Lai: I’m tired of saying tourism can create thousands of jobs

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says he is tired of saying tourism can create thousands of jobs in Nigeria because he wants a realisation of the nation’s potential in the sector.

In a statement issued by Segun Adeyemi, his media aide, on Tuesday, the minister pledged to leave a legacy of turning Nigeria’s rich tourism potential to a tourism economy.

Speaking at an audience with Jim Flannery, international tourism adviser of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, who is in Nigeria to assist in the review of the country’s tourism master plan, Mohammed said he wanted to see jobs created in the sector.

“Like I said, I want to leave a legacy as the minister that came and transformed the creative industry to a creative economy. I want to come and leave as the minister of tourism that made Nigeria transit from just a country of tourism potentials to a country of tourism economy and this is why we are here today and I believe that we have all it takes to make it work,” he said.

“I am tired of Nigerians saying we have tourism potentials. I want us to start realising those tourism potentials. I am tired of saying that tourism can create thousands of jobs in Nigeria; I want us to start creating those jobs.”

The minister said the present administration has the political will to drive the process, particularly by removing all the bottlenecks hindering the active participation of the private sector in the tourism industry and relaxing the rigid visa regime that discourages tourists from coming into the country.

“Our role really as government is more of regulatory and providing guidelines and protection, but the real jobs are within three groups of people: The states, the local community and the private sector,” he said.

He expressed optimism that tourism remains the low-hanging fruit that would rejuvenate Nigeria’s economy and empower the country’s poor.

“Tourism is so unique. It’s the only industry in the world that is pro-poor,” he said.

“It’s the only industry in the world that is pro-rural and it’s the only industry in the world where you do not need highly specialised skills or knowledge because nature in its mercy and bountifulness has created tourism sites where it wants —not where we want.

“The Zuma Rock, the Owu Waterfall were put there by God. The Cross River Wild Park was not man-made. So it is one industry that if we harness properly, we can bring development right to the rural areas, create jobs and harmony.”