The Nation Newspaper

Tag: tourism

  • ‘Tourism is the greatest employer’

    ‘Tourism is the greatest employer’

    Director-General Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Sally Mbanefo, has described tourism as the greatest employer. She said the corporation under her would ensure practical development and promotion of domestic tourism, which will propel job creation, develop the nation’s economy and raise social awareness on cultural preservation and environmental protection.

    Mbanefo spoke at this year’s World Tourism Day, with the theme, 1 Billion Tourists, 1 Billion Opportunities, held in Enugu State which  underscored the role  of  tourism  sector  as  a  valuable  and sustainable  source  of  livelihood  for  millions  of  people.

    “Nigeria has a better advantage over so many other countries to benefit from tourism. We have the advantage of population. Tourism contributes 10% to the global GDP but as at now, Nigerian is not fully benefiting from tourism like other countries. For instance, 4,333,000 tourism visited Nigeria in 2013, which contributed about 4 per cent to our GDP, while tourism contributes 17.7 per cent to the GDP of Gambia; 13 per cent to Egypt; 12 per cent to Kenya; 11.9 per cent to Mexico; 9 per cent to South Africa, and 6 per cent to Cuba.

    “We need to know that Nigeria should focus more on tourism as the best alternative to oil, with domestic tourism as the catalyst. I need to emphasise that Nigeria has the best of the ingredient of tourism. We have fascinating tourist sites, enviable cultural festivals, good weather, good and hospitable people. Have you ever wondered why most diplomats, after serving their terms chose to stay back in Nigeria? It is because of the warmth and friendliness of our people, environment and potentials,” she said.

    Mbanefo, who emphasised that the potential of tourism in Nigeria is N4billion prayed that government should take privatisation to the next level, which according to her will facilitate further facilitate an enabling environment for tourism to thrive in Nigeria.

    The NTDC boss lauded the Enugu State government for making tourism alive in the state, describing the state as a hub of eco-tourism.

    Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Mrs Nkechi Ejele, described tourism as the way forward for Nigeria. She noted that the Ministry is, on a daily basis, intensifying efforts at ensuring the money spinning sector is well developed and promoted in Nigeria, to ensure Nigerians, among the people of other countries, maximally benefit from the potentials of tourism.

    The Group Managing Director, Viko Nigeria Group of Companies Limited, Mr Lucky Kanu, expressed the readiness of his company to further support NTDC in promoting domestic tourism, thereby creating more jobs and wealth in Nigeria.

    “Our partnership with NTDC could be best described as demonstration of a successful practice of public private partnership in Nigeria, as the partnership has yielded opening of information desks in about six states in Nigeria, while we are working on a new project that will create over 500,000 jobs for the youth in every state of Nigeria,” Kanu said.

     

  • Nigeria loses N250b on medical tourism yearly

    The Nigerian medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm, saying that Nigeria loses N250 billion yearly to medical tourism.

    The association said the solution to such capital flight lies with the upgrading of the country’s tertiary institutions and replacing obsolete equipment with modern ones.

    In a communiqué at the end of its national executive council (NEC) meeting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, NMA said it was opposed to giving girls out in marriage before the age of 18.

    The communiqué was signed by NMA President and Secretary-General, Dr Kayode Obembe and Dr Adewunmi Alayaki.

    NMA urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a medical doctor as the minister of health, adding that “doctors who take care of the sick must be accorded priority in the scheme of things”.

    Part of the communiqué reads: “NMA has been clamouring for the post of Surgeon General which is paramount in our health system. Examples we can point to are: Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation and Surveyor-General and Auditor General.

    “The NMA is opposed to giving out our girls in marriage before the age of 18 years because before that age, the bony system has not fully developed. Scientifically, this practice should be condemned, the birth canal will be very narrow for the head of the baby to pass through during labour, which can lead to the condition called Vesico Virginal Fistula (VVF). We appeal to all men of good will to impress on our Government and policy makers to rescue our female children from this miserable life and ultimate disaster.

    “We know that President Mohammadu Buhari has respect for human lives, hence doctors who take care of the sick must be accorded priority in the scheme of things. We hereby implore the President to appoint a Medical Doctor as the Minister of Health. We also implore him to bring out the white paper on Yayale Ahmed Report because this will promote industrial harmony in the health sector.

    “NMA is very concerned with the incessant strikes that have bedeviled the health sector which is due to the fact that circulars issued by the government were not cash backed. In the interim, supplementary allocation should be made to pay for such commitments while on a long term basis, it must be clearly defined as a budget heading in 2016 appropriation.

    “NMA is worried at the rate at which the so called regulatory bodies, apart from Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), invade our hospitals. We hereby appeal to the Police to cooperate with NMA in ensuring that no regulatory body apart from MDCN is allowed to come and interrupt Doctors while they are on their legitimate vocation of saving lives as this constitutes distraction and interruption in the hospital environment.

    “NMA is in full support of the Universal health coverage, this has been the focus of the national officers’ committee (NOC) of the Association and we believe the instrument of the full implementation is through National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). We are delighted that the National Health Act made provision for getting one percent consolidated revenue fund through the NHIS while the other 50 percent goes to the primary health care.

