lagos ruling that Lagos State Government cannot exercise regulatory powers to register and license cinema exhibition centres in Lagos State under the Cinematograph Law of Lagos State, at the same time with the Federal Government, there was still apprehension among members of the guilds.

The stakeholders meeting, called at the instance of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), provided an interface on some of these key issues of mutual interest in the film and video sub-sector of the economy. It also served to promote the board’s role in media literacy within the ecosystem for peace and economic prosperity.

Executive Director, National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, said the issue of hate speech should be domesticated and be examined from a cultural perspective, noting that ‘when a child is being brought up, there are things we ask the child not to say; so, the issue of hate speech is part and parcel of our moral development on a daily basis.

“Part of our media literacy programmes is to enlighten the people and when it concerns NFVCB, it’s because of the kind of things we see on a daily basis as they affect the society. In our work, we should be wary of what we project especially as it concerns the creative industry so that we are not being seen as contributing to negativity in the society. So, we need to address ourselves about that,” he said.

Reacting to agitations by some practitioners not wanting to belong to the pool, he said ‘it is an insult for some to call themselves independent movie producers since there is no independent lawyer, independent engineer, or surveyor or other profession not having an association. If anyone does not want to be involved in our politics he or she should pay his due. But if anyone does not want to pay his due, he can’t be a producer, director or distributor, he should become an executive producer. Whatever is not in the law should not be accommodated.’

He however, warned that the board will no longer engage with practitioners in the movie industry who are yet to be registered. Citing ‘Act 17 sub-section 2 and 3 of the NFVCB Act’ he said the directive was imperative in order to restore sanity to the industry that has been saturated by many non-professionals.

He added that any practitioner who refuses to register will be sanctioned and pulled out of business as the board wants the best for genuine practitioners in the industry.

Alhaji Thomas reassured movie producers and marketers of the board’s protection urging them to play by the rules. He said that the board will continue to  serve their interest diligently by providing legitimacy and quality to their films and movies through effective classification and censorship.

He stated that there is no ambiguity on the position of the NFCVB (on double taxation) about the supremacy of federal laws over states’ in matters of conflict between the two. He stressed that the board decries double taxation but that if the state and Federal are legislating on the same matter, when a conflict arises, federal laws will supersede that of the state.

“It’s not encouraging to be paying double taxation anywhere. The best I can do is to say that yes it is true we are collecting money from you. If am asked is it right for me to collect money and another person collect money from you on same matter? I will say no. Then, the court says you’re right, you must not be paying federal and pay state,” he said.

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Alhaji Thomas noted that for censors board to effectively carry out its mandate, it has to increase its capacity, adding that ‘our monitoring or censoring must increase while arrest must be made of those who market uncensored films.’  “We have to increase our capacity to do that…We are not bankers. NFVCB is a regulator and we are like police,” he added.

National President National Association of Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Mr. Isreal Eboh tasked stakeholders on the need to bring some measure of control to the operations, noting that giving much room for ‘independent’ player, means ‘we aren’t ready to start.’

“I agree that there is a need for us to have greater synergy and more consultations among the guilds. Again, until we start to work together, we can’t achieve what we want to achieve. We tend to always want to play down individuals working towards a common empire for a greater sector. I hope we will take advantage of this and work towards strong sector. I believe that there’s a need for us as guilds to have our liaison with the Nigerian Film and Videos Censor Board, if we are going to make this work,” Eboh said.

It would be recalled that last year June, a judgment delivered by Hon. Justice (Prof.) Chuka Austine Obiozor in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1502/2016, Harris & Annis Limited v Attorney General of Lagos State & 3 Ors, the court faulted the dual registration and annual licensing fees exacted by both the Federal and Lagos State Governments. In the suit filed by its lawyers, Auxano Law, Harris & Annis Limited, which operates ‘Dew Cinema’ in Lagos State, joined the Attorney- General of Lagos State, the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board (LSFVCB), the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) as defendants.

Alhaji Thomas however, hinted that he was having consultations with the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture on how to resolve these issues of double taxation.

