Take it or leave it, Nigeria has never failed to impress when it comes to hosting world leaders and showing off our famed hospitality and vibrant culture. It did not begin with this government neither would this show of cultural diplomacy end with any government in power anytime soon.
However, there is need to give way for some kind of interpretation and understanding of this cultural gesture and hospitable nature of our people and nation. Cultural entertainment and hospitality has over the years become a strong platform to market and inform visitors about some very urgent immediate and future socio political and economic direction of a people or nation.
The Europeans and Americans sold their message of economic and cultural evolution through tea parties and cocktails while the Asian nations of China, Japan and lately the Arabs fronted cultural dances and gastronomic uniqueness to tell their stories. Over the years, this human expression of hospitability and craft has become the face of diplomacy and an important tool for economic re-engineering, exploration and subjugation.
To my understanding and appraisal of the just concluded 61st meeting of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) CAF in Abuja, the fusion to get Nigeria into the global tourism market and into the engine room of its political structure would possible gain better insight. However, the sustainability of this advantage or process must be addressed or else, the whole effort and sweat to get global tourism attention to better our cultural tourism content may end up in the gallery and Valley of confusion.
The hosting of UNWTO on Nigerian shores is on a second missionary journey to which the message of its first birth in 2010 ended on a battery of “Nigeria for show”, a conclave of best tourism brains with research papers and best tourism practices elsewhere that never impacted our consciousness and the global acceptability and marketing of our virgin tourism products and offerings.
We did an excellent hosting of that outing but lost the message. This is where this second effort by Lai Mohammed may likely change our tourism narrative and orientation. We hope and pray that the very many talks would help keep the Nigerian tourism message in view so that we do not ever again seek to host meetings only but attract visitors and their hugely needed spending.
Indeed, the “strategic and suffocating” agenda of Alhaji Lai Mohammed to showcase the Nigerian cultural tourism offerings at the UNWTO CAF meeting is highly commendable. The Buhari tourism message for the first time gained ground and was eloquently delivered not in words alone but through well directed artistic and cultural expressions that made us proud and hopeful for a better tourism tomorrow.
I could feel the fears of Nigeria’s future dominance of tourism African tourism by the 26 tourism ministers and the 166 delegates that participated at meeting.
Sadly, the UNWTO would never intervene to help coordinate the various platforms where our tourism contents are domiciled or would the world body sanction our governors and our elected representatives for inaction or the failure to build bridges of understanding and development of rural tourism growth.
Again, Lai Mohammed seem to have a better view of this limitless tourism opportunity and trend, hence a national tour which preceded the UNWTO CAF meeting to seek the participation of confederate states to join the national yet very independent platform to showcase their cultural economic advantage and readiness to make the global tourism destination ranking.
It is a thing of joy to see that Lai Mohammed’s dodged attention and tourism evangelical mission is well accepted by the critical stakeholders such as the Nigeria tourism press and the states such as Lagos, Ebonyi, Edo and Kano, not leaving out the very strategic effort to bring into the industry the very powerful presence and global reach of Aliko Dangote whose business empire cuts across all famed and supportive structures of tourism industry to bear at the event.
Indeed, this vista by Lai Mohammed remains one of the yet to be fully exploited time lines to getting our tourism voice and sound bites out of valley of depression and uncertain future. The UNWTO Special Ambassador for Responsible Tourism conferred on Aliko Dangote, Africa richest investor is not only timely but a strategic and significant bastion to help Nigeria tourism gain international foothold.
I dare add that such efforts must be structured to get investors such as Dr. Orji Kalu others with local and international foothold in business to embrace the call to drive Nigeria tourism. Orji Kalu for instance is an emerging investor in our hospitality sector with a vision also to transform rural economy in Abia through cultural tourism. My take is that the visible and strategic partnership with key private investors in the mould of Dangote and Orji Kalu are more sustainable and politically stable than the very unreliable state foundations that may be uprooted by a vicious and bitter political balance sheet noted with our politicians.
Twice at the unprecedented world press conference addressed by UNWTO and Minister Mohammed, Mr Zurab Pololikashvili seemed appreciative of the very telling Nigerian tourism message and there is no doubt that the global body may pay more attention to Nigeria beyond the collection of data and statistics. I must not fail to commend the very proud appearance and representation of the emerging Nigeria tourism entertainment future by Ebonyi cultural troupe, the Ekemini cultural troupe; these very young persons deserve our patronage and support.
It won’t be easy to leave out Bolanle Austin Peters; she is simply too much with her production likewise the famous, under-promoted Benue cultural group. Lagos State government deserves commendation. Indeed, Ambode muscled others out of the show and could not be said to have stolen the show.
Finally, I doff my heart to Otunba Segun Runsewe, the Africa president of World Craft Council. He was everywhere and his presentation of a colourful brochure on Nigeria’s cultural offerings and information materials to the delegates and ministers would further add to this memorable outing.