    “NMA is poised to eradicate measles from our country. We have kicked out polio and Ebola. Everybody should join hands with NMA to achieve this. Therefore, our Physicians Week in October shall focus on measles.”

     

  • ‘Nigeria loses N250b on medical tourism’

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm that Nigeria loses N250 billion yearly to medical tourism.

    Consequently, the association said the solution to such capital flight lies with the upgrade of the tertiary institutions, and replacing obsolete equipment with modern ones.

    In a communiqué at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, NMA said it was opposed to giving girls out in marriage before the age of 18.

    The communiqué was signed by NMA President and Secretary-General, Dr Kayode Obembe and Dr Adewunmi Alayaki.

    NMA said it supports the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), adding that this has been the focus of the National Officers’ Committee (NOC) of the association.

    Besides, we believe the instrument of the full implementation is through National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). “We are delighted that the National Health Act made provision for getting one per cent consolidated revenue fund through the NHIS while the other 50 percent goes to the primary health care,” Obembe said.

    He said the association was concerned with the incessant strikes that have bedeviled the health sector, and as such, circulars issued by the Federal Government were not cash backed.

    He continued: “In the interim, supplementary allocation should be made to pay for such commitments while on a long term basis, it must be clearly defined as a budget heading in 2016 appropriation.”

    The NMA chief said the association is poised to eradicate measles from our country. “We have kicked out polio and Ebola. Everybody should join hands with NMA to achieve this. Therefore, our Physicians Week in October shall focus on measles,” he said.

    He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a medical doctor as the minister of health, adding that “doctors who take care of the sick must be accorded priority in the scheme of things”.

  • Curbing medical tourism

    Curbing medical tourism

    What Nigeria requires stern measures to fix its health sector, like the other sectors, is not in doubt. This explains our support for the recommendation by the President of Abuja Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Fatima Mairami, that public officials should be banned from travelling abroad for medical treatment at public expense. Mairami made the call in Abuja at the Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference organised by the NMA chapter. According to her, such a practice was borne out of corruption and is detrimental to growing the nation’s health system even as it constitutes a drain on its dwindling economy. Indeed, but for the profligacy of the past, such a policy ought to have come a long time ago.

    Mairami made the point succinctly when she said that” “Whoever goes outside for medical tourism, if you are paying the bill yourself, it is not an easy task. But, what has happened before was a lot of corruption. People cheated on the government, used public resources. That is why it is easy for them to go outside without feeling the pain. But, by the time we make it mandatory that everybody must get healthcare within the nation, as long as we can provide such services, and if you want to still go abroad, you must pay out of your pocket. Then, you will see the rate of medical tourism will dwindle as not many people would be able to afford it.”

    Nigeria has enormous benefits to reap from her suggestion. One, most of the 5,000 Nigerians who troop to India, Turkey, etc. monthly would be contented with having their medical needs met at home. And if the revelation by a former President of the NMA, Osahon Enabulele, is anything to go by, then we would be saving about N120billion annually that we presently lose to medical tourism. This is staggering and a sheer waste of scarce foreign exchange. Another benefit is the restoration of our national pride, as our elite too would not see any compelling need for medical tourism except for situations that we cannot handle at home, which would be few and far-between.

    The truth is that, today, medical tourism has become a status symbol in Nigeria; many of our rich people want to have their babies abroad and die abroad. We have nothing against these for those who can afford it. But not for people who rely on government sponsorship. Overseas travels by Nigerians in the past were essentially for studies, tourism or relaxation by those who could afford it. Then, some of our tertiary hospitals competed with some of the best elsewhere in terms of the facilities and trained personnel they paraded. Unfortunately, bad governance over the decades led to some of these hospitals being left to progressively decay such that today, they are the shadow of what they used to be. The brain drain that followed, especially in the mid-eighties, saw many of our good medical personnel leaving in droves to Saudi Arabia, the United States and other countries where their services are better appreciated and they also have the requisite tools to work with.

    We have got to the point where we must see medical tourism as the dysfunctional and unsustainable development that it is, especially with an experienced leader like President Muhammadu Buhari in power. Buhari had observed as far back as 1983 that our hospitals had become mere ‘consulting clinics’. This is what many of them still are; including the so-called centres of excellence and other tertiary medical facilities.  And poor consulting ones, at best.

    Since our public functionaries prepare the broad guidelines for public policy, it is only fair to compel them to do the right things to make our public facilities work. If it takes banning them from travelling abroad at public expense to get our hospitals fixed, so be it. Nigeria should not just be good as a playground or burial ground, or one God-forsaken country whose hope of redemption is lost. If people could make hospitals abroad work, we can.

     

  • Govt mulls reforms in tourism, other sectors

    The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) at the weekend said the Federal Government is planning to carry out reforms of the hospitality and tourism, housing, sports, River Basin and health sectors to encourage growth.

    Its Director-General, Benjamin Dikki, spoke when a former British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Richard Gozney and leader of delegation from Greenpark Worldwide, paid him paid him a visit in Abuja.

    He said the reforms were necessary to make the sectors more competitive and foster the nation’s growth in the face of declining earnings from crude oil.

