The Nation Newspaper

Tag: tourism

  • Ambode vows to make Badagry Africa’s hub of tourism

    Ambode vows to make Badagry Africa’s hub of tourism

    …Presides over exco meeting in ancient town

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday presided over the State Executive Council Meeting held at the VIP Chalet in Badagry, just as he said that his administration has fine-tuned plans to make the ancient town of Badagry a hub of tourism and resort enterprise in Africa within the next 18 to 24 months.

    The Governor, who spoke to journalists shortly after embarking on an inspection tour, said his administration would spare nothing to make Badagry a flashpoint for developmental projects in the State.

    The Governor said, “Our eyes are set on Badagry, let’s do something for the future. We are going to open up Badagry forever.”

    Ambode, who was accompanied by all members of the State Executive Council, also inspected ongoing projects and other government establishments in Badagry which according to him was an immediate response to the questions and suggestions from the 2016 Second Quarter Town Hall Meeting which held at the Muslim Community Praying Ground in Badagry on Tuesday.

    He also inspected the road under construction from Badagry Expressway to Whispering Palms Resort, where he said that the contract for completion would be awarded next week, which according to him would further boost the tourism potentials of the area.

    Ambode also paid an unscheduled visit to the Badagry Asphalt Plant, where he also seized the occasion to commission the facility.

    Addressing the workers at the Asphalt Plant, Governor Ambode commended them for the duty and commitment to work, saying that his administration is not unaware of their hard work just as he assured that they would be duly rewarded.

    Adding his voice, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, said that this was the first time, in his many years in service in the State Executive Council, that a Government would be holding its Executive Council Meeting in Badagry.

    This, according to him, was a good sign of the visionary leadership Governor Ambode was providing in the State.

    Also speaking, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, reiterated the symbolism and importance of the State Executive Council Meeting, which according to him was holding in Badagry for the first time.

    Ayorinde said that the decision of the Governor to take the meeting outside the Lagos House, Ikeja, for the very first time, was a clear indication of the Governor’s readiness and commitment to spread development to every nook and cranny of the State.

    He said that the Governor had spent three days in Badagry, which according to him, goes to show that every part of the State is secured and the Governor can perform his duty in every part of the State.

  • Tourism: Lagos to take Centre stage at TIFF

    Tourism: Lagos to take Centre stage at TIFF

    • Eight Nigerians Films to Feature in Festival

    Lagos State Government on Monday said that the State’s tourism and entertainment potentials will take the centre stage at this year’s edition of the City to City Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), saying that eight films produced in the State would be selected to feature at the festival.

    The State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, his counterpart in Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Folorunsho Folarin-Coker, who briefed journalists alongside the Artistic Director Toronto Film Festival, Mr. Cameron Bailey, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, said the development would help project tourism potential of Lagos to the teaming audience at the festival.

    Ayorinde said the move was in line with the State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode’s campaign promises to make the state a hub for tourism.

    He said the eight films to be selected does not necessarily have to be about Lagos, but films produced by directors based in the State.

    According to him, “what is important is that the films that will be selected will be films by film makers that are Lagos based it won’t matter what subject matter you are dealing with, it is about the creativity the talent you are exhibiting as a Lagos based film maker that Toronto is interested in.”

    Ayorinde said the State Government would be fully involved in any collaboration to celebrate the city and market its potentials as well as appreciate the talent of the motion industry.

    “What this government policy implies is that the Government will promote any initiative that will project Lagos as the home of film making not only in Nigeria but before the entire world,” Ayorinde said.

    Folarin-Coker on his part said the move falls in line with government’s policy that entertainment can be used to drive consumption to create employment and improve the revenue generated in the State.

    “This falls clearly in line with Governor Ambode’s mantra of THESE which stands for Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Sports for Excellence,” Coker said.

    He also revealed that the long term plan of the Government is to take back dead public spaces such as under the bridges across the State and develop it for residents to exhibit and develop their talents.

    The Commissioner also informed that the State is collaborating with the Federal Government to build a car park at the new museum to help drive tourism.

    Explaining the drive behind the Lagos and Toronto spotlight for the Festival, Cameron said much of the films Lagos produces are not being showcased in Toronto, explaining that the idea is to seize the opportunity of this year’s festival to begin a new dawn for Nigerian films.