Among associations represented at the meeting, which was anchored by actor Keppy Ekpenyong Bassey included: Creative Designers Guilds of Nigeria (CDGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Theatre Arts and Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria  (FVPMAN), Association of Movie Content Owners and Producers and Distributors of Nigeria  (AMCOD ), National Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners  (NANTAP), Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN), and  Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN). Others were: Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN), Film Distributors Associations of Nigeria (FDAN), Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Screen Writers Guild of Nigeria (SWGN) and Association of Nigerian Movie Directors (ANMD).

By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

 

At first glance, one would mistake them for school children in carnival. But a closer look would prove onlookers wrong. They were not in Awka, the state capital, for a jamboree, but for serious business.

No doubt, the over 100 students from various schools in Onitsha could not have agreed to abandon their studies for nothing. Their lives were no longer safe. No thanks to the recent wave of abduction, torture and killing of children in the state.

One of such cases was that of an 80-year-old woman, Mrs Chidi Felicia Nwafor and her 39-year old daughter, Chinyere Rejoice Raymond at No 13 Akunwanta Mbamalu Street, Federal Housing Estates 3-3 Nkwelle Ezunaka, Anambra State.

The duo were reportedly arrested over alleged abduction, torture and killing of children. The police operatives from the 3-3 police station had rescued three children, two underaged boys and a girl who were subjected to dehumanising treatment by the suspects.

According to police report, some fetish substances, blood-stained canes, concoctions and other incriminating items were all recovered inside the rooms from where the children were rescued.

The protesters, mobilised by Owners of Private Schools Association of Nigeria (OPSAN) and Onitsha Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), had called for the prosecution of the arrested suspects still in detention for alleged torture of minors.

The students, drawn from private schools in the six educational zones wore different school uniforms and bore placards with varying inscriptions, demanding thorough investigations into the activities of the suspects.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Say no to child abuse, Say no to child molestation, Protect the Nigerian child, Stop killing us, We are not safe, We are not safe, The blood of children killed by the suspect are crying for justice”.

The National President of OPSAN, Uzochukwu Solomon Nwanonyuo, said the children decided to embark on the demonstration to ensure that the police carried out discreet investigations into the activities of Chinyere Rejoice Raymond, adding that the protest was part of the measures to ensure that the matter was not swept under the carpet.

He recalled that the suspect who is currently under the police custody at the State CID, Awka, was arrested with four kids seriously battered, of which some of them had been rushed to various hospitals.

He said: “Almost two weeks after the arrest of the accused persons, concerned citizens and stakeholders had not heard anything concerning their prosecution.

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“These children from the six educational zones in the state are part of the protest march in realisation that their own had been victimised, and that it could be their turn next time.

“We’re here to ensure that the case is not swept under the carpet. We call on the police not to delay dispensation of justice but to ensure that the victimised children are adequately cared for.

“There is already a move to give them scholarship up to the university level.”

Secretary of Onitsha NBA Human Rights Committee, Mr Tony Iheanacho, flanked by the chairman of the committee and vice chairman, NBA, Onitsha branch, Mrs Margaret Wilcox-Iwuchukwu, insisted that all they wanted was police to expedite action and prosecute the accused so as to deter others.

He said:“NBA’s involvement is simply to back the protest because in Nigeria, anything goes and these children will not want the matter to die like that so that justice will take its course.”

He lamented that the three children were maltreated, starved and some of them (purportedly) pounded to death because there were traces of bloodstains on the wall and gutter in her compound.

“This confirmed the allegation that she was maltreating and allegedly killing children because flesh of little children was found there,” he added.

Some of the school children who spoke to The Nation, demanded the public prosecution of the suspect, saying that they felt the pain of those maltreated children, adding that it could have been any one of them.

Miss Vanessa Nkamuigbo, nine-year-old pupil of Shalom Solid School; Glory Udemba of Prosperity School, Onitsha; and Rose Ikechukwu, a 10-year-old pupil of Shalom Solid Foundation, Onitsha, defended the involvement of the children in the protest on the ground of solidarity.

Responding, the Commissioner of Police, Monday Kuryas, who spoke through the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), S.U. Akpan-Udom, appreciated the peaceful conduct of the protesters and assured them that the matter was still under investigation, while the culprits would be charged to court soon.