    In a statement signed by the Head, Public Communications, BPE, Alex Okoh, Benjamin said as part of efforts to reform, the health sector, BPE and the Federal Ministry of Health had begun a review of the sector’s legislations.

    He said the reform would help in repositioning health sector for better performance, by reducing the influx of Nigerian medical practitioners abroad.

    He said failure to regulate medical practice has opened the sector to unqualified operators, adding that such activities would end soon.

    He said the Federal Government was reviewing the five bills introduced to revive the transport sector before presenting them to the National Assembly for approval.

    According to him, once the bills are passed, other new regulatory agencies would be set up or existing ones restructured to move the sector forward.

    He said: ‘’The passage of the Bills will facilitate private sector investment in infrastructure like railways, roads and inland waters ways and  this would require manpower training and capacity building  to drive the emerging change Nigerians yearn for.’’

    Dikki expressed hopes that the bills would be passed by the 8th National Assembly since the 7th National Assembly failed to pass them before it tenure expired.

    He said the government had promised to privatise the refineries and that this would require the passage of the correct Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    On sports, the BPE’s boss said Dikki said the government had indicated the desire to privatise the country’s refineries and this would require the passage of the correct PIB.

    He expressed the optimism that the National Assembly would have the opportunity to review the original Bill of 2008, which when passed, would achieve the desired result for Nigeria.

    On the sports sector, the DG said a lot of potential abound in the sector, which, if well harnessed, would boost the economy.

    Earlier, Gozney said Greenpark could support the privatisation of the Federal Government, in view of its role as a training management firm.

     

  • Continent Building introduces tourism product

    Continent Building introduces tourism product

    Continent Building (CB) is set to launch Destination Grand Bassam in Cote D’Ivoire. It is the first in the series of exposing Africa destination to the world.

    CB, a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO), is a group of Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora committed to the development of Africa.

    The group, founded by the President of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Dr. Wanle Akinboboye, aims to take advantage of the vast and diverse culture, art, cuisine in Africa and exports them to the world.

    With focus on using hospitality, tourism and entertainment in developing the continent of Africa, the body has, therefore, devised Destination Grand Bassam, an even targeted at taking business out of the corporate environment to an eco-tourism enclave to share in the best of African arts, culinary, leisure and entertainment in a colourful and electrifying environment.

    Billed for August 22 in Grand Bassam, it is a one-day show piece of Africa music, cultural dances, Kamp Africa, teaching kids African culture, YATE (Youth African Tourism Expedition) tours for young adults and CAER (Corporate African Eco Retreat), comedy, fashion and city tour. Star performances by international stars and local artistes from Nigeria and Ivory Coast will feature alongside comedians and an exclusive world-class DJ.

    Heads of blue chip companies, government officials, religious leaders, traditional rulers, political office holders, young executives, business owners, operators of travels and various stakeholders in the industry and people of all ages and races are expected to be part of this event.

    The Grand Bassam, which is historically the first capital of Côte d’Ivoire, is an example of a late 19th- and early 20th-century colonial town planned with quarters, specialising in commerce, administration and housing for Europeans and  Africans. The site includes the N’zima African fishing village alongside colonial architecture marked by functional houses with galleries, verandas and gardens.

  • ‘Tourism can drive development’

    ‘Tourism can drive development’

    Prof Rasaki Ojo-Bakare is a Nigerian playwright, scholar and choreographer. He has  sown  drama seed in many universities, including the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Uyo and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The former Artistic Director, Abuja International Festival, is now Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti. He speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on the rot in the arts, culture and tourism industry. He urges the  Federal Government to rescue the sector and make it contribute meaningfully to the economy. 

    Your career in Arts and Culture industry traversed theatre practice, academics, administration and consultancy, how have you been able to cope with all of these?

    Let me start by saying that I think the biggest secret to all of these is the fact that I align myself with nature. Right from the time I was a kid, I was privileged to be able to know through the almighty creator the artistic deposits in me. Even as small as I was then, I was able to realise that I am a natural carrier of the seeds of performative arts and somehow, I made up my mind early enough to just be what I was created to be. So, I was very resolute and positively stubborn that I close my eyes to other fields. I was not prepared to do any other thing apart from practicing performing arts, teaching it, intellectualising it, creating it, directing it and performing it. I think that is the biggest secret. And while growing up, I think I have mastered this and didn’t get derailed or confused.  Looking back now, I have come to realise that the best one can be is what one was created to be. So, I’m not playing someone else’s role in creation, I’m playing my role in creation. And once you are doing that, it becomes like magic and part of you because what you are practising is your own nature, you are doing it effortlessly. That is why since I left secondary school, even before I gained admissiont to the university, I have been practicing theatre.  After acquiring university education in the field and further studies to PhD level in the same area, I started teaching and intellectualising it by teaching students who are willing to develop their careers in the field. Today, when I look back, I can only give thanks to God for giving me that wisdom early in life because it has been a smooth ride all the way. Of course like every human endeavour, there have been turbulent periods but one thing that is clear is that I have been able to combine a robust practice with scholarship at various levels with ease.  Therefore, performing Arts, whether it is scholarship or practice defines my life. I don’t have any other life outside this sector and so I concentrate on it fully.  This, to me, is the reason I have been able to go this far and achieve what I have been able to achieve despite the many tasks that  confront me daily in the cause of bringing out the best out of my chosen career.