    “We have had films like Tunde Kelani’s Abeni feature at the festival as well as Half of a Yellow Sun, which is a collaboration between Nigeria and the UK, but I think this is an opportunity to do more and to go bigger. So what we are doing this year is a spotlight on the filmmakers who live and work here in Laos. We have been so impressed with the ingenuity and creativity of individual filmmakers who have made the Nigerian film industry one of the largest on the planet,” Cameron said.

    He said Lagos, like Los Angeles, Paris and Mumbai is one of the biggest capitals of film around the world.

    He said films produced in Nollywood have spread all over the world, saying though the Nigeria Film business has gone global; the next step was to fully integrate it into the international film industry.

    “The films that are bought and sold at our Festival, the films that are written about and reported on by the critics and film journalists, the audiences that embrace the films that go on to win the big prizes like the Oscars, those films should include the films from Nigeria, the films from Lagos; the heart of this industry that has become so large and dominant around the world. This is what really projects the image of Lagos and Nigeria, the stories that are being told resonate with the people whether or not they set foot on this country,” Cameron said.

  • Tourism stakeholders set for Weizo

    Tourism stakeholders set for Weizo

    Private tourism stakeholders in West Africa will be meeting in Accra, Ghana on  July 15 at the Accra Weizo event to discuss tourism in the sub-region.  The Accra Weizo is organized by the  Akwaaba African Travel Market with the support of Ghana Ministry of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts.

    The 2016 edition themed: “Seamless Travels in West Africa” will host a discussion session on West Africa as a single destination.

    The session will have as discussants the President of Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP),Tour Operators Union of Ghana (TOUGHA), National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and heads of the tourism associations from Benin and Togo. It will be moderated by a leading Ghanaian Journalist. Accra Weizo is hosted by La Palm Royal Beach Hotel supported by Ethiopian Airlines and Accra City Hotel.

    The 2nd Accra Weizo is themed: “Seamless Travel in West-Africa”. It will be an in-depth look at ways to improve travel and tourism growth in West Africa through easy access to towns and cities in West Africa; to improve and simplify airport and border processes;to standardize hotel and facilities for tourism through shared vision.

    The guest speaker in the aviation session is Mr. Henock Teferra, the Managing Director of ASKY Airline. ASKY Airlines is a pan- Africa airline, based in Lome, Togo.

    He will be speaking on the topic “The Challenges of Running a Successful Regional Airline in West Africa at the event. The tourism session will be on “The Prospect of West Africa as a Single Tourism Destination”. There will be case studies like “SAT Experience in West Africa” by Hloni Pitso, the Regional Manager of South Africa Tourism in West Africa.

    Other speakers at this year’s event are the Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors Limited, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, and the Vice Chairman of SAHCOL, Mr. Chike Ogeah. Captain Akinkuotu, who is the former Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), is  a pilot and a flight and aircraft engineer  with vast experience in the aviation industry. He will be heading the team of panelists which include several top aviation experts and government functionaries as they discuss and deal with issues that relate to the theme of this year’s event: “Seamless Travel in West-Africa” during the 2nd Accra Weizo.

    La Palm Royal Beach will host the Carnivore night by 7pm.

    The target audience is travel professionals in West Africa. Over 150 travel professionals are expected from all over West Africa. There will be tours on  July 14 and 16 to Cape Coast.

  • How to tackle tourism challenges, by expert

    Nigerians have been urged not to leave the challenges of tourism to operators alone.

    A tourism consultant, Alhaji Yahaya Ndu, said on Tuesday in Abuja,that the sector’s  challenges of lack of capital, poor government support, poor infrastructure, political instability and natural calamities hinder its  growth.

    “Lack of capital is normally a big challenge because any individual who wants to invest in this industry must have capital in terms of money as well as other resources such as land and labour. The government does not give enough support to this industry, especially in terms of allocation of funds as well as encouragement to potential investors in tourism,” Ndu said.

    He added that Nigeria has very poor roads that hinder access to areas rich in wildlife and this has resulted in further drawbacks in the industry. He also said political instability and insecurity in the country is an issue of concern to tourists and these have made international tourists to pause when they think of visiting the country.

    “Insecurity issues, tribal clashes, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen and farmers’ attacks have also posed a threat to the industry. Though, gratefully the present government is doing a great deal to ameliorate the situation, there is also a need to improve social services such as providing sporting and recreational facilities while also re-jigging and improving the health care delivery system,” he said.

