Abidemi Oluwagbenga Sonoiki, the Honorary Consulate of Grenada, has reaffirmed his dedication to promoting trade and tourism between Grenada and Nigeria through the Nigeria-Grenada Trade and Investment Initiative.
In an interview with journalists at his Lagos office, Sonoiki emphasized that both nations possess vast potential and highlighted the importance of leveraging the skills and talents of their citizens to drive investment and trade.
He stressed the need for collaboration in various sectors, including education, healthcare, tourism, culture, waste management, and other critical areas, to foster mutually beneficial relationships and unlock growth opportunities.
“My duty and responsibility is to serve as the intermediary between Grenada and Nigeria. There is the need for us to harness all the talents and skills of the people of the two nations together.
Sonoiki’s noted that his major initiatives is the establishment of the Nigeria-Grenada Chamber of Commerce, designed to bring together business people from both countries, saying that “This initiative has already seen progress, with the hosting of Grenadian investors in Nigeria and plans for a business exhibition in October 2024 to showcase Nigerian small and medium enterprises.
“A partnership that will enable or afford Nigerians to make Grenada their second home and for Grenadians to make Nigeria their second home. The world has become a global market space and Nigerians who are doing business there can earn foreign Exchange (currency). We need all those foreign currencies to come to Nigeria.
“I see huge opportunities in the areas from travel and tourism to real estate investment and renewable energy. This synergy can earn us remarkable amount of foreign exchange yield.
“The consulate also delivers consular services to all Nigerians desiring traveling for business, education and leisure. Including Nigerians pursuing pathway for citizenship by enhancing seamless trade capacity and the abundance investment opportunities. We also provide firsthand information for enquires, so that they don’t get defrauded by anyone or agency”, he said
He asserted that the island is an active member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and plays a pivotal role in regional economic and security initiatives.
“The current Prime Minister of Grenada is the one championing the development that’s going on in the Caribbean. Globally, Grenada has established strong diplomatic and trade partnerships, contributing to its growing influence on the international stage. It’s a very peaceful country that just needs more of the fintech and banking investments and things will improve the more”.
He stressed that in the next five years the Prime Minister of Grenada and the Nigerian President will be the people will be globally applauded for championing development across the globe. The opportunities for Investment and trade in Grenada are in abundance beyond human eyes.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji, has canvassed the need to work with the government to promote tourism in Nigeria and Africa .
He made this call at the unveiling of the Wakanow Unpacked Expo at the Hall of Odin, Lagos.
The online travelling company unveiled series of one-shop innovations to make travelling and tourism easier for intending travellers in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the globe.
According to him, Wakanow is repositioning to take advantage of the continent’s travel and tourism, with the launch of new website as solution providers for the continent’s traveller’s and tourists.
He explained that by partnership with the government, promoting tourism will be made easy and then, we can amplify the gems we have in the nation.
He said: “We are working with the government, There is a lot happening. Lagos is being known as a place of crime. But do you know that Lagos is a place where you can throw the biggest parties? Owanbe in Lagos is a thing. On weekends, every event center is busy. How do we sell that to the rest of the world? We work with government.
“We don’t need then to give us anything. Let us promote Lagos, Abeokuta, Olumo Rock, Ikogosi Springs and the likes.
There is alot of things, no one can tell our story for us.
And telling our story means we can take the gems we have, not the problems, we can amplify the gems we have and that’s why we work with the government. Most of these thing, we cant do without the government, we need to talk to them.” He further explained that the company had in recent times launched many tools to ease traveling across the continent, noting that Wakanow Group has been working assiduously to make different innovations in travels.
For two days, tourism experts converged on Lagos State Staff Development Centre, Magodo Lagos at the weekend to enrich the capacity and skills of tourism officers at the local government level in the state. The gathering, which was at the instance of the Office of Local Government Establishments and Training, in collaboration with the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), Lagos Chapter, featured presentations that are in sync with ‘Business Principles and Strategic planning for Community-Based Tourism,’ theme of the training session.
National President, Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN) Mr Abiodun Odusanwo described the training as special and essential to help move tourism from a local community to a national level.
He stated that the programme is a bottom-up approach whereby those that were trained, will have the intellectual competence to actually promote and move tourism from a local community to a national level as well as promote the economy of the community.
He said: “The two day programme is a National program for tourism officers at the community level, tourism is local and therefore it is essential that those who operate at that level have a very good comprehension of their own and their position, with them as community officers. We’re looking at a bottom up approach whereby if they were trained, they will have the intellectual competence and the competence to actually promote and move tourism from a local community to a national level.
He added that part of the benefits of the training is to enable the officers to be conversant as to worth of things within their local area, for them to know the heritages and attractions that exists in their area.
“Tourism involves security, mobility, connectivity, all the environmental factors need to be very understood and see how those issues and challenges can be turned to opportunities to ensure that tourism grows within the local environment in such a way that will promote the economy of that particular environment so that collectively, business can thrive,” he said.
Chairman, ITPN Lagos Chapter, Dr. Babatunde Olaide-Mesewaku, said that the training focuses on community-based tourism in local governments, while taking participants through various subject matters such as the concept of tourism and introducing them to its various aspects.
He stated that the training also entails introducing the officers to how the people in their different local governments can benefit from practicing or implementing community-based tourism.