    No doubt, your achievement in this area must have paved way for you to be able to serve at the National Troupe and the Abuja International Carnival. What is your experience at the National Troupe?

     Before I went to the National Troupe of Nigeria as Acting Assistant Director (Drama) I had served in The Gambia from 1994 to 1996; I was the chorographer and technical Director in charge of the National Troupe of The Gambia. I was in Banjul for two years; first to establish the country’s National Troupe and second, to handle it for two years.  After the expiration of that contract, the country wanted me to continue with the National Troupe. At the same time, The Gambia Ministry of Information offered me appointment to establish the Performing Arts Department of their university, which was just taking off then. Meanwhile their National Television was also just taking off at the same time. As a matter of fact, my face was the very first face that was beamed on The Gambian National Television. When they were looking for material to test run the television station, they came to record my production in Banjul, which was a short drama on the HIV Aids epidemic, which I called Jangoroji. That was how they refer to the virus in their local language. It was a 30-minute drama, which the national troupe conceptualised to educate the people on the epidemic. That was how my face was picked, introducing the Jangoroji on the station.   With that, the television was thinking of drafting me in, the country was willing to renew my contract with the National Troupe and the University of Gambia also wanted me. But, I retuned to Nigeria because of the passion I have for my country. I had told the authorities of the Ahmadu Bello University where I was lecturing before going to The Gambia that I would return. That was why the university gave me the two-year leave of absence to go. Therefore, when those offers came in The Gambia, I thought of the need to be a man of integrity by honouring my words.

    On returning to Nigeria, the Ahmed Yerima led National Troupe of Nigeria, thought of what I did with the National Troupe of The Gambia and what I had been able to do in Nigeria, and then considered it necessary to invite me to join the National Troupe of Nigeria so that they could benefit from my experience. Prof. Yerima thus convinced the Federal Government to get me into the National Troupe in any directorial capacity, and fortunately, the position of the Assistant Director Drama was vacant and the minister then got me to fill that capacity. By then I was Head of Department at the University of Uyo, where I also took leave of absence and joined the National Troupe. We should not forget that every footballer wants to become the coach of his country’s national team and so I felt fulfilled to the extent that I didn’t mind to cut my university career short. The National Troupe for God’s sake is the culture equivalent of Super Eagles. In my view, the troupe should also be bringing whatever the Super Eagles of Nigeria is bringing to the country. The National Troupe should even bring more because here we are talking about our culture, different from football which was borrowed from another culture. The things that the National Troupe is asked to invent are the things that originally belong to us. With that belief in my mind, I joined the troupe with great expectations but I soon discovered that the politics of the place at that time was more than the work that was being done and I had to leave. I discovered it was another civil service contraption, not what it should be. Let me quickly add that the problem is not with those who are there, it is the way the system was designed from the beginning. It was not designed to succeed.  That is the truth. If the National Troupe should serve Nigeria the way it should serve Nigeria, it needs a total overhauling. The entire structure must be redesigned from the beginning. If the structure of the troupe is correctly designed, the country would have a lot to benefit from the troupe.

    What lessons did you learn from all of these and what suggestions will you give as the likely way out of the quagmire?

    I left the National Troupe after that little spell in 2001 and eight years later, precisely in 2009, I was again appointed Artistic Director of the Abuja International Carnival. It was a different experience entirely, but again because most of these institutions are not properly structured, there is always a problem. The state carnivals like Calabar, Port Harcourt (Carniriv) and Lagos have well defined carnival structures. In Cross Rivers State, there is a carnival commission. If this can be done at the state level, what then stops the Federal Government from having a national commission for national carnival? What we have is conceived to be part of the ministry; a carnival secretariat tied to the ministry. An artistic director who is to work on the carnival is brought from outside but has to work with the ministry according to the existing rules and regulations and contraptions, with other challenges the ministry is encumbered with already. Some of the problems that limit the ministry get naturally carried over to the carnival secretariat. So, you discover that carnival secretariat does not have its own pulse or purse and rules and so they get subjected to the politics of the ministry. Now if the administration is not what it should be, how do we get the best from the carnival? Again, it is a continuation of what characterises most government establishments in Nigeria. With my experiences so far, I have been able to establish that the foundation of all these is corruption. Establishments in Nigeria are structured in a way that corruption can fester.

    But despite these, you handled the carnival for five years. How were you able to manage it this far?

    We thank God again for the personal commitment of those of us that were involved. Let me emphatically state that in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, there wouldn’t have been a carnival in Abuja but for the personal commitment of those involved. From the state directors of the troupes to those that worked with me at the carnival office in Abuja, there was total commitment. I must also mention the personal commitment of our stakeholders in all the states of the federation and the FCT, who were keen on making success out of the carnival despite challenges.