    The tourism expert said most of the tourist sites are located in the remote areas of the country and since these facilities are usually lacking in such areas, they become unavailable to would-be visitors.

    Ndu also said low levels of technology and destruction of wildlife has also been a challenge. “In most cases, these tourist areas do not have telephone and Internet services and surely in this communication age, nobody wants to be so marooned from civilisation in such a way. For tourists from developed countries, these conditions are difficult to cope with and may make Nigeria unattractive to them,” he stated.

    He pointed out that there are also reports from the national parks and game reserves where poachers kill the animals for various reasons – most of them for commercial purposes. He attributed the deterioration of the industry to lack of education and skills because many Nigerians do not know the importance of wildlife and viewed them only as money-making opportunity.

    “All these problems cannot be left for one sector alone in Nigeria because tourism cuts across all sectors of the economy,’’ Ndu emphasised, calling on all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the private sector to join hands with the tourism and hospitality industry for the nation to access the huge benefits that abound in the sector.

  • How to tackle tourism challenges, by expert

    Nigerians have been urged not to leave the challenges of tourism to operators alone.

    A tourism consultant, Alhaji Yahaya Ndu, said on Tuesday in Abuja,that the sector’s  challenges of lack of capital, poor government support, poor infrastructure, political instability and natural calamities hinder its  growth.

    “Lack of capital is normally a big challenge because any individual who wants to invest in this industry must have capital in terms of money as well as other resources such as land and labour. The government does not give enough support to this industry, especially in terms of allocation of funds as well as encouragement to potential investors in tourism,” Ndu said.

    He added that Nigeria has very poor roads that hinder access to areas rich in wildlife and this has resulted in further drawbacks in the industry. He also said political instability and insecurity in the country is an issue of concern to tourists and these have made international tourists to pause when they think of visiting the country.

    “Insecurity issues, tribal clashes, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen and farmers’ attacks have also posed a threat to the industry. Though, gratefully the present government is doing a great deal to ameliorate the situation, there is also a need to improve social services such as providing sporting and recreational facilities while also re-jigging and improving the health care delivery system,” he said.

    The tourism expert said most of the tourist sites are located in the remote areas of the country and since these facilities are usually lacking in such areas, they become unavailable to would-be visitors.

    Ndu also said low levels of technology and destruction of wildlife has also been a challenge. “In most cases, these tourist areas do not have telephone and Internet services and surely in this communication age, nobody wants to be so marooned from civilisation in such a way. For tourists from developed countries, these conditions are difficult to cope with and may make Nigeria unattractive to them,” he stated.

    He pointed out that there are also reports from the national parks and game reserves where poachers kill the animals for various reasons – most of them for commercial purposes. He attributed the deterioration of the industry to lack of education and skills because many Nigerians do not know the importance of wildlife and viewed them only as money-making opportunity.

    “All these problems cannot be left for one sector alone in Nigeria because tourism cuts across all sectors of the economy,’’ Ndu emphasised, calling on all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the private sector to join hands with the tourism and hospitality industry for the nation to access the huge benefits that abound in the sector.

  • Medical tourism

    Medical tourism

    •Public servants have no reason to spend scarce resources on such travels

    The plan by the Federal Government to end the drain on the economy that transfer of funds abroad for medical treatment for workers has become is welcome. Speaking at the University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, said the federal purse could no longer sustain the huge transfer. He expressed surprise that public servants found it convenient to abuse provisions for their welfare by obtaining approval to seek treatment in Asia, the Americas and Europe, for ailments that could be handled locally.

    It is good that the minister, who is a Professor of Medicine, is bothered by the trend, but it should be realised that effecting changes in the public service goes beyond ministerial pronouncement. The necessary process for changing the rules has to be followed. Where laws are involved, the legislature has to be enlisted in amending the law. Otherwise, if at the level of policy and rules, the Federal Executive Council would be required to take a decision on the matter and forward same to the appropriate agencies of government.

    It is a shame that more than half a century after independence, Nigerians find it easy to travel abroad for medical attention. Many of the top bureaucrats have programmed themselves to undertake medical check-up outside the country twice yearly. These are some of the practices that have put the strain on the Naira and caused the consequent depreciation.