“Community-Based Tourism is about the people. It is tourism by the people, for the people and the tourist. If they can abide with the principles and features of implementing the principles that we have been able to put them through today, there are several benefits this will impact on the state.
Economic benefit is very huge and it will impact the quality of lives of people in Lagos state, especially in the local government. The social life of the people will improve because there will be more synergy between the local government and the stakeholders and when we talk about the state holders in community based tourism,” he said.
He added that if the trainings are implemented holistically and genuinely, poverty rate will reduce and job opportunities will be created in the state.
Mesewaku who spoke on Strategic planning process for community based tourism said that Community-based tourism (CBT) aims at focusing on empowering local communities and fostering sustainable development while providing authentic and enriching experiences for tourists.
To achieve the objectives, he said there must be strategic planning processes that involve a systematic approach to defining the vision, goals, and actions necessary to develop and manage tourism initiatives within a community. He listed stakeholder engagement, vision and goal setting, situation analysis, market research, product development, capacity building, partnerships and collaboration, marketing and promotion, monitoring and evaluation as parts of the planning processes to achieving the objectives.
He stated that community-based tourism offers numerous benefits to both travelers and local communities, but it also faces various threats that can undermine its sustainability and success. But, he however identified some of the threats to include political will on the part of leadership at the local government, low level of awareness of tourism potential, budgetary provision, over-commercialization, loss of cultural authenticity, environmental degradation, social disruption, lack of community involvement, limited infrastructure and services and external competition.
Other presenters included Mrs Chinyere Uche-Ibeabuchi (Basic tourism concepts), Mrs Abiodun Gloria (Understanding community-based tourism: Definition, characteristics, principles and examples of community-based tourism), Mr. Rotimi Odeyemi (Marketing and Promotion of community-based tourism resources).
President, Lagos State Tourism Officers and Trainee, Damilare Shoye, lauded the actions of the Office of Local Government Establishments and Training for partnering ITPN for capacity development opportunity.
He added that the program was special and will help in developing themselves personally and professionally.
“A great lot to achieve, it is normal training for career development, there is no doubt about that. We’ll develop ourselves with it, both personal and career development. For professional reasons, since yesterday we’ve gained a lot since we’ve started the training, and it’s going to help us career wisely and help us to develop ourselves personally,” he said.
He advised the team to seize the opportunity so that whatever education being shared will reflect in their various areas.
“Lagos state is known for the best that it why they call it the center of excellence, it’s part of the lagos state plan to continue to develop servers that they’ll continue it runs this time and this is one of the ways I’m which Lagos state is developing its staff, be it state of local level.
My colleagues, I’ll advise us to seize this opportunity so that whatever education we get here in this wonderful training, let it have a bearing on the way we work, in our local governments, in our duties and we’ll continue to improve on ourselves further,” he said.
Minister of Tourism, Mrs. Lola Ade-John, has stated that the Federal Government will help Badagry’s tourism industry grow and thrive in the coming years.
She also commended Hon. Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan for initiating the working visit, which exposed her to the tourism potential of Badagry, an ancient and historic city of importance in Nigeria.
The Minister made the commitment at a stakeholder engagement organised by member representing Badagry Federal Constituency in the National Assembly Oluwaseun Whingan.
Mrs. Ade-John, after hearing the concerns and issues raised by various stakeholders in Badagry’s tourist sector, stated the current administration will look into various ways to develop the tourism potential in Badagry.
She promised the ministry would capture projects that will enhance tourism development in Badagry in the future budgets of the current administration.
The Minister charged the community, stakeholders, relevant governments, and its agencies with ensuring that the environment is cleaner enough to promote Badagry as Nigeria’s true tourism hub.
Whingan, congratulated the Minister for responding to his invitation to Badagry.
He stated that his invitation to the Minister to visit Badagry and gain firsthand knowledge of the city’s tourist potential fulfills a campaign promise made to his constituents.
“The presence of the Minister of Tourism and Lagos counterpart here today underscores the importance of promoting and preserving our cultural heritage and natural beauty. It signifies a renewed commitment to showcasing Badagry’s unique attractions to both domestic and international tourists, thereby stimulating economic growth and fostering community development.”
“Let us seize this chance to engage with the Ministry of Tourism, leveraging our combined efforts to promote Badagry as a top cultural tourism destination in Nigeria.”
“My campaign commitment to the great people of Badagry included promoting and developing Badagry’s tourism potential for economic growth and prosperity. I have focused, among other things, guaranteeing Badagry mines from the riches of tourism, “Sesi said.
During the engagement, the stakeholders in the tourism industry in Badagry, led by Mr. Babatunde Ajose, a renowned tourism entrepreneur, historian, and writer, presented a position paper on tourism development in Badagry to the Minister.
The paper highlighted various concerns, challenges and impediments to tourism development in Badagry.
The paper further suggested immediate and long-term solutions to problems impeding tourism development in Badagry.
Badagry’s rich cultural heritage and historical significance have long been recognised as potential drivers of Tourism in Nigeria, yet many areas remain untapped.
Lagos state has thrown its weight behind Brazilian Descendants’ community of Popo Aguda, Lagos, to boost tourism by highlighting its rich culture.