    The state directors were specially committed because of the personal contact and relationship we had with them from the carnival office. They saw it as a project that must not fail because we are all friends and professional colleagues. Some directors of culture would come with artists of 500 and above from their states with N500, 000 and their state governments expected them to spend a week in Abuja. They are expected to build costumes, build floats and provide accommodation for their crew. But because of professionalism and passion, the directors of culture from the states were determined to succeed and from our end at the Carnival Secretariat in Abuja, we kept encouraging them on why they should be committed. Some state directors would get to Abuja and would not be able to pay for accommodation and result to sleeping in primary schools with their artists on mats. We should not forget that some of these people are level 16 officers from the states. The permanent secretaries and the directors from the states, including those who worked with me in the carnival office are the heroes and heroines of that era.

    In Nigeria today, everyone is talking of diversification of the economy, what roles do you think culture can play in the non-oil sectors?

    Look, culture and tourism can feed this country. Without oil, we can use tourism to drive development. When I was handling the Gambia National Troupe, I discovered that the country called Gambia does not have anything apart from culture and tourism. Gambia earns everything it earns from culture and tourism. This is not what I heard but what I participated in. When I was in Gambia, the egg we ate was imported from Poland. That is, the stamp of Poland was found on every eggshell. They were importing Egg from Poland, Rice from Libya, Yam and Garri from Nigeria and Ghana. The only thing they have produced in Gambia is the long bread and tea. However, the county is working because the revenue they earn comes from culture and tourism is huge. What does Gambia have that Nigeria does not have?. Our tourism potential in Nigeria is huge but government is not sincere and professional with the handling of the sector. This is because most of the time, wrong people are appointed to head the ministry, it is politics you see instead of a professional development of the sector.  With oil boom, it is easier to lazy about oil business and make or rather steal money .And so, everybody forgets about other sectors .Nigeria does not need oil to survive .Culture and tourism can feed this country very well. All we need is genuine intention from government and the will to do what is right. Nigeria should stop behaving like a suicidal husband whose wife is pregnant and instead of engaging the services of a gynecologist; he is engaging the services of a dentist. If you do that, you must patronise the mortuary. That is what Nigeria is doing. Our problem in simple term is that we put square pegs in round holes. Yes, government may have good intention, but it is important to take the correct action. We should realise that not all actions should be politicised. There are people who are not politicians but are hard core professionals in their fields. If these people are engaged, they can make this sector to begin to work for Nigeria. And Nigeria will surpass the countries that called themselves the great nations of today in no distant time. I believe we have everything it takes to achieve this.

    How do you rate the National Council for Arts and Culture today, vis – a – vis its strategic role of promoting the country’s diversified arts and culture?

    The new Executive Secretary of the council, Mrs Dayo Keshi has turned the place around positively. The place was asleep for a long time, but with the appointment of Mrs Keshi, a quite positive revolution that will reposition the council for effectiveness is going on.

    Having worked as a consultant to many states, do you see the states playing active roles in the reengineering of these cultural values?

    Without sounding immodest, I have worked with most states in the country as a consultant.  It is that experience that exposed me to the quality of what the Almighty deposited in Nigeria. All the states whose governments cannot pay salaries are ironically sitting on untapped tourism treasure. It is only when a governor that is aware of these treasures comes into office that you see attempts at developing culture and tourism in the states. Once the wrong guy is elected, the projects are discontinued. That is the problem with the states.

    How can we market the sector to the world?

     The first step is to develop the culture and tourism products we want to market to the outside world here Nigeria. We must develop and package them before we move on to promote and market them very well. Nigeria is almost not existing in the area of marketing and promotion of what we can offer the world in terms of culture and tourism and that is bad.  Let me cite a recent example, there is a beautiful advert running on NTA international to market Nigeria and I wonder why it cannot be on BBC and CNN. Even Nigerians outside this shores hardly watch NTA International, not to talk of foreigners. A similar advert by South Africa will be more prominent on International media rather than local platforms in South Africa. Beyond this, we are not having good presence online and you will see small countries like Kenya, Gambia and Tanzania making various strong statements on various social media platforms. The fact that we can be lazy and make money from oil has almost crippled our sense of creativity and innovation. That must be changed for Nigeria to see the change they so much desire.

     

  • Dearth of funds, others cripple tourism sector

    Paucity of funds and punitive interest rate regime have been identified as some of the problems militating against the development of the tourism sector in the country.

    President, NANET Hotels and Suites, Apapa Mr Ini Akpabio, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a tourism bank in the country to grow the sector for job creation and as well as serve as alternative revenue source to the government.

    He said if such a specialised bank is established for the tourism sector, it will address low access to funds and the  high interest rate that are charged by commercial banks in the country.

    He said: “The tourism sector in Nigeria has not grown as expected by operators. Globally, the industry is fast growing becoming a huge revenue source to government but in our country, its development is slow and frustrating.

    “Therefore, there is the need for government to establish a specialised bank to cater to the needs of the tourism industry.

    According to him, sectors such as aviation, textile, agric have been given financial bail-out by the government, such a gesture has never been extended to the tourism sector, lamenting that a situation where interest rate still stands at double digit of between 27 per cent and 30 per cent can never encourage private investment into the economy.

