Nigeria: Tourism - Another Neglected Sector in Nigeria,Some National Monuments Lay in Ruins

By Bukola Ogunsina

A journey down memory lane, harnessing the
potentials of the country's national monuments for
tourism purposes seems a struggle. While this
quintessence of tourism is typically treated as
gobbledygook, the Nigerian tourism sector suffers.
Bukola Ogunsina writes.


"The biggest challenge to tourism in Nigeria is lack
of awareness of what it is all about and its
economic potential." The words of the former
Director General of the Nigeria Institute for
Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) Munzali
Dantata still haunts the country, as monuments
continue to be neglected, and the full potentials of
tourism still a distant dream or what can be
inadvertently called a mirage.


A tourist attraction is generally defined as a place of
interest where tourists visit characteristically for its
inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, its
historical significance, natural or built beauty,
offering leisure, adventure, amusement. In Nigeria,
the tourism industry is regulated by the Ministry of
Culture, Tourism and National Orientation.


A lack of care for our various tourist sites which
includes national monuments, both man-made and
natural, proves our disregard for the sector which,
taken seriously by other countries and has brought
in so much revenue for development. These travel
spots peppered across the country are left to rot
without being swotted to address just how much
revenue it would bring to the country if properly
maintained and managed. Albeit, these sites are a
part of the country's image shrouded in history.


In a sector that is moribund, what will be said of the
undulating hills of the Mambillas plateau in Taraba,
Shere hills of plateau, Jos Wild life park, Jos the tin
city of strawberries and roses and apples, Yankari
Game Reserve of Bauchi? In a decade, will people
remember the ancient Kano walls, the groundnut
pyramids of Kano? Will the Whispering Palms,
Palace of the Akran of Badagary, the Land of no
return in Badagary Lagos, the Slave house in
Marina still hold relics of the past. Not forgetting,
Osun Osogbo Groove, Olumo rock in Abeokuta,
Agbokim Waterfalls, Tinapa Bay and Obudu Ranch in
Calabar? And a number of beaches mismanaged in
coastal cities.


Last year the Director General of the National
Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Sally
Mbanefo, stated that he would intensify efforts to
make tourism a major revenue earner for the
Federal Government. This is a dream yet to be
achieved as the sector continues to dwindle into
oblivion.

A foreigner in the political sector working in Abuja
once told Leadership Weekend, "I do not see Abuja
as a tourist destination. It is more for people
coming for serious purposes such as work, family
and politics. As such, there are not many coming to
the country's capital for tourism purposes."
According to a tourism official in Abuja, the opposite
seems to be the case. "In Abuja we have the Dutse
Alhaji caves; it is a very wonderful cave. When you
get there you will be so much fascinated. We have
the Lion face in Mpape, when you see the rock; the
face is just like a Lion, very unique and beautiful.
"You have a lot of man-made attractions like Lower
Usmane dam, Ushafa poultry, you have the IBB Golf
course, National Assembly and also among the
natural ones you have the Katampe hills, which are
the centre of Nigeria. So any tourist coming in here
would want to see the centre of Nigeria. It is a very
unique place for jogging and so on."


If these places exist in the capital where it is
perceived is not a tourist destination, what is the
government and stakeholders doing to promote and
inform people of these sites

Aina Ladoja, a publicity officer at an organisation
told LEADERSHIP Weekend, "An international or
domestic section of the airport of a country is a
good way to start with promoting what tourism
potentials a country has to offer. If it is not placed
strategically where visitors to that country or state
are coming in, then how would they know of these
places or these national monuments? You are
arriving Heathrow, and little free booklets are
available to tell you about London and its tourist
sites.


"In Abuja, I noticed the sightseeing bus, like those
you have in London, one of the signboards giving
little information is located in front of Ceddi Plaza,
stating take off times and so on. However, the fees
are lacking, and it does not state exactly the tourist
sites the bus would visit. Good enough there is a
bus, but I feel these sites should be put in the
forefront. I did not even know that we had a Lion
face in Mpape, and I have lived here for a long
time," she indicated.


Calls have been made for some time now for a
national museum to be established in the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja for tourism purposes.
According to The Director General of National
Commission for Museum and Monuments, Mallam
Yusuf Abdallah Usman back in 2013, there have
been plans to establish a national museum in Abuja.
"The Honourable Minister for Culture and Tourism,
is very keen about this, he is very interested, he is
pursuing it with all vigour and we are confident that
soon, a national museum for Abuja will be
constructed," he had expressed. As it is there are
no signs yet of that happening soon.



Abuja's temporary City Gate is the first architectural
monument one sees coming into the city. It is
Nigeria's first city gate where the ceremony was
conducted when the former President Ibrahim
Badamosi Babangida officially moved the capital in
1990 from Lagos to Abuja. Even this monument can
be a tourist attraction if well managed, with certain
adjustments made, just like the Eiffel Tower, people
would visit for a fee.