During a news conference at Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Alausa, Ikeja, Special Adviser to the governor on Tourism, Idris Aregbe, said the state would take part in the event, holding from Friday.
“From dance performances to culinary delight, the event will captivate audiences and foster cross-cultural exchange. We will promote such initiatives celebrating our heritage.”
“Beyond its cultural significance, the event holds potential for tourism and economic development in Lagos. With its diverse offerings, it serves as a beacon for local and international visitors, enticing them to explore the state’s cultural landscape,” he said.
He listed activities planned for the event, ranging from dance to food.
Rear Admiral Anthony Oni (rtd), Planning Committee chair, lauded the initiative’s role in fostering unity, interaction, and cultural preservation.
He underscored significance of the event in showcasing the iconic Frejon delicacy, a traditional dish prepared on Good Friday to mark the Easter season in Popo Aguda.
The event, initiated by The Brazilian Descendants’ Arts and Cultural Association (BDACA) in 2019, is now a platform to promote cross-cultural exchange and economic development. Through music, arts, and tourism, it attracts local and foreign visitors, offering them a glimpse of the state’s vibrant culture.
As Lagos hosts the 3rd Popo Aguda Easter Arts and Music Extravaganza, its potential to celebrate cultural heritage and drive tourism for economic growth would be on focus.
As the call for the merger of Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy with the newly created Federal Ministry of Tourism escalates, stakeholders are divided on the merits and demerits of the merger. But, many believe that culture and tourism are inseparable, hence should be merged because it is the fastest means of resuscitating the nation’s ailing economy, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.
For many years, stakeholders in creative industry, especially tourism professionals, had clamoured for the creation of a Ministry of Culture and Tourism as a panacea for the underutilisation of tourism and culture potential in the economy.
Tactically, these clarion calls for a separate ministry formed the thrust of every gathering of culture and tourism professionals in the private and public sectors.
Last June, at the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) training for members of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Travel Writers in Abuja, Director-General National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe had urged President Bola Tinubu to establish a Culture and Tourism Ministry, saying it would help bridge the tourism communication gap between private and public sectors.
He noted that the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is too large. He said managing public information in a large nation like Nigeria is too enormous to be combined with providing leadership for culture and tourism sector.
“The Federal Government should, therefore, see to the possibility of creating a stand-alone ministry of Culture and Tourism. It is my conviction that a stand-alone ministry is an idea whose time has come,” Runsewe added.
Three months later, the National President Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, lent his voice behind the creation of a Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the fastest means of resuscitating the ailing economy. He said a Ministry of Culture and Tourism was long overdue for Nigeria against the backdrop of the enormous tourism potential that the country is endowed with and its vintage position of being considered a preferred tourism destination by the global tourist population.
Odusanwo noted that the administration would be doing the country well by focusing and exploring the economic potential and viabilities existing in the tourism industry.
But, few months after President Tinubu created the Tourism Ministry (without culture) there seems to be no end to clamours because some critical stakeholders in the sector believe that the new ministry should have been culture and tourism as canvassed and not tourism alone. They maintained that culture and tourism are inseparable, hence should be merged under one ministry.
The Ministry of Tourism has only two parastatals under it, namely, NIHOTOUR and the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA). The Ministry of Culture and Creative Economy has the following parastatals and agencies under it: National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), National Gallery of Art (NGA), National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), National Theatre, National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC) and National Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB)
At the close of NCAC-organised conference in Abuja last December, stakeholders resolved in an 11-point communique that since culture provided content for development of tourism, culture and tourism are interwoven and, therefore, inseparable.The conference also recommended that culture and tourism should remain as one ministry at the Federal and state levels to complement each other and contribute to the diversification of the government and boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
President, National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Mr. Israel Eboh said the new call for the merger of culture and tourism ministries within the backdrop of earlier clamours for a ministry is not a ‘policy somersault’ but to correct the misunderstanding by the government of that call for a ministry.
“What culture and tourism practitioners were advocating when they asked the government to set up a ministry was that culture, tourism and information could not stand together because culture and tourism became the poor orphan, where funds, focus and attention were on information.
“So, the clamour then, and now, is that a tourism and cultural stand-alone ministry should be created, not a tourism ministry and a culture ministry but a culture and tourism ministry as a single ministry to unlock the potential of both sectors to play its role in the development of the economy.
“Now, the truth is, if you are ever going to develop tourism in Nigeria, it has to be arts and culture tourism. Our educational system and standards are not at the level that you can promote educational tourism or medical tourism because there is no structure in place that can encourage medical tourism.
“We also do not have the type of beaches that you’ll find in South America, Europe, and the Americas in Nigeria. So, what is it that we can sell? What is it that we can use to attract people? It’s definitely culture tourism.
“We have Calabar Carnival, Argungu Fishing Festivals and Osun-Osogbo Festival – cultural events – that have been attracting tourists. So, when we were clamouring for a ministry, we wanted one where the two arms would work together, synergise, under the same umbrella to avoid bureaucratic bottlenecks. We know that ministries in Nigeria find it very difficult to cooperate and to work in synergy without bureaucratic bottlenecks,” he said.
According to Eboh, culture provides the content that drives tourism and tourism provides the platform that markets culture to the larger world. “So, both are interwoven and the only way they can achieve their potential is for arts, culture and tourism to be under the same ministry,’’ he added.