    He said the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA) were set up to take care of the special needs of the manufacturing and agric sectors, adding that setting up a Tourism Bank will be a wonderful step that will revolutionise the industry, open it up and create opportunities for development.

    According to him, part of the bank’s mandate should be to grant soft loans to both private and public investors in the tourism sector.

    He said:‘It requires huge capital to set up and run a tourism business. If the ban is established, investors will have access to soft loans to run their businesses while the government will get huge revenue in return because such investors will pay tax and other necessary levies which will increase the nation’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and also boost its Gross Domestic Products (GDP).”

    Akpabio urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to look in the direction of lowering the high interest paid on loans in the country.

    “The reduction would boost tourism in the country and also increase in-bound tourists to the country,” he said, adding that promotion of most tourism sites in the country was being hindered by paucity of funds.

    Akpabio said many people were willing to invest in tourism but that interest charged on loans was exorbitant.

    He said: “Loans in foreign countries were given out with a three to two per cent or zero interest rates. This enables rapid growth in the business, but here in Nigeria, interest rates are from 28 per cent upwards.This development is absolutely unfair and it tends to affect the growth of tourism business in the country.”

  • Imperatives for Nigeria’s Culture, Tourism, Broadcast and Entertainment sectors

    THIS is an unsolicited input into the public policy on the Nigerian Culture, Tourism, Broadcasting and Entertainment sectors for the incoming governments at all levels. It gives useful insight into the humongous potentials in all the aforementioned sectors to assist the governments in overcoming our many economic, social and value-perception challenges. If accepted and taken seriously, it will lead to sustainable alternative source of foreign revenue-earner.

    Executive summary and problem statement; The country’s arts, culture, broadcasting and culture sectors in the absence of well-articulated governmental administrative policies and procedures have for long and till now been operating as a huge jungle in which whatever works for the privileged few, either with access to the powers that be or public information platforms are invariably and mistakenly taken as norms, and in most cases supersede even various extant legislations.

    There are already enough laws which if backed up with necessary administrative strategies have the capacity to lead us out of our present woes; reposition the sectors for our governments to maximize their huge potentials to resolve most of our economic, social and value-perception challenges. There is absolutely no need for the incoming administrations to waste further time on new legislations, or setting up committees because the right pathways are clear enough.

    Culture and Tourism

    Nigeria today has 774 constitutionally-recognized local government areas. On the average, every local government has 10 communities and in each community is at least a cultural monument or site presentable as a tourist attraction. The inhabitants of each community also produce goods, services and have lifestyles which to their unsophisticated minds do not have any economic value but in the hands of experts to package for the global market will command considerable appeal.

    Taken together, Nigeria at a glance and for a cursory economic evaluation has 7740 tourist sites and same no of communities whose daily lives and output could constitute our sustainable national cultural tourism programme; serving also as our own unique cultural products for exports. Every week, the country has about 150 locations staging different kinds of cultural events and different cultural monuments that tourists could choose from. It is therefore possible to immediately develop a national cultural tourism index without new legislations, budgets, or setting up committees. All we need do is charge the relevant agencies to immediately chart their implementable time-table to actualize it. A useful incentive to start off is to put all arts and cultural agencies on a 2-year notice of zero budgets with achievable internally-generated revenue for their governments.

    Our arts and culture administrators currently have a wrong mindset that needs re-programming! Their appalling belief is that lack of or inadequate capital budgets hinder them to properly develop and structure our culture for tourism but pray, what do they require capital budgets for? Yes, a little initial seed money is required for preliminary activities but this could be easily sourced either as a bank loan or grants from various commercial enterprises that will also benefit from a structured cultural tourism programme. Most if not all the various ancient sacred temples forming the bulk of India cultural and spiritual tourism sites remain in the inner recesses of the country and accessible only through the same footpaths of many hundreds, if not thousands of years! In the Alps frozen with ice all year round; Switzerland and other countries of the world that mountain-climbers and skiers frequent, their locals are gainfully engaged as guide and trainers. In Italy and Spain, the ruins of their former emperors’ castles are their tourists’ sites.

    Conversely in Nigeria, our cultural administrators want capital budgets to recruit “experts”, erect 5-star hotels and modern highways in their misguided notion that targets only the holiday-makers for tourism but leaves out the core tourists; students, researchers, archaeologists and explorers. We must stop using government money to build hotels around tourist locations or to construct highways because it is wrong! First it detracts from the real cultural value of the locations, which from what obtains in India, Italy, Spain should be in-sittu. Beyond this, hotels and roads constructions are commercial ventures, which with the necessary traffic of tourists will naturally rouse entrepreneurs to do the needful.

    Advertisements and broadcasting

    A former Director-General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission engaged me on a strategy to reposition the broadcasting industry as a veritable source of employments for mainly our youths and veterans of the creative industry. Unfortunately since his unplanned exit, subsequent leaders have been focusing more on the technicalities of frequency allocations which in today’s world is practically useless.