He however, complained against exposing the little children to the dangers inherent in road protests and urged parents to look after their children to avoid being victims of kidnappers or child traffickers.

He said: “The Command is determined to stem the tide of violence against children. The recent arrest of a syndicate of child abuse from 33 Division is receiving attention in SCID.

“A discreet investigation will be carried out by the police, after which the suspect would be prosecuted.

“Parents should also try to take care of their children and know their whereabouts. We thank people of the state for their cooperation by giving the police timely information that led to the arrest of the syndicate.

The police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed, had shortly after the arrest disclosed that the commissioner of police in the state, CP Monday Bala Kuryas, has ordered for a discreet investigation into the circumstances surrounding the case after which suspects would be brought to justice.

The state Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Lady Mrs Ndidi Mezue, had earlier promised to leave no stone unturned towards providing adequate care and justice for the three children.

Mezue, while visiting the rescued children, two under-aged boys and a girl, at a hospital where they were receiving medical attention, expressed shock at the level of inhuman treatment the children were subjected to, as they had scars, with fresh bruises and infliction meted on them.

She pledged accelerated hearing to the case with a view to prosecuting culprits, assuring government commitment to fighting child abuses in the state through the ministry.

 

By Emma Anya

From 180.1 kilometres away, Nwoye Samuel Ogechi heard the cries and lamentations of children, their parents and other hapless aged men and women in crisis-torn Effium, an agrarian community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Ogechi would not let them die in the ‘war’ allegedly stoked by motor park touts acting for politicians. Since he was not on the ground, the 38-year-old Onitsha-based businessman mobilised a team led by his Personal Assistant, Onyekachi Akin-Goodluck, to arrange logistics, including vehicles to move in and evacuate close to 200 trapped persons.

And of course, no one goes into such a danger zone without security protection and guides. Ogechi provided the funds to pull the evacuation of the trapped persons through.

Some were taken to the homes of their relatives in Abakaliki, the state capital and nearby communities while others, with nowhere to go were dropped off at Internally Displaced Camps in Abakaliki.

Ogechi did not stop with just taking to safe grounds, he also made sure they were fed not only during the five days the evacuation lasted but thereafter.

He didn’t do so because he was from the community, his love for humanity and urge to fill the gap left by the authorities propelled him.  His own community, Ikwuator Idembia in Ezza LGA, is dozens of kilomtres away from Effium.

”I reside in Onitsha in Anambra State but what prompted me  to help the displaced members of   Effium and Ezza Effium get evacuated from the crisis areas is the fact that I see human beings as one irrespective of where they  come from.

”Life is sacred, and as such, should be respected. Even the Holy Bible records that thou shall not kill but today, we see people killing and maiming each other for nothing.  Those children, the old men and women, young boys and girls were in danger. Imagine spending nights in the bush because of the crisis not caused by them?

“I just decided that something must be done after reading their ordeal  via Facebook posts. Initially, I thought of where to take them to but some of them said  they had places they could be taken to. So, my team acted based  on the location where they wanted to be dropped.

”Some were dropped at their relatives homes  in Abakaliki town, some were taken to other communities where they have relations for safety. Some who had nowhere  to go were taken to IDP camps also for safety. These people were close to 200 and we evacuated them in batches for five days,” the young business man added.

The businessman and philanthropist  said  paying the drivers, the security personnel and the guides through his pet organisation, Ogbogu Foundation, was not a challenge. What worried him the most were the safety of all involved in the evacuation process, the trapped persons,  the deplorable state of roads leading into and out of Effium. Effium shares border with Nwokwo Odoke, another agrarian community in Benue State.

It takes just an hour from Ngbo junction to  get to  Ezza-Effium. But those on the evacuation mission feared using the route  because of the hostility from the axis. They therefore had no option than to ply the road linking Effium and Izzi, a route that takes   close to 24 hours to reach    Abakaliki.