But, Managing Consultant Complete Hospitality Services, Mr. Gbenga Sunmonu did not find any misunderstanding in what Tinubu had done in creating the tourism ministry. He said it is left for the leadership of the new ministry to be creative and widen the scope of responsibilities in line with the mandate of the ministry and attendant agencies to get the best.
“I am against the merging of Culture and Tourism. But, we should not run away from the need for the two ministries to collaborate in the interest of the mandate of Mr President. The ministry should work with stakeholders to drive the opportunities as it is becoming glaring on the need for technocrats to support the ministry to achieve its full potential. The whole world is seeing tourism as the next oil and Nigeria should not be an exception,” he added.
For the Director-General, Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, Wale Ojo-Lanre, an advocate of a tourism ministry, the recent call to merge the ministries is irresponsible and likely driven by personal motives rather than a genuine concern for national development.
He said the idea is not only laughable, but makes a mockery of the integrity and personality of the movers.
He noted:”Those people are jesters and jokers in the park.
“First, some of them don’t understand why they are where they are. Second, most of them are political appointees who are oblivious to tourism, arts and culture.They don’t have anything to offer.
“Thirdly, you need to consider the milieu, the circumstances, and the event where they made such an infantile statement. Fourthly, you should consider the precedent and posturing of the convener of that event where that silly suggestion was made. Also, take an audit of the performance of some of those commissioners in their states and you will be ashamed of their scandalous, poor and unenviable achievements.
“Some of them are in a deficit of ideas in their core calling-culture. Instead of them to think out of the box to reinvigorate art, culture and creative economy in their states, they abandoned their work only to make merry in Abuja. It shows that the pack of commissioners does not understand why the Ministry of Tourism was created.’’
Former Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Tunde Olaide Mesewaku argued that though the idea of the merger isn’t a bad one but if the right professionals are appointed to head these ministries (Tourism and Culture), the better for the industry and Nigeria.
“But, in a situation where people with no culture or tourism background are appointed to head these key ministries the objective of separating them can never be achieved. It will be confusion upon confusion,” he said.
Continuing, he said: “The motivation for doing this probably stems from the belief that by so doing efficiency, effectiveness and a broad approach to these sectors for better results is engendered. But, the question one may ask, is that what’s the background of those appointed to lead these sectors to be able to decipher between what constitutes culture or tourism? Tourism and the culture sectors have suffered greatly in the hands of governments at both levels of governance in Nigeria, especially on putting a round peg in a round hole.’’
He admitted that tourism and culture are inseparable as culture is a product of tourism. Mesewaku, who identified culture as one of the major products of tourism that enhances a thriving tourist destination, said culture according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accounts for 60 per cent tourists’ arrivals in destinations globally.
Former Director-General, CBAAC, Prof. Tunde Babawale sees culture and tourism as Siamese twins with one reinforcing and complementing the other. He said he could not point at what Nigeria suffered when tourism was domiciled in the Culture Ministry, hence, the idea of a merger would save cost and help in harnessing the strength of both sectors for a proper synergy.
“Culture, to me, provides the raw material for tourism and merging them together will not only be cost effective but give us a comparative advantage in the sector. I am yet to see what advantages we as a country have derived, since their separation,” he said.
Head of Department (HOD), Fine and Applied Art, University of Calabar, Prof. Victor Ecoma said a separate ministry for tourism is uncalled for because art and culture drive tourism. He described the relationship between the two as that of tea cup and saucer or toothbrush and toothpaste.
“It is culture that markets the tourism brand whether catering, hotels or its architecture, arts and crafts expressed in different ways also promotes tourism.The major split by Mr. President is their separation from Information, which is a good thing to have done. I applaud it.
“Malaysia has it as Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Separate ministry is uncalled for. What is fundamental is that significant investment in any area of the economy equally pools significant returns in GDP,” he noted.
After 35 years of organising the annual National Festival of Arts and Culture, (NAFEST) the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) held a four-day national stakeholders review conference in Abuja last week. It was held to among others assess the strength and weakness of the festival, examine how it has fulfilled its goals of uniting the nation as well as re-engineer it for improved content and form, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME, reports.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has embarked on far-reaching policy reforms aimed at revamping the economy and repositioning the nation on the path of sustainable growth and development. Radical, but positive decisions are being taken, which may impose severe temporary pains on the people but will ultimately translate to greater gains and prosperity for our people and the nation.”
The above statements by the Director General National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe set the tone for the conference that attracted culture and tourism commissioners, their permanent secretaries and directors from the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory.
Runsewe, who was keynote speaker at the event, said the circumstances of the moment call for patience, perseverance, commitment and teamwork. He stated that Nigerians should be committed to working together in the task of rebuilding our nation and harnessing our vast human and material resources to galvanise the process of national development and restoring Nigeria to a pride of place in global affairs.
“God will not send his angels from heaven to help us develop our nation. I am in total agreement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that ‘we have to appeal to the sense of patriotism of Nigerians to have a patriotic mindset’ in our collective effort to rebuild our nation.
“It took men and women of vision, courage and commitment to conceive, pursue and realize the American vision rooted in the firm belief in America as a virgin continent magnificently endowed by nature, destined as a global leader in socioeconomic and political affairs. With a strong culture of patriotism and commitment to the growth of America, the USA rose from the ashes of a people with diverse ethnic nationalities, ravaged by a civil war and racial segregation, to become the world’s foremost super power.