    When the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was on the campaign tour of the country in 2007, he had to be flown abroad for what was described as cold. Earlier, the late Mrs Stella Obasanjo died on the surgeon’s table in Spain as she went for tummy tuck. The indulgences of the past must end. While individuals who have the means could not be stopped from taking care of their health as they may wish, the penchant to pass such bills to the government at all levels must end now.

    We appeal to doctors to be more patriotic in handling their patients. As the minister pointed out, there have been cases of collusion between doctors and public servants to defraud the country. As such, cases that facilities and personnel in the country could handle are referred abroad for a fee. We call on the authorities to investigate notorious cases and bring the culprits to book. Such practices are responsible for the current parlous state of the economy.

    States and the Federal Government, however, also have the duty to ensure the upgrade of facilities in tertiary and secondary hospitals in the country. During the Obasanjo administration, billions of Naira had to be expended on upgrading six teaching hospitals designated as “centres of excellence”. It was later discovered that the contractors did a poor job and those hospitals remain in the same state they were before the phantom upgrade. The last federal administration equally realised the need to have first class medical facilities that could serve the needs of Nigerians and citizens of neighbouring West African countries. It was touted as a move that would be driven by the private sector. Nothing has come out of it.

    We hope that the lamentation of Professor Adewole would not end at that. His offer to partner with the Akwa Ibom State government in elevating the status of the Ibom Specialist Hospital, Uyo, is not enough. He needs to undertake a thorough review of the state of federal public hospitals, as well as get the states to pay more attention to their teaching, specialist and general hospitals.  The local authorities, too, should equip primary health centres.

    All tiers of government ought to realise that it is cheaper to prevent than treat diseases. Traditional and modern channels of communication should therefore be engaged in mobilising Nigerians to prevent medical complications. We all could do with education on how medical tourism impinges on the health of Nigerians.

  • Delta Tourism Expo holds July 12

    Delta State Tourism Board (DSTB), which is charged with the development, promotion and marketing of the state tourism industry, has stepped up preparation for its tourism expo for this year, which is tagged Delta Tourism Exposition 2016 with the theme, fascinating Delta, rich tourism, great people and is billed to hold at Asaba Convention Centre, Asaba between July 12 and 14.

    Speaking on the event, the General Manager of DSTB, Ms Josephine Anyameluhor, said that the expo is meant to promote and market the different tourism offerings of the state to the world as it is opened to all travel and tourism trade operators, buyers and suppliers across the tourism value chain and others in allied businesses and operations across the nation’s economy.

    According to her, the board, is set again to reclaim it number one spot in the country and that the rejuvenated tourism expo is part of the effort at rebranding the board and the state tourism.

    The three days expo will among others feature unique and special events, one of such, according to her, is the Delta Food Court. It will parade massive display of local cuisine, ranging from appetizers, spices, main course, and desserts to beverages and cooking competition.

    Other line – up includes road show /cultural carnival, fashion show and musical concert, arts, craft and souvenir, tourism seminar and workshop, tours and award/gala night.

  • Repositioning culture, tourism for a new order

    Repositioning culture, tourism for a new order

    A three-day summit on repositioning culture and tourism in a diversified economy has been held in Abuja. Governors and other top government officials, members of the academia, captains of commerce and players in the creative industry gathered at the event to chart the way forward, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    The Culture and Tourism sector is a big industry; it cuts across many sectors, such as agriculture, business, transportation, health, sports, aviation, information, technology, architecture, etc. It is arguably the biggest means of economic growth. Nigeria cannot afford to fold her hands, ignore the culture and tourism sector while other nations are reaping the immense socio-economic benefits derivable from this global vibrant sector.

    “Consistency and continuity in government policies at all levels are non-negotiable to develop the sector. To this end, Nigeria should muster the political will to accord the sector preferred status to effectively develop it.”

    These were part of the resolutions reached at the close of a three-day national summit on culture and tourism in Abuja last week.

    In a 34-point communiqué, the summit recommended that to “create positive image for our national buildings, corporate offices and edifices, there is need to adorn them with Nigerian artworks. The interior and exterior decorations (of private and public corporate) offices of our political leaders, chief executives and Nigerian Embassies should make strong cultural statements. The Presidency should lead the way by ensuring that the furniture in the President’s office and others are designed by our master carvers’’.

