Dear Mr. President-elect, I felicitate you and wish you well as you prepare to democratically run the affairs of our dear nation as the 16th President of Nigeria.
It is a tough job and we pray that God will use you to turn around the fortunes of Africa’s biggest black nation, with diverse cultural backgrounds and ecosystems, equal to, if not bigger than, most frontline political systems in the world.
As a leader with immense knowledge and connections all over the world, I am sure, Your Excellency, certain issues concerning Nigeria’s cultural tourism economy ranking may give you goose pimples.
A nation of 200 million people, with rich culture and tradition, hospitable, with record showings in music, dance and tech startups, not excluding rich virgin forest and fauna ecosystems, flourishing brown water economy, all untapped jobs enablers, unarguably lost to lack of serious assessment and socioeconomic engineering.
It’s important to note, sir, that the cultural tourism of Nigeria has not been truly evaluated, empowered and given a political breather to contribute to national development. We have for over 30 years, dreamt of only becoming a tourism nation yet have not done anything to significantly harness its potential. We appointed persons, doctors, diplomats, pharmacists and others such like with verbose abilities, churning out obnoxious research works and jaundiced multiplayer effects of tourism, citing copious and stupendous socioeconomic impacts from other nations, sweet to the ears, yet impracticable, eurocentric and strange to solutions for our unique cultural colourations. Please, sir, call for video recordings of National Festival of Arts and Culture and you will be amazed at the gift and richness of Nigerian culture begging for international marketing and promotion.
Apart from the absence of a tourism standalone ministry, which was swept away in 2015 by APC in the haste to re-engineer and to respond to certain economic issues of that era, we must confess, sir, that the absence of that strategic standalone tourism ministry blinded and blighted our national focal agenda for the industry.
Mr. President, it would amount to wasting yourprecious time to join noisemakers and tourism portfolio minders in running commentaries of tourism successes around the globe, Africa particular. Suffice to say that we cannot guarantee cultural tourism economic rebound, if we continue to merely pay lip service to its full-blown deployment not only to create jobs but to also change the negative image of our dear country.
I won’t be surprised that certain elements with political connections and or experts, in shopping for appointments, may have reached you with beautiful, copious proposals on tourism or related activities. Indeed they may have dreamed up a Creative Ministry, just for the sake of being addressed as minister(s) and to confound your administration into taking hasty steps that may further put us under scorn and mockery in the comity of tourism nations.
I am convinced, dear sir, that, going by your acceptance speech as our duly elected President, serious efforts must be seen to be made in creating verifiable cultural tourism jobs and economy in Nigeria. This is not a game for dancers in dark robes nor is it a competition for the best cooks in Nigeria. It is a serious business, life and future of 200 million people, where those tested (don’t like words like technocrats), self-driven with visionary capabilities beyond running a bar and moonlight rendezvous, must be headhunted to do something new for tourism.
This is what matters to us in the cultural tourism sector. We are with you on this, Mr. President, and no doubt the world will find Nigeria truly a unique destination, powerful and enduring to open up a floodgate of investment opportunities and thermostatify bridges across multilateral economies, thus engendering sustainable jobs conservation efforts.
Mr. President, in reaching out for greater opportunities in tourism, we will also be well guided that efforts and strategies to full realisation of our cultural tourism economy must be seen from militaristic perception and culture. Headhunting for drivers of the yearnings and aspirations under your watch must shape and shop for individuals who have the capability to work and work without being engrossed with Roman calendar timelines. Above all, the sky should not be the limit to our cultural tourism expectations and reality.
Monday to Sunday, except for a few minutes to seek for God’s guidance and wisdom, we desire profiles of patriotic Nigerians, fearless and courageous to set our cultural tourism economy in perspective.
Copious degrees and paper qualifications may be good to meet with Senate appearances but should not replace time-tested background of hard work and passion for leadership of new Nigeria tourism.
We desire transparent, honest and humble achievers, not persons of perverse, toxic and questionable testaments. Nigerian tourism must rise to the demands of national development and, therefore, needs persons of apostolic bearings willing to turn around the fortunes of this untapped gold mine without being overwhelmed with the full complements of the office but willing to break ceilings for a refreshing transformation of the industry.
Mr. President, we know your political engineering antecedents and achievements in Lagos. We know your practical approach to socioeconomic issues and expectations to sharing prosperity to all, either willing or unwilling, for we know prosperity scars some people.
Your key traditional tittle, Jagaban Borgu, is a frontal statement to your focal love to cultural tourism in Nigeria. It’s a cultural announcement by a prophet-king, the late Mai Borgu, Senator (Dr.) Haliru Dantoro, who while he was with us here on earth pursued with vigor the transformation of Borguland as a cultural tourism destination.
The late Mai Borgu’s cultural tourism perceptions may easily connect and resonate with you and no doubt, still on the handle by his son, Barrister Muhammad Sani Haliru Dantoro, who is the current Mai Borgu, Emir of Borgu land , all in dear expectations that your administration, will top notch cultural tourism economy more than ever before in our land.
Culture easily connect us, processes and harbingers peace, national security, watering integration and love for each other. No white man, will invest in out culture because it’s a powerful tool for national development and empowerment. We must learn from the Chinese, how their resilience in advancing and articulating their cultural identity shaped their multilateral economies even military achievements.
Mr President, Nigeria cultural tourism is a mystery, beautiful and rich. Our artifacts, songs, dances, indigenous culinary expressions and tongues, fashion and gifts of nature, so astonishingly reflects deep economic opportunities which must not be subjected to voodoo technocrats jabberings. What men don’t understand, Mr President elect, they easily give negative names.
Biblical Bartimaeus was called blind by men who does not know how to turn disadvantages to advantages. Blind Bartimaeus came seeing cos there was a Christ Jesus who connects to heavenly principles and changed his situation and made him useful, not only to self and family but many people connected to glorious destiny. Cultural tourism, may be blind Bartimaeus to some people with know it all perceptions, however am sure, your Excellency, that you will make this sector viable, visible, exemplary driver of your economic blue print in the next four years. Give us as restored and powerful cultural tourism economy, built around the people and for the people. Am sure, the global tourism traffic will head this way once you flag off the process and we don’t need any unwto conference to achieve this expected cultural tourism narrative. Thank you, Mr President.