“Those who crafted the American dream upon which the American continent was born were not angels from above. They were Americans who believed in the vision of a great continent and patriotically committed themselves to ensuring that the vision became a workable reality. Today, when America sneezes, the rest of the word catches cold,” he said.
He described the stakeholders’ review conference on the 35 years of NAFEST as an opportunity to share views with stakeholders on how to collectively chart a new course for the sector and strengthen it as an economic path to drive the process of diversification and sustainable economic growth and development.
According to him: “We must re-assess ourselves, re-strategise so as to align the sector with the Renewed Hope agenda of the current administration.”
Runsewe reminded players in the creative industry that in an effort to expand the frontiers of cultural industry they cannot afford to be in competition but in active collaboration and mutual support.’ He advised that they embrace the one stare, one unique product approach, which he said, enables all states to maximise the cultural uniqueness of their respective state to develop such product.
“I therefore wish to call on all stakeholder and key players in the arts and culture sector to begin to apply their creative energies towards optimizing the huge potentials in our vast arts and culture sector. It is my hope that if our cutural resources are carefully harnessed and productively channeled, it will open up our cultural economy, engender rapid socioeconomic growth and lead to the emergence of a strong and stable currency that will command the required purchasing power at the international market,” he added.
In her presentation, entitled E-Marketing of Nigerian cultural content, Franca Idemudia of Clevenard International Media Limited said to sell Nigerian culture and tourism resources, ‘we need to leverage the opportunities offered by the internet platforms adding that Gelenenard.com could be deployed to promote Nigerian culture and tourism sector globally.
“Culture and tourism sector can contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy more than oil sector. Stakeholders must explore the platforms of clevenard.com to market and promote Nigeria’s rich and diverse cultural resources,” she said.
For Ade Dayo, a photographer, Nigeria stands to gain more from the arts and culture sector than the oil and gas sector, citing destination like Fair Ruwa, Olumo Rock, Mambila Plateau, Ogbunike Cave, as money spinning sites.
He noted that all these monuments could be documented and showcased to the world through careful packaging, using photography and other audio visual technology. Dayo added that Nigeria can tell it’s cultural story while promoting it’s cultural products through the platform of photography and foster intercultural understanding and exchanges..
He, however, decried the use of foreign cultures like the Scottish Pipers in welcoming our president or visiting Heads of State to Nigeria. Rather, he said, Nigerian cultural products like Ijele Masqueraders, Durbar and Talking Drum drummers should be deployed as alternative.
At the close of the conference held at Chida International Hotel, Utako, Abuja, stakeholders resolved in an 11-point communique that since culture provided the content for the development of tourism, culture and tourism are intricately interwoven and therefore inseparable. It recommended that culture and tourism should remain as one Ministry both at the Federal and State levels to complement each other and contribute meaningfully to the diversification efforts of government and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation.
The stakeholders also resolved that:
• Skill Acquisition is critical and strategic to the empowerment of stakeholders in the sector and the development of arts and culture industry. The skills acquisition training programme should be for women, youths and physically challenged through structured processes of formal education, informal and traditional skill transfer, apprenticeship, etc. Nigerian cultural products should be carefully packaged and aggressively promoted through platforms such as digital marketing, creation of galleries and the participation in travel markets.
• That the concentration of states in development of one unique product in which they have comparative advantage will enable the states package and market the iconic product, attract investors, increase internally generated revenue, enhance Public – Private – Partnership and reduce unemployment. This strategic approach should be vigorously pursued by the states.
• That cultural exchange programmes can engender unity in diversity, promote international diplomacy for peace, enhance the cross-fertilisation of ideas and promote international trade. That there should be structured international exchange programmes and synergy between local and international NGOs to facilitate this process. Funding for this could be sourced from government subventions, self-sponsorship, local and international donor agencies among others.
• The conference underscored the importance of cultural markets in the states as a means of employment and wealth creation, preservation of the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria and the establishment of one-stop-shop for cultural products. Therefore, the establishment of cultural markets in the states to be domiciled in Ministry of Culture and Tourism was highly recommended.
• The conference identified sources of funding of the culture sector to include government, the private sector, multinational organizations, development partners, donor agencies, charity organizations and lamented that government has never taken a deliberate step to fund the culture sector. It was, therefore, recommended that these sources of funding should be explored by the states while stakeholders like NANTAP, NATOP, NANTA, RATTAWU, etc. should work with relevant cultural agencies of government to mount sustained advocacy in order to push for the implementation of the National Endowment Fund for Arts. To achieve this, industry players must work together, and embark on programmes that will not only make them relevant, but indispensable stakeholders in the task of nation building.
• That the sector should develop marketing mindset, ensure adequate marketing of identified cultural products to attract relevant funding. Identified products should be properly packaged for presentation and sellability at the local and international market place. Accordingly, states are encouraged to take advantage of e-marketing opportunities offered by ALEPH and CLEVENARD and other relevant social media platforms.
• The National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST), a flagship programme of the National Council for Arts and Culture remains a veritable platform for fostering national unity, peace, mutual understanding and cooperation among Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic group, culture, creed, tribe or tongue. It should, therefore, be sustained and strengthened.