    It also recommended that action must be taken to make the reviewed National Policy on Culture, Tourism Master Plan, Tourism Development of Fund (TDF) and the National Endowment Fund for the Arts functional for effective development of the sector. Also on the list is the call for the resuscitation of the Presidential Council on Tourism (PCT), chaired by Mr. President with all the State Governors as members. This, according to the statement, is to ginger accelerated development of culture and tourism. The lingering call for the transfer of Nigerian Copyright Commission to Ministry of Information and Culture was re-echoed at the summit for maximum efficiency.

    The communiqué also recommended that Nigerian cultural icons, both living and dead, be celebrated to inspire the younger generations to strive for excellence. According to it, the change mantra of the Federal Government can only succeed if the sector provides the fulcrum to drive it. Community theatre projects, musical concerts and visual designs are very effective tools for reorientation from bottom-up.

    Other issues raised include: Stakeholders need to imbibe the culture of research and documentation, so as to increase availability of RECORDS and statistical data on the sector to aid planning. The availability of empirical data enhances funding opportunities;

    • Government should engage stakeholders in concluding the nationwide Mapping of Creative Industries whose pilot was conducted by the British Council, NBS and SONTA in 2013. This is imperative because verifiable statistics on the performance of the sector will demonstrate clearly the viability of the industry and attract more investors.
    • The MOPICON and Theatre Arts Regulatory Council bills need to be harmonized into one bill, which government could present to the National Assembly for timely legislative action. This is in line with the need to urgently regulate the sector and maintain high ethical standards;
    • More stringent legislation need to be in place to protect national monuments from the growing cases of trafficking and willful destruction across the country. Measures should be put in place to protect the nation’s cultural sites during times of conflict by engendering communal ownership of such sites.
    • In view of difficulties encountered by prospective tourists, businessmen, conference participants, pilgrims, travelers in acquiring Nigerian visa, there is need for a more friendly visa regime.
    • In recognition of the strategic role of security to sustainable tourism development, effort must be re-doubled to provide the much-needed confidence for tourists and travelers visiting Nigeria.
    • The current name of the ministry does not properly portray Nigeria as a country where culture and tourism is at the front burner of development. The ministry should be renamed Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to adequately reflect its mandate.

    In tandem with the present administration’s drive to diversify the nation’s economy, the communique recommended that museums and indigenous languages/cultural/crafts centres should be made part of requirements for building schools across the country in order to orientate our younger generations on our history and cultural values as part of their education. Also, a law should be promulgated to compel Local Government Councils to establish and maintain community museums and craft centres and fund at least one community festival yearly.

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed described the summit as a thorough learning curve, which showed that there are many outside the ministry that can teach us about the sector. “It is really a market place of ideas,” he added. He said a smaller committee would be set up to harmonise all the issues raised at the summit with a view to come out with modalities on how to implement the policies.

    Mohammed disclosed that beginning from last Saturday in Jos, an average listener and viewer will view 15 channels free to air with better resolution. This, he said, would take away the challenge of signal while producers of programmes would concentrate on content. He added that the ministry would soon organise a night to honour our heroes in the creative industry along with new talents.

    The first day of the summit witnessed an exhibition and gala night, which featured a dance performance from the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), entitled, Nigeriana, written and choreographed by Arnold Udoka. The summit had two plenary sessions, breakout sessions for the culture and tourism sub-sectors, and presentation of reports from the respective breakout sessions. Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, represented by Dr. Wale Adediran chaired the first plenary session.

    In all, six papers were presented at the Summit, namely Culture in a Diversified Economy by Mr. Frank Aig-Imoukhuede, Tourism in a Diversified Economy by former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, Tourism in a Diversified Economy by President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN Chief Tomi Akingbogun, Culture in a Diversified Economy, by Prof. Sule Bello, Developing Data Bank in the Culture and Tourism Industry by National Bureau of Statistics and Private Sector Perspective of Nigerian Culture and Tourism by Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture, Lagos.

     

  • Nigeria set to move tourism from ‘margins to mainstream’

    Nigeria set to move tourism from ‘margins to mainstream’

    Tourism is acknowledged as a money spinner all over the world. But the huge revenue coming from oil made it difficult for Nigeria to look at other viable sectors of the economy.

    Tourism, for example,  has been so neglected that the traffic in Nigeria trickles while other neighbouring countries in West Africa and beyond enjoy huge tourist influx.

    This is going to change as the current government said it will move tourism sector forward from “the margins to mainstream”.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a session with the media.

