Defunct Culture and Tourism leadership lacked capacity — Minister

By Adekunle Aliyu

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, has said that the Parastatals under the
old Culture and Tourism Ministry were suffering
from leadership problem, lack of capacity, due to
the square pegs in round holes at the leadership
cadre.

The Minister made this known during his first
meeting with the Heads of Parastatals of the
Ministry in Abuja, yesterday.
According to him, most of the Parastatals were lying
comatose because some of the leaders have
misconception of the mandate of the Ministry,
hence they invented their own agenda and imposed
such with devastating consequences.

He further said the parastatals were sitting on a
gold mine, but have refused to realize this, feigned
ignorance or totally lacked the capacity to mine the
gold and that It can no longer be business as usual.
''Stop feeling second class, snap out of your
complex and mine your gold. Culture drives tourism,
and both are good for creating jobs reducing crime
and diversifying the economy, which are three of
the cardinal programmes of the Buhari
Administration.'' he said

Read full address by the Hon. Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at
His First Meeting With Heads of Parastatals Under
Culture and Tourism in Abuja On Thursday, Nov.
19th 2015

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I welcome
you to this gathering, which marks the first time we
are meeting since I assumed duties in this Ministry.
I have just held a similar meeting with your
colleagues under the old Ministry of Information at the Radio House.

Without mincing words, the Parastatals under the
old Culture and Tourism Ministry, which are now
under the new Ministry of Information and Culture,
are suffering a crisis of leadership. There are are
square pegs in round holes at the leadership cadre
of some of the Parastatals. Sometimes where
academicians are required, administrators are
holding sway.

There is a critical lack of understanding of the
mandate of the various Parastatals by some of the
heads, and where they understand the mandate,
there is a serious lack of capacity. The implication
is that those heading these Parastatals simply
invent their own agenda sometimes and impose
such on us, with devastating consequences. That
explains why most of the Parastatals are lying
comatose.

But for a critical lack of imagination, the National
Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) would have just
worked to encourage each of the 36 states to
declare 10 cities each as cultural cities. Add five
cities within the Federal Capital Territory and you
will have a total of 365 cultural cities. Imagine
cultural activities in one cultural
city daily, and you will have such activities for 365
days, all year round! This will improve the economy
and lead to a reduction in crimes.

The National Troupe of Nigeria for example could
borrow a leaf from its counterparts in Uganda and
Kenya. In those countries, their National Troupes
perform for the public every two hours. And it is a
regular
fixture to have long queues outside the performance
venues. Just imagine the kind of money these
National Troupes in Kenya and Uganda will be
making. Not only will they be self-sufficient, they
will have enough money for other things.

Let's look at another example: The National Theatre.
This magnificent and historic edifice is mostly lying
fallow all year round. Why can't the management
make it available for the use of the creative
industry, like Nollywood and others? Even the
movies that used to be shown in halls within the
building have either dwindled or stopped altogether.

No wonder a past administration almost succeeded
in selling it off. A less magnificent and less historic
building elsewhere within or outside Africa is a
money spinner. Yet, all we hear is that there is no
money to do this and no money to do that.
Or is it the case of the National Tourism
Development Corporation (NTDC), which has the
mandate to develop, market and manage tourist
sites. How successful have they been in executing
their mandate?

The law that established the National Commission
for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) mandates it
to establish and manage national museums. What
have they been doing? What is their scorecard.
Take the fact that Nigeria has only two UNESCO
World Heritage Sites – Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove
and the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa,
when the country boasts of numerous sites that are
of special cultural or physical significance to qualify
them for listing as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Even the Osogbo is in danger of losing its
designation. By way of comparison, Ethiopia has
nine UNESCO World Tourist Sites, Kenya six, Libya
five, Mali four and Morocco nine!.

Ladies and gentlemen, you all are sitting on a gold
mine, but you have either refused to realize this,
simply feigning ignorance or totally lacking the
capacity to mine the gold. It can no longer be
business as usual. Stop feeling second class, snap
out of your complex and mine your gold. Culture
drives tourism, and both are good for creating jobs
reducing crime and diversifying the economy, which
are three of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari
Administration..

It is important to state here that Information and
Culture is a key vehicle for the massive national
reorientation campaign which we are planning to
launch soon as part of efforts to drive the change
agenda. Culture is particularly important in this
regard. We need the National Commission for
Museums and Monuments, the National Council for
Arts and Culture, the National Gallery of Arts, the
National Institute for Cultural Orientation and of
course the National Orientation Agency to be part of
this campaign, just like we need the film corporation
as well as the film and video censor board.

We will give the necessary leadership to ensure that
these parastatals realize their potentials for the
benefit of Nigerians. I encourage you to think out of
the box to bring about the much needed change in
your various organizations.
I thank you for listening

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