Former Media Assistant to the assistant secretary
of the Federal Capital Territory Richard Nduul back
in 2013 had explained, "The former gate was a
temporary gate which was erected due to the
movement of seat of government from Lagos in
1991," it had been provided as a ceremonial pavilion
which could pass for history. Abuja will in future be
hosting a World Heritage Site in form of a City gate,
while not a historical element, it would make it a
touristic city, "Right now, the package is being put
together."


As Abuja seems to have inadequate tourism
monuments, an Abuja resident and businessman Mr
Alfred Nonso suggested. "The government should
make history of the house the first civilian president
Shehu Shagari lived in as 'Head of State' when he
came to Abuja." Zuma rock which at first was
thought to be in Abuja, is actually situated in Suleja,
Niger State. Zuma rock is another natural tourism
site that could be well managed with people taking
tours around the rock which possesses what looks
like a face etched into its solid dark grey body.


Also worrisome is the state of monuments in other
parts of the country that seem to be neglected. Mr
Ikechi Uko, a pundit in the tourism industry, and
organiser of Akwaaba, a travel market that
promotes Africa as a whole outside the continent,
with offices in Dubai and London, explained the
Seven Wonders of Nigeria, a strategy aimed at
making tourism in Nigeria more attractive to people.
The Seven Wonders consist of Osun Grove, Obudu
Mountain Resort, Kano Walls, Oke Idorin, Benin
Moat, Soko Landscape and the World Museum in
Umuahia.


"When you want to market tourism, you have to
differentiate and concentrate on one thing that will
attract people. In United Arab Emirates, it started
with Dubai. However, we are now talking about Abu
Dhabi and the other emirates. You identify some of
the most indigenous things in your environment that
has value and grow your tourism around those
things,"Uko revealed.


"Kano walls is actually the largest man-made free
standing structure in Africa. The largest man-made
excavation in the world for more than a thousand
years is the Benin Moat. We have the Oke Idorin,
we have the Soko, it is a settlement in Adamawa
that was a modern civilisation made of bricks
hundreds of years ago, in a place called Soko
landscape. It was the first monument in Nigeria that
was accepted and listed by UNESCO in its heritage
place," he indicated.


Also noted was the fact that the Seven Wonders of
Nigeria are all meticulously selected man-made
structures. "People have criticised me, there is
Mambilla, there is Olumire falls, there is Olumo
rock. We are looking at man-made. If God has
given you Mambilla, what have you put there?
Obudu was God given but they put the longest cable
car in Africa there. Now the World Museum has the
greatest collection of ingenuity of Nigerians, though
negative because it was for war," he indicating that
the Seven Wonders of Nigeria will market the
country, drawing attention to its tourism potentials,
stating that not everything in Nigeria can be
marketed, but a few select areas.


Good enough that we have all these manmade and
natural structures, but just how much is being
contributed towards maintaining and managing
these areas to bring in a profitable income to the
country through the sector?

Tourism currently practiced in the country is
slapdash and mainly a case of 'everyman for
himself,' without enough cooperation in the industry
to forge forward. The subject is treated shabbily in
a glum and tatty manner atrocious to those who
would appreciate its need as an income earner for
the country and a source for leisure. Remarkable
tourism sites continue to be left to rot across the
country. It is not even a subject to be swotted or
taken seriously.


Nigeria suffers from poor electricity, bad roads and
potable water which all negatively affect tourism.
The government is advised to take data capturing of
the tourism industry gravely. It is also the
government's duty to make tourism ebullient to both
Nigerians and foreigners. A journalist and expert on
Nigerian tourism, Emeka Anokwuru stated, "The
greatest challenge comes from developing,
upgrading, positioning, marketing and packaging our
tourism for consumption."


Tourism provides employment opportunities. With
tourism come hotels, restaurants, car rental
agencies, service station, solvent shops, sport
equipment rentals and much more. Improving on
hotel standards and transportation system,
facilitating visa process for tourists and investors
and creating hygienic tourist environment all assist
in developing the sector. Employment should
normally be high wherever there are tourist centres.
The tourism industry makes room for foreign
earning in the Nigeria economy. It does this by
attracting foreigners from other countries to Nigeria.
The country is blessed with Ecotourism, natural and
man-made tourism.

Tourism equally contributes to
the conservation of wildlife for food. It conserves
wildlife such as some animals or species that have
nearly gone extinct. They end up being conserved
in some tourist sites by providing an artificial
environment for these species, while the
agricultural aspect is involved in the utilisation of
the natural resources for sustenance of life. If
tourism is taken with import, looking at the diverse
resources and our national monuments conserved,
Nigeria can be the next tourism destination soon
enough.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201511162628.html

Socializer Widget By Talk Of Tourism

SOCIALIZE IT →

Tweet

→

SHARE IT →