    According to the minister, “this administration is diversifying the economy away from oil which for many years has been the mainstay of our economy. Among the sectors that have been identified as veritable sources of revenue for the nation are the arts, culture and tourism sectors. This is why we in the Ministry of Information and Culture are working hard to move these sectors from the margin to the mainstream and ensure that the rural poor in particular are factored into the sector’s architecture.”

    He said the ministry is working with various local and international partners, including the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the British Council, to map creative arts with a view to reviving them massively through capacity building for those involved and the provision of loans. He said the Federal Government believes this would not only create hundreds of thousands of jobs, thus keeping people meaningfully engaged.

    The Federal Government, according to the minister, would train festival managers so they can be fortified enough to take their events to the next level and involving the local communities, as critical stakeholders, fully in our efforts to bring the sectors into mainstream.

    “We are aware that culture drives tourism, hence we intend to leverage heavily on our numerous cultural festivals in the country to boost tourist arrivals. That is why we are currently compiling a list of the top 10 creative arts and cultural festivals in each state of the federation, with a view to creating a year-round calendar of such events. This way, those willing to attend such events can plan ahead,”the minister said.

    Alhaji Lai Mohammed said it was in a bid to finetune and plan for the sector that his ministry held the national summit on culture and tourism this week  in Abuja.

    He said in order to get the industry moving, the Nigerian tourism industry must learn to do things differently.

    His words: “We cannot continue to do things the same way and get a different result. It is because Ghana is doing something differently, that is why it is getting better results. Only two weeks ago, Ghana made history. It became the first country, I think after Mauritius, to declare that all members of the African Union (AU) can come to Ghana and obtain visas on arrival. This is a very a major catalyst for tourism.

    “ It will interest many of us to know that it is more difficult at times to obtain a Nigerian visa than to obtain a visa to the Ukraine. Every day we are inundated with petitions reputable organizations who have put in applications to come to Nigeria, but for one reason or the other, they could not come in.

    “I think the first thing towards boosting tourism is that we must change our visa regime. If we don’t change our visa regime, we will find it difficult to get people to come in. But it goes beyond the visa regime, it goes to what is the attitude of our people at the land and air borders.

    “We must train our people who work at this borders to be tourist friendly. Many people, when they land in any airport in Nigeria, they are very afraid. So, this administration is working very hard to see that we have a tourist friendly visa regime.

    “But as you know, it is not only the Ministry of Information and Culture that can make this happen. We need to carry along the minister of interior, the director of our security service, Nigerian police, immigration and the NSA because everybody must  be part of it. But it even goes beyond that. What about the roads? In Cross River today, we have the Takamanda forest reserve. It is the oldest forest in the entire world.

    “The implication is that it has the richest bio-diversity in the whole world, more than the Amazon forest. Properly exploited, the cures to most of the diseases could be found in the trees in that forest reserve. That reserve today has the only surviving family of the silver beard gorillas. But it will take you 10 hours from Calabar to Takamanda,  a very bad road. So, it needs a combination and collaboration of all ministries-works, power, interior, security and so on, for you to have a proper tourism. We have realized this, and we are working very hard to carry everybody along. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Now that the price of crude has gone down, it is important to look at other sectors and provision of infrastructure will help a lot in turning around our tourism.”

  • ‘Tourism soon to take prominence’

    President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigeria to seek ways of diversifying to the cultural sector, rather than depending only on oil.

    He said tourism and culture, which had been neglected in the past, would soon be the bedrock of Nigeria’s economy.

     Buhari spoke yesterday in Abuja while opening the 2016 National Summit on Culture and Tourism.

    The President described tourism as a rejected stone that would soon be rejuvenated to address the country’s dwindling economy.

    Represented by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Okechuwku Enelamah, Buhari said although culture and tourism sector was driven by private sector, government would provide the environment to encourage investment in the sector.

     He said factors, such as the drop in the price of oil, breakdown of protectionist policies and changes in social relations among countries, compelled the look for alternative sources of revenue and employment.

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed explained that the summit was designed to explore opportunities in tourism to improve the economy.

    He called on corporate bodies to join hands with the government.

    “The crash in the price of oil, the mainstay of our economy, has triggered a disaster for the economy.

    “But this administration decided to turn that disaster to a blessing by diversifying the mono-product economy and widening our national revenue base. We want to turn adversity into sustainable fortune by tapping our national cultural heritage and tourism.”