• NAFEST should be developed to the status of a festival that needs no introduction and which encompasses all-year-round activities.
• The festival should target different relevant audience such as Diaspora Community, members of the academic community and the tourism sector, etc.
• Programmes which can boost economic activities in the states should be introduced into the festival in a way that missing the hosting of the festival by a state would amount to missing a life-time economic opportunity.
Medical Director of Isolo General Hospital, Dr. Olugbenga Oseni, has said he will make the hospital a centre for medical tourism and a leading hospital in Lagos.
He spoke on his resumption to office following retirement of Dr Aderade Ijogun, after 32 years of service.
Oseni hailed his predecessor’s “outstanding leadership and achievements”.
He pledged to build upon the foundation she established while promising to operate an open-door policy and welcome ideas and suggestions from employees.
Ijogun assured the medical director the workers are cooperative and innovative, encouraging them to extend the same cooperation and support given to her to Oseni.
His Royal Majesty Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal (Abisogun II, Oniru of Iruland) has said that the newest and most luxurious hotel in Africa, The Delborough Lagos to be officially commissioned in coming weeks, would attract tourism to Nigeria and Lagos in particular.
Oba Lawal, who is among the eminent Nigerians appointed into The Delborough’s Board, spoke during the official inauguration of the Board recently in Lagos, Nigeria.
The respected Lagos monarch declared: “The Delborough Lagos will boost tourism in Lagos State and Nigeria taking into account its well thought-out operational guidelines, high quality standards, and target clientele.
“In its quest to showcase its luxury philosophy, The Delborough Lagos is primed to attract affluent and refined guests from across the globe who appreciate the finest quality of service and attention to guests’ needs.
The five-storey The Delborough Lagos with its elegant accommodations and sophisticated state-of-the-art luxury facilities is located at Plot 1502, Bishop Aboyade Cole Close, Opposite Krispy Kreme, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
The nine-member Board headed by His Royal Majesty Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe CFR, mni Obi of Onitsha (Agbogidi), consists of: His Royal Majesty Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal (Abisogun II, Oniru of Iruland); Prof. Chief Mike A.A. Ozekhome SAN,OFR, FCIArb, PhD; Usman Alkali Baba CFR; Arc. Dns. Yemisi Suswam PhD, FNIA; Mrs Olajumoke Benson; H.E Dr. Valentine Ozigbo; Matt Aikhionbare, OON and Dr. Linus Idahosa.
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Nigeria, in spite of its vast tourism potentials has been trailing smaller African nations with fewer potentials in terms of revenue and global ranking. With the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism by President Bola Tinubu, the challenge of foreign exchange scarcity can gradually begin to ease if other challenges bedeviling the sector are addressed and the needful is done to attract international tourists, INNOCENT DURU reports.
Emi Olowolabi, a native of Idanre in Ondo State started engaging in tourism activities as a child until he grew up to become the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state.
Idanre hills are some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in Nigeria. Located on a precambarian igneous batholith that is about 500 million years old according the records of the state government, the site, which was added to UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 8, 2007 in the cultural category, was a tourist attraction in its heyday as far back as the colonial era. But all that glory has faded.
“When we remember what the hills were in the past, we weep now,” Olowolabi said in an emotion-laden voice.
“Unarguably, Idanre is a tourism site of national importance,” he added as he went into a nostalgic recall of how the site used to be the delight of foreign tourists.
“When I was younger, I remember we used to stay at the foot of the hill, taking white people to the hill. They would not give us money, but they were giving us sardines,” he said.
On a daily basis, Olowolabi, a former Commissioner for Information in the state, said, “we could take five to 10 white people up the hills. Idanre Hills, which are called Oke Idanre, are a tourism destination of delight.
“Then, the colonial masters built rest houses. As you climbed the hill, you would rest, and there were about five to six rest points while climbing.
“There was pipe borne water everywhere then. But today, the place is on steady decline on account of inadequate attention.”
Since the return of democracy in 1999, Olowolabi said, the biggest attempt at developing tourism potentials in Idanre was made during the tenure of the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu. “Then, they embarked on massive renovation of the site. They were on the verge of putting in place a cable car to get to the hill.
“When he left, the government that came after him, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, also showed some commitment to tourism. But rather than develop the historical site, he chose to develop the foot of the hills. He built rest houses, tourists hot spots, funs spots and so on. “By the time he left office, the government that came thought differently. So the place is actually a victim of inconsistency in government.”
“During Agagu’s era, Olowolabi further said, “Idanre Hills were listed as United Nations heritage site in professional lifting.
“That itself poses a lot of challenges as a world heritage site. Part of the requirement is that everything about the place must be left the way it is.
“You cannot introduce concrete, paint or iron roofing sheets. It has to be in that form. You can only use mud to renovate the houses and not cement.”
The sad state of Idanre Hills typifies the state of many other sites across the country. They have become an eyesore to the locals and irritatingly unattractive to foreigners.
The Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi State is another tourism site that has become a shadow of itself. Tourism stakeholders in the state are saddened by what has become of the site once regarded as the beautiful bride of the state.
Musa Bature, a player in the tourism sector, decried the condition of the site, saying: “Some investors who wanted to invest in tourism recently visited the place. But they said that what they used to hear about Yankari was not what they saw on ground.