”Funding the evacuation really was not a big issue. The most challenging  thing was  journeying into the crisis areas. You know anything could happen during a crisis of that magnitude. If you listened to Governor (Dave) Umahi  on February 22, he  said 25 persons lost their lives  to the  crisis between the people of Effium and Ezza Effium. Governor Umahi also said that 125 houses, fuel and gas stations were  burnt while 26 arms were recovered. That shows the magnitude of the ‘war.’ Anything could have happened.

“Another challenge we had was  locating  a safe  road  to ply to get the trapped people. There was also poor telecom network coverage in the areas. That alone seriously affected my team in establishing contact with the  victims of the crises. We went through these challenges but  God saw us through.

”You  also  know it’s not possible for one  to bring  out people to safe ground  and fail to    feed them. I made provision for their feeding too.”

Ogechi is not interested in seeking recognition by either the state government or Ohaukwu LGA authorities. He is more than happy that he actualised a divine mission to rescue victims of the ‘war’

“I come of the Lord! I am not doing it so as to be acknowledged by anybody or any authority. It’s a way of laying my support to the downtrodden.”

The philanthropist however has advice for the state government as well as Ezza-Effium  and Effium youths.

”The area in dispute should be taken over by the government until normalcy returns. The stakeholders of the two conflicting clans should be summoned by the government with a view to resolving the issues in dispute. I am happy that the state government  has  set up a panel of enquiry to investigate the immediate and the remote causes of the crisis and possibly come up with resolutions,” he said.

To the youths, he said:  “You are the leaders of tomorrow. Youth leaders have much to offer in advancing a culture of peace. Given tools and the opportunities, they can change the world while still young. It is time for the full development of the capacities and quality of life of all citizens on planet Earth.

Book Review

Title: Museums of Dream

Author: Olatunde Ojerinde

Reviewer: Chisom Nlebedum

Publishers: Kraftgriots

Pagination: 100

Throughout the ages, whether through poems, plays, novels or oral literary performances, the role of literature in society as a catalyst for reflection and change in our lives, values and society has been acknowledged. Indeed, in Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, William Shakespeare who captured this perfectly when he noted that the purpose of a play is to hold, as it were, the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure (Hamlet).

At the heart of this role is its ability to present the human condition, which we are all too familiar with, in an outrageously explicit manner. Thus, forcing us to confront such issue in another light, to understand it and ultimately take a stand with or against it.

In Museums of Dream (MOD), the playwright Olatunde Ojerinde does not gloss over the very acts of corruption, tribalism, and nepotism which we are all too familiar with in different spheres of our national life. He launches, rather, into a prolonged sensational presentation of such issues with characters whose words, thoughts and actions invoke very many different feelings from us, the readers. For instance, when the character Barawu, the corrupt head of civil service, speaks or acts, we feel rage in two ways: either because we know he is a typical representation of most Nigerian civil servants or because we do not know this level of rot exists and we feel he should suffer some consequences.

Whichever it is, what stands out is proof of the playwright’s creative ability in mirroring our civil service’s value system back to us; to force us to ponder on how and why exactly this sort of unpatriotic and selfish individual is allowed to run our system down with mediocrity and greed.

This is also true for other characters in the play like Chief Ole, who generates a generous amount of disgust in the reader. He is the typical CEO we are told daily, by motivational speakers, to emulate. What inspirational speakers, however, do not often know is that Chief Ole, like many of his contemporaries, do not run any business per se, but are fronts for corporate scams and fraud aimed at ripping off the country and its citizens. They are the ones who supply candidates for our politics and civil services, with the sole aim of safeguarding their personal and business interests. This shows the playwright’s insider perspective of our systems of organised crime, working hand in hand to sabotage our founders dream.

But, literature is not always complete if it reveals all these woes and forgets to provide catharsis in the end, for as Chinua Achebe noted, stories exist to prepare us to confront the many troubles that assailed the characters in our stories, should we encounter those in real life. Hence, like every good literary work, Ojerinde concludes by bringing the victims of Chief Ole, Barawu, and the nepotistic academics’ game of divide and conquer together in a conversation. It is the youth, Simi, Zeug and Limerick who come together to question the status quo, and why they must continue to be pawns in the game of chess played by the older characters. In doing this, Ojerinde provides an outlet for hope, for the faith in our ability as humans to always rise and change our world, if only we dare.