    What restriction is there on a station given the authority to cover a particular region but is available on the net for anyone across the globe to access? The huge social/economic potentials in the area of modeling, products and public advertisements are conveniently ignored. Today companies freely recruit foreign models or produce their advertisements abroad. The cost of a TV programme parading mainly foreign cast and crew with few locals in the name of local content is higher than what many stations grudgingly give 10 Nigerian producers yet we have NBC! Rather our local cuisines and fashions, the foreigners are calling the shots! Now we have a problem of value-perception emulating alien culture and avoidable medical problems emanating from the consumption of foreign products?

    Creative arts and entertainment

    Creative writings and audio-visual productions are intertwined with the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression. Sensible countries therefore steer clear of legislating on those that can or cannot engage in them. Enforceable control and regulation are two-fold; first by the various practioners’ guilds that disallow non-members from operating; like in journalism for journalists only. Second is through the licensed distributors as the business arm.

    They decide what is produced; how and when it gets to the public. The National Film & Video Censors Board is the agency with the legal mandate to regulate distribution. It developed a New Distribution and Exhibition Framework, NDEF for that purpose. Unfortunately, its present leadership believes that the best way to solve a problem is to pretend it doesn’t exist! It has therefore tactically abandoned the NDEF, focusing instead on classification and censorship, ignoring the reality that without an operational NDEF, all its decisions on censorship and classifications are of no effect.

    That is why despite yearly budgetary allocations in billions, our public space is still awash with offensive movies and music! To effectively contain all the challenges in the industry, full implementation of NDEF is a must, better to be championed by the Board already legally-empowered but now wholly funded by NEXIM which by its exclusive mandate is responsible for developing and funding Nigerian entertainment products for exports. New anti-piracy law is needless because Nigeria already has one of the best in the world. Absence of licensed operators of the distribution system to administer and simplify its enforcement is the issue. The NFVCB and the rudderless Film Corporation must immediately be excised from government funding.

    —Mr. Yinka Ogundaisi is a writer, filmmaker and marketer.

  • The women in my life-Tourism expert Egbeyemi

    The women in my life-Tourism expert Egbeyemi

    Aare Olaseni Egbeyemi is the Managing Director of Golden Legacy Hotel and Leisure Services Limited. He is among those clamouring for the proper repositioning of the Nigerian tourism sector.  In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, he gives ideas that will bring about the transformation of the hospitality industry in the country, among other issues.

    How long have you been in the tourism industry?

    I have been in the tourism industry since my adulthood. From television, I moved into entertainment and later on went into my passion which is tourism. Currently, I promote tourism, environment and entertainment. I run a company that manages hotels and recreation centres.

    What attracted you to tourism?

    I love travelling and meeting people. I am a product of a caterer. So hospitality came naturally to me. I love to take care of people and  make people feel at home and at ease. Over time, having seen the world through working in television, I decided to put my talent into good use.

    How many hotels are you managing currently?

    We have five of them in Lagos. There are also a few others that we are consultants to. We go there from time to time, see how they are doing and ensure that standard is being maintained. Unfortunately, over here, we have laws and regulations, but enforcement is not there. So consultants like me are invited to hotels to put things in their proper perspective, especially on issues of staffing, departmental standardisation and so on. The culture of hotel management is thus looked at from proper management perspective. Some hotels call us when they want to start and that is usually the best time anyway, so that they can start properly.

    Unfortunately again in this country, everybody wants to be a hotelier because they feel it is lucrative. But when you do not do it right, there will be problems. But wise businessmen invite professionals to get it right from the onset.  As tourism consultants, we invite other core professionals to join us in the team work. There are specialists in catering, food and beverage department and even people who can do a lot with wine. There are people who are gifted or trained in the area of service delivery. These are the things we put together and come up with standards in the hotel that we manage.

    Are you enjoying your work?

    Yes, it gives me great joy. I love doing this because it gives me joy to see people. I love to welcome people,especially people who have not been to where I am. And you know after the end of their stay, they come and say thank you for this or that. It gives me immense joy to see that happen. It may interest you to know that I work in each of the hotel departments. Sometimes I find myself in the kitchen, sometimes you can find me tendering an animal in the little zoo that we have in one of our hotels. The only thing that I do not do is maintenance, and that is because I do not have engineering knowledge. I thank God for the team I work with.

    Do you have anything doing outside Lagos?

    Yes, right now, our company has secured a 50-acre land along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where we intend to build an interesting tourism site. We have a mini zoo now where we have some interesting animals.  We want to do that on a larger scale. I was in Uganda where I saw some beautiful mini zoos. I also saw some things that will interest all. In this country, for instance, we are not used to going on holidays.

    We need to encourage people to go on holidays to relax their bodies and avoid sudden deaths and diseases. Nigerians work round the clock. We do no find time to recreate. So we are creating a relaxing spot outside Lagos, a big one where people can drive in, see animals, swim in a natural ecotourism atmosphere, sleep in decent chalets and  eat fresh food. That is the project on the burner for now.

    How far is this from Lagos?

    Immediately after Ogere, there is a town called Ogunmakin. That is where the location is. We have started the project already.

    When are you completing it?

    Of course, it is our wish to complete it in record time, but we have constraints in the availability of funds. A project like this will certainly take a long time. Sourcing for loans through the banks, I must confess, is a task. You meet with embargoes here and there. The vision will soon materialise.We have a Spanish company that is interested in an aspect of what we are doing. They intend to have a milk industry. There will be a ranch there, and this will complement the tourism project that we are putting together there.