“They were even saying that it is better for the authorities to tell the world the truth about the state of the site than telling lies about it. That tells you the state of the site.”
Speaking further, Bature said: “The road to the site is just about 40 per cent okay. And you know when we say 40 per cent, it means that it is below average.
“It is not something that can motivate foreigners to come into the area.
“When you take off from Bauchi to Alkaleri, the road is very very bad. It is nothing to write home about.
“When I went there about two months ago, the rooms, I mean accommodation, was nothing to write home about.”
Cross Rivers State, which sparkled as Nigeria’s tourism destination during the regime of Donald Duke, has also lost all the glitz and glamour that made other states envious of the global attention the land commanded. Dr Lucky George, a leading player in the industry, was close to tears as he spoke about the ruinous state of tourism in the state.
His words: “Cross River used to be the darling of holiday makers locally in Nigeria with the Obudu Mountain Resort in mind. The immediate past administration made a mess of the entire structure.
“The place is now a shadow of itself. There is nothing left in the Cross River axis of Nigerian tourism apart from the annual carnival.
“If you build a hotel of 50 rooms and you take a loan of N100 million from the bank and you are banking on once in a year event, how do you repay your loan?
“All the major hotels in Calabar now apart from Transcorp Hotel, the university graduates that are working in them are earning N20,000 a month.
“It tells you how poor the revenue, patronage is. If a hotel has 50 per cent occupancy averagely, you can afford to pay salary of N40, 000 or N50,000.”
More lamentations on various sites
In the Southeast part of the country, Anambra State is one of the states endowed with tourism potentials. Ogbukwu Cave and Water Falls is seen as one of the outstanding sites in the state. Sadly, it is being starved of the basic support it needs to attract attention beyond the Southeast region.
A former tour guide of the site, ThankGod Okechukwu, said: “There is a marked access road to the cave. You can use a vehicle to a point and park. Then you will trek about five poles to get to the cave.
“This cave has no religious implications. It is purely for tourism.
“We also need electricity. People are moving to the cave to establish businesses.
“If there is electricity, hotels will be attracted to the area. It will save people the cost of spending money on generator and more people will like to enjoy themselves there confident that there will be uninterrupted power supply.
“When people come with ice block to get there drinks cold and it melts, the picnic will not worth it anymore.”
He said that the government of Obiano made a remarkable attempt at developing the place, “but you know how politicians do their things. They erected change room before the cave. They awarded contract for the road leading to the cave but left it after putting drainage.
“Other works like the staircase that would lead somebody into the cave was done by the community. The state government was given some hectares of land to develop that place but they never did.
“(Governor) Soludo has not done anything about the cave. Since Obiano left, there has been no government attention anymore.
“At the federal level, when Nbanefo was the DG of tourism, he tried to enlist it as a national monument, but politics did not allow it to fly.”
By estimation, ThankGod said, the cave is a big site.
“When the Lebanese came there, they said it is the largest cave in West Africa. They came here through the help of the late Prof Achelonu of Imo State University. It has waterfall and two pavilions.
Schools around the Southeast, especially those in Natural Sciences Department and people from other places come here.”
Inadequate attention by government
The whole challenge, according to Olowolabi, is that government has not been paying adequate attention to tourism development.
He said: “I always refer to the Idanre Hills as a goldmine in neglect. Despite the parlous state of the site, every weekend, you find a convoy of coastal buses from different parts of Nigeria conveying students and tourists to the place.
“When they do the annual festival every May, the crowd there is unbelievable. All of this tells us that if developed, the place will be a money spinner for the government.
“When tourists come to Idanre, they travel to Akure to sleep because we don’t have any hotels that can take a coastal bus load of visitors. There is no hotel in Idanre that has up to 14 rooms.”
Wale Ojo Lanre, a frontline stakeholder in the industry, said: “All the tourism sites in Nigeria are weeping.
“Just of recent, you can digitalise Ikogosi in Ekiti. It has been concessioned to a private sector.
“Nigeria has over 700 coastlines but we have not been able to do anything about it. Gambia has only 68 beach lines and over 72 hotels. I have never visited any tourist site in Nigeria that has good infrastructure. I can never invite any foreign tourist to come.
“Most of the sites are crying. Most of them are in the wrong places. Most of them are neglected.”
Dr Lucky Gerorge on his part lamented the horrible state of roads which he strongly belives will never motivate tourists to visit the country.
He said: “Most of the tourist sites are just there. The attractions are not competitive enough and they have not been known to sway anybody to come in from Europe to spend holiday in Nigeria except you are coming with something else in mind.
“This is why Nigeria is not a leisure destina tion. A leisure destination is different from a business destination.
“What we spend money on as attraction is because people don’t have somewhere else to go to in most cases.
“The roads are very bad. I am doing my second PhD in Nsukka and I left Lagos in the morning and got there past 12 the following morning. It is that bad.
“Imagine telling a tourist to come into Nigeria. When you look at what you are coming to see in Nigeria and what you can see in other places, you will say Nigeria does not rank among preferred destinations.”
Mass tourism, according to him, is what makes a destination and not when three aor five people come into a place. “No country survives on those low number of traffic.
