The Federal Government has promised to partner Niger State government to develop it’s tourism potentials in order to contribute to the economic development of the state and the country in general.
The Minister of Art Culture Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa gave the assurance when she received a delegation from Niger State led by the member representing Bida/Gbako/Katcha federal Constituency of Niger State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Sa’idu Musa Abdullahi in her office on Tuesday.
The lawmaker who was accompanied by the General Manager Niger State Tourism Cooperation, Hajiya Zainab Mohammed informed the minister that, they paid the visit in order to discuss the tourism potentials of Niger State which he said was enormous and can drive it’s economic development drive in line with President Tinubu’s economic transformation agenda.
He said, “I am from Bida, I represent three local governments. Bida is the headquarters of all the Nupe speaking people across the globe and we have very very rich culture, you know, to the extent that today I think Bida is the first UNESCO city for crafts and art forms, you know, in all of the country.
“So we feel we’re not doing much in terms of giving our culture the visibility that it requires. We are who we are, we can’t change who we are and for people to identify and appreciate who we are, we must make our culture very very visible. We identify with everything that this ministry under the leadership of the Honourable Minister is doing.
There’s this advert on television, you know, anytime I see you on it I always get very elated because this you could see the Nigerian-ness, you could see the passion with which you made the presentation. So what we have to do, especially some of us are privileged to be in position of representation, we need to come up with collaborative efforts in order to make your job a lot easier.
“Yours is to be able to showcase our culture, what we have to offer other people and but you can’t be everywhere, that’s the whole essence of having some of us in different locations. So we have come to present this opportunity of collaboration, of showcasing the rich Inupiaq culture and how we do it, twice a year we do the Bariki festival.
“Before you came in, I was talking about the history of the Bariki itself. It started long before independence, during the colonial masters, it’s more like a homage paying to the colonial masters on the 5th of Sallah, the traditional institution when the people goes to meet the colonial masters to pay homage and even after independence.
“It’s a tradition that has been carried through up to date. So we said it’s been done almost same way right from time immemorial. So we want to give it a different face, we want to do it differently and I want to make it an international festival and I take inspiration from what I see in Ogun State.
What I saw was so colourful and I said what we have in Bida, you know, I’m sure it’s even richer in terms of the length of history but it has not been approached from the way they approach that and I said if we’re able to do that, there are so many things that the country will gain from it. Economic benefits will come, it will create employment opportunities for people, it will create wealth for our people because that’s another angle to boost tourism, and I said okay, it can be talks, talks and talks, let’s be able to walk our talks and it’s one of the reasons why we’re here this morning, to present this opportunity of collaboration.
“I know how passionate my governor can be but with you on the project, we own it more than if it’s us discussing with him, if you see this is a collaboration between Federal Ministry of Culture and my office and the tourism board, I’m sure it will be something that he will want to be a part of, so we have come to seek for that collaboration with the ministry.
“I assure you it’s something that when we get into and we do it the way we want to do it, you will of course be grateful for having this opportunity, so I think she may want to say one or two things, it’s our call, you know, yeah, she’s the technocrat, I’m a politician”.
Responding, the Minister of Art Culture Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa appreciated the Niger State delegation for the visit and emphasised on the need for collaboration with Niger State which she said has visible tourism potentials that can be developed.
She said, “I think you’ve already said everything that has to be said, you know, of course I’ve discussed with you, I’ve discussed with the team, you know, we’re working to partner with the state governments and of course Niger State is one of those, especially when you think about all the different assets that Niger State has to offer in terms of tourism and of course the proximity as well.
“Zuma rock just down the road is another, that’s another area that, you know, we have interest in seeing how we can continue to enhance and amplify as a tourist attraction purely because of the proximity and of course that is Niger State, right? So I think we’re working on a project, one of the initiatives is called the New Renewed Hope Cultural Renaissance Project, it’s the president’s vision of partnering with the federal and state government just in your own vision.
“We’ve already signed agreements or MOUs with some states, you know, we, I don’t, I can’t see us finishing all the 36 states, however there are some key states, I think, in terms of culture and in terms of every, every state has culture, every state has tourism, right? But I think there are some key states, advantage of proximity, Niger State and what you do have to offer.
“I think Niger State is one of those that we will hope to prioritise in this, in the next few weeks, I would say, if I speak to His Excellency, to see if we can come and sign that MOU and I think under that MOU, because that would now form the partnership that the ministry will continue to have with the state government beyond each and every one of us, right? Yes, being in office.
“I think these are some of the projects that can be used to flesh out that specific MOU and, you know, we can start working on this. I will talk, like I said, with His Excellency to see, or rather, Abu, you can speak with the commissioner to see if we can have a date and you’ll talk to our team as well, that we can come and cover Niger State and then, you know, we’ll be quite deliberate in talking about the specific projects such as, you know, the Hawan Sallah, the Hawan Bariki and, of course, some of these tourism potentials.
“So, I think we can, I think that this one is a given. I think we can do that immediately. So, I think you will arrange that so that we can do it next week. If you can reach out to the governor, if he can have us next week”.