    That means you are looking at an eco-tourism centre.

    Yes, I am an environmentalist which is another part of me. I love to see greenery around me. That is why anywhere I live I plant trees. I mark my birthday by planting a new tree for that day. Those that I have lived with in my life know that I plant trees at church,house and everywhere possible. When each of my children was born, I planted  trees to celebrate their births. Sometimes I call them and show them the trees I planted the days they were born. When people who are close to me celebrate their birthdays, I plant  trees for them. When I receive a special guest at home, when the person leaves, I plant a tree in his honour.

    One of the hotels you are managing has a zoo. What brought about the inclusion of a zoo in that particular hotel?

    Mokland Hotel where the mini zoo is located was leased by us from the owner. When we got there, we saw a corner that was like a dumping ground. It occurred to me to make use of it. At first, we started by greening the particular area since the hotel is big and spacious but no greenery. At the swimming pool, we have a sitting area there where we have planted coconut trees.

    We, therefore, came up with a mini zoo for that fallow ground and now, schools are coming.  We have crocodiles, donkeys, peacocks, rabbits, geese and other animals that children see only on television. But here, they see them physically. Sometimes they ask if they can touch my horse and I allow them to ride. And when they are going, we give them handouts on all they had seen at the zoo. That is why we are expanding, hoping to move to the site I told you about.

    You talked about your mum being a caterer. Was that what attracted you to hospitality industry?

    I am the first child of my mum. Naturally when mummy was not around, I had to take charge. There was an incident when we were living in Kaduna. She wasn’t at home. Someone brought an order for a cake. We didn’t tell the woman that mummy had travelled. We charged her for the cake and between my sibling and I, we did the cake and collected the money. When the woman came to collect the cake, she was pleased. She said we should thank mum. From then, I kept on studying my mum and whenever she was not around, I entered the kitchen and did everything that she used to do. So that was how I turned myself into a good cook.

    And in my home, hospitality is part of us.

    What do you think of tourism regulatory bodies in the country?

    The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) ought to be a good regulatory body for the hotels in the country, so that our tourism can grow. You know tourism for incoming visitors starts from the arrival point to the taxi driver at the airport who must have  Nigerian culture to be readily showcased to the visitor. They must sell Nigeria to you through the services they are offering. This is the kind of things that the NTDC should be promoting. That is the orientation of the Nigerian mind towards tourism. And it should extend even to the conductors and drivers and all contact points that visitors are likely to be in touch with. We should sell a positive image to visitors.  In some countries, there is a synergy between all the people along the route where visitors are likely to get in contact with. All of them will be selling their country through positive image. Your car breaks down at some point in some countries and the next thing is that as the mechanic is repairing the car for you, he is telling you about possible historic sites that you can stop by to see before you depart.

    The NTDC should do reorientation for the average Nigerian in this direction. We even have different names for hotels in this country. Some hotels are not even qualified to be called a restaurant, but somehow, they call themselves hotels.

    But the NTDC started a classification exercise at a time?

    Yes, they did, but then, the political will must be there to enforce and clamp down on hotels that do not comply with regulations.

    But do think that hotels in Nigeria are really up to standard?

    We have wonderful, good hotels in this country. Indeed, Nigerians are investing heavily in the hotel industry. I was in a hotel in Ibadan.I saw the extent of the investment in the different aspects of the hotel, but something was missing: proper staffing orientation. The hotel is being  managed by the people with no knowledge to manage a business. I entered one hotel with a lovely edifice, but inside I felt like vomiting. There was no maintenance culture, and above all things, the power system was not helping matters. We must have a proper plan for the tourism industry for the next decade. There must be a projection for it. The change we clamoured for must take effect. Nigeria is a wonderful country, but we should do things in the right way.

     

    Would you say that room rates are expensive?

    I do not think so because there are still places where one can find as low as N10,000 which is not up to hundred dollars. Charges must be in agreement with service. It is wrong when that is not in place. I slept at a hotel recently, but did not get what I wanted there. So I made my comments known when I was leaving the place through the comment box. When I went back, I saw that what I complained about had been taken care of.

    How do you recreate?

    I do workout every day.I climb the stairs of our hotels as a form of exercise. I sit with friends at recreation centres and visit hotels. I drive out some nights to check into other hotels to check the competition. There, I see things myself and correct some things too in my outlets. Currently, I am also writing a book on hotel management in Nigeria. Also because I am also a script writer, we have a series on hotel life coming up soon. Life in hotel is large; it is a hospitality business, a place to care for people. People who go to hotels need care.

    As a tourism consultant, what is your style?

    I love wearing shorts and T-shirts. I like walking around easily,  especially when I am at work. Recently, somebody came up with a design for me which my friends are now calling my logo. It is a simple African dress. I love it. I love sandals. They make me free. I wear shoes when it is a formal event.  I love to wear sandals and be free. I do not wear caps because they make me feel headache.

    How about family?

    I am a married man with a beautiful wife and children. Mind you, I have beautiful daughters too. These are the women in my life.