“Why is France the most visited country in the world? These people receive about 100 million travellers in a year. Spain receives about 70 million and Dubai gets close to 15 million.
“When you build hotels, you need people to fill them. The same thing when you build attractions, shops, etc.
Insurgents occupy tourism sites
Aside from neglect by various governments, findings also showed that the challenge of insecurity has done incalculable damage to tourism potentials of the country.
In Bauchi, Bature said, the challenge of kidnappings in communities and villages around Yankari Games Reserve has scared people from visiting the site like they used to do.
“People, including foreigners, used to go there in large numbers. Now the place is beginning to experience security challenges.
“Recently, communities and villages around the place have started experiencing the problem of kidnapping and that makes it not to be as safe as it used to.”
Also bemoaning the destructive impacts of insecurity on tourism in the country, Dr Lucky George said: “Insecurity is a major problem in Gashaka Gumti in Taraba State, on the Mambila Pateau axis. Before now, if you didn’t have money to go to London, you could go to the plateau and experience temperate weather. But insecurity has become a challenge there.
“The same goes for Bauchi, the Maiduguri axis and the Gombe axis. Don’t forget the Hadejia Nguru wetland where people used to go from Kano to Hadejia, from Hadejia to Nguru, from Nguru to where you have these migratory birds. That axis has been completely wiped out from the path of local tourism.”
Also speaking on this Barrister Wale Ojo Lanre lamented the calamity that insecurity has brought upon tourism in the country.
He said: “Successive governments don’t value those tourism sites. That is why insurgents occupy the place. Some of the protected areas called national parks, many of them have been occupied by insurgents.
“It is not about insurgency affecting tourism but insurgents have occupied those places. How will a tourist go to a site occupied by insurgents?”
Listing the various sites that have been taken over by insecurity, he said:
“Kanji National Park is under Boko Haram, Gashaka Gumti National Park is where we have Boko Haram’s headquarters. Sambisa Forest is part of the national park.
“Kamuku National Park has been occupied by insurgents. How can you go there? Tell me what you want to go and see.
“One of the ancient castles there in Kaduna was built by a German. I think the German there has been abducted.
“These are parts of the challenges facing tourism development in Nigeria.”
Successive governments, according to Wale Ojo-Lanre don’t think about tourism but they think about oil.
“If successive Nigerian governments think about tourism, they will protect it.
“Nigerian tourism industry is worth over 100 trillion dollars. If you know what is meant by tourism industry, you will be mad with successive governments in this country.”
Looking at how other countries turned their economies aound using tourism, he said: “Malaysia is a country like Nigeria. The population is about 25 million. In 2018, 26 million people visited the country because of tourism.
“How did that happen? Malaysia produces oil. In the early 80s, oil was their major revenue, so there was oil boom.
“But after oil boom, there was oil doom and they suffered. After that experience, Malaysia resolved that never will they allow their country to be maltreated by foreign power of petrol.
“They diverted all the money they made from oil boom to develop the tourism sites in their country, raising tourism from nowhere to highest revenue generator. Oil then came third after tourism.
“The manufacturing sector is the first revenue generator, tourism is second while oil after it.
“Nigeria didn’t do that. Imagine Nigeria giving N1billion to each state to develop two tourism sites. Do you know how many people will be employed? Do you know how much the 72 sites will inject into the economy?
How to revive tourism potentials
In spite of the despicable state of the tourism sector in the country, stakeholders strongly believe that all hopes are not lost yet.Wale Ojo Lanre says the country would need, among other things, a workable national policy to revive the sector.
“Nigeria must have a national policy on tourism. There must be a master plan.
“No country can move tourism forward without a master plan. It must be protected in the manner that the oil sector is protected by ensuring that we have tourism police.
“Jordan is the only country in the Middle East that doesn’t have oil but it thrives on educational tourism, medical tourism and real tourism. They have tourism police.
“Ghana makes more money from tourism than Nigeria and it does not have up to 10 tourism sites. Gambia too is making money from tourism.
“There is no legal framework on tourism. The existing ones are archaic.”
He continued: “It was only during the Obasanjo era that we had a semblance of tourism development. After Obasanjo’s regime, tourism went down and it has never been raised up since.
“The only thing that has consistently happened is the presence of stakeholders, practitioners, private sector who are just scratching the surface. So tourism is nowhere at all.
“Obasanjo was the only government that created a stand-alone ministry of art, culture and tourism. After his regime, the ministry of art and culture was merged with ministry of information.
“There is no specific budget for it. The budget comes under the Ministry of Information. It is the same thing with states that have ministry of culture and tourism. Most of them don’t understand what is meant by tourism.
“When one of the parastatals that is meant to be under tourism was talking about digital packaging of Nigeria’s tourism, I smiled and I said digitilisation my foot. You cannot build something on nothing.
“Where do you want to digitalise? You want to digitalise what is not there? Nigeria doesn’t have up to 10 tourism sites that you can lure people to come and use.
“I was the one that said there should be a stand-alone tourism ministry after Obasanjo. I was at the Senate on two occasions and called press conferences. Now it has been created. It was created newly.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the Ministry of Tourism on what its doing to salvage the industry was unsuccessful.
The spokesperson, Emem Offiong, did not answer call to her mobile line and was yet to respond our text message.
