The rise and rise of tourism spin doctors

It is the new game in town, another established face of corruption, the use of statistics or if you like projections to establish half truths and sometimes to build something on nothing. In tourism, a satellite account takes into consideration certain projections such as carrying capacity, visitor’s traffic, jobs that maybe created in a particular event or situation, that’s if all things are equal. Please note that in this business, any dislocation be it security related or change in price such as cost of fuel could send a frenzy and crazy signal that could rubbish expectations or end results of tourism projects or programmes.

The science of tourism makes it very dynamic, unpredictable and sometimes worrisome to investors with eyes for immediate gains. However, the true gist in the Nigerian context and content is that many voodoo tourism experts in and out of industry now employ jaundiced statistics to fool Federal and State governments, including but not limited to progressive prospective investors. Figures can be very deceptive, particularly when deployed as a barometer to win competition and contracts. Indeed, this act of figurative deception was given vent during the tenure of Edem Duke as Minister of Tourism. It was at his time between 2002 – 2015 that “ statistics” in projection’s became the new face of corruption to confuse and confound the leadership of Goodluck Jonathan who sincerely wish to create tourism jobs.

At his appearance during Senate screening, Edem Duke, an orator with a gift to sell a dead goat as fresh cow meat, told the Senate that he would use “green tourism” to turn around the fortunes of the Niger Delta people whose environment was at the mercy of the oil pollution. He gave charming statistics of how jobs would be created and indeed promised that over a million jobs would be created in the region if the senate approves his “green proposal” and nomination.

I had a full laugh when the senators clapped for his “brilliant” ideas. What was the end result of Duke’s nearly four years reign as Minister of Tourism? Massive misapplication of tourism funds, contract splitting, dead tourism institutional structures, looting of Sure-P tourism funds, appropriated tourism projects without location or address and controversial face – off with contractors and tourism ministry workers union.

The crazy game is on again and APC leaders and officials in government seem to have caught the bug. At every conference or town hall meetings unbelievable projections of how a million jobs would be created out of nothing including the unseen jobs that the recent fuel hike would provide makes the headlines. Absolute tourism statistics breads corruption and it appears, the tourism industry is again back to square one.

The Lai Mohammed masquerade therapy

The deceptive tourism “statistics and projections” bug have caught up with our new man in tourism, Mr. Lai Mohammed. My phone rang un-end throughout last week as readers and industry players called my attention to minister’s prime – the television appearance that a Nigerian masquerade could create two thousand tourism jobs!! We all had a big laugh over a serious matter that has become an instrument of deception and official looting conduit pipe. In fact, before Mohammed came into office, one tourism director general who deceptively thinks that Nigerian colours is all that counts about our tourism told the world that the moon and sun are tourism products that can create jobs for Nigerians!

The truth is that until Mr. Mohammed musters the political will and courage to cleanse and rid the ministry and its agencies of Edem Duke deceptive statistical disciples across board, he would continue to entertain Nigerians and the world with obsolete and laughable tourism projections and statistics.

Time to investigate tourism ‘embellishment’

Oh God, where do we start in this quest to cause a tourism change? Apart from the near collapse of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) in the last three years, there is the urgent need to revisit the tourism Sure-P fund massively looted to which a former permanent secretary became the first tourism ‘technocrat’ to walk into the chambers of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). My recent investigative report on that ‘tourism Sure P gate’ become a veritable document to which two Abuja based civil society lawyers sought the powers of the courts under the freedom of information act for full disclosure on how tourism projects and budgets executed during the tenure of Edem Duke as minister.

One wonders if Mr. Lai Mohammed and his pretty looking permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba could muster enough courage to dust the files on these projects and bring all offenders to a day in court. Interestingly, one area that is left untouched and to which Mohammed could deploy the political will and courage, is the unearthing of the worms of behind “Embellishment” of our airports, museums, embassies and all public places to which billions of naira was strategically looted outside and within the country.

Unknown to many people, the artistic community particularly sculptors were “contracted”, used and dumped in the “embellishment” looting agenda. Airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, the Nigerian Embassies in South Africa, China, Trinidad and Tobago, the Nigerian Museums including the Presidential villa were all “Embellished” with Nigerian works, a project fallout from the minds of tourism statistical spin doctors who become billionaires overnight without chisels and woods. Today, one wonders how may tourism jobs were created from the “Embellished” projects? Minster Lai Mohammed, you can begain the real work from here by unearthing the face of embellished corruption in the tourism and culture ministry.

#Hisbah hate Kano tourism

Honestly, I’m lost at how a state in Nigeria could come to Abuja, partake of value added tax (VAT)  proceeds and gains of hospitality sector taxations, goes back home and unleash the most unfriendly tourism laws against investors and hospitality owners, particularly hoteliers. In the good old days, Kano State used to be the face northern cultural tourism, showcasing its Durbar which gave vent to massive hospitality growth and creation of visible tourism jobs. It is no longer so today as Kano State Hisbah guards deliberately unleash mayhem against hoteliers and innocent visitors and lodgers who stays in hotels in the old city. Indeed, no hotel is spared in this mad hate agenda against tourism in a country noted for its hospitality and open door to visitors.

Unfortunately, no one seems to be saying anything and Nigeria and Kano State Government in particular want investors to come and do the needful. Who is that same person that would invest in a state where state “officials” in uniform would invade hotels, arrest innocent visitors, confiscate their foods and drinks and turn around to send its officials to Abuja to share from vat and taxations gains from this hospitality and service sectors which it hated so much?

As step to check this Hibah hate for tourism in Kano, the federal government should sanction Kano state from receiving any proceeds from VAT and all sundry tax gains including the relocation of the Baguda campus of National Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies (NIHOTOUR), withdrawal of UNESCO sponsored activities on the heritage sites and other measures that would make Kano operate within established global tourism best practices.

Fascinating (fantastic) corrupt Nigeria tourism

Fascinating Nigeria, a documentary on the rich cultural and tourism gifts that abounds in Africa’s most populous black nation, could also be likened to another “fantastic corrupt” face of Nigeria tourism. It is not as if those tourism sites and culture offerings as captured in that documentary do not exist, the truth is that most of them cannot be accessed, majority in bad shape, bushy and breeding grounds for reptiles and cockroaches. They are glorified conduit pipes for contract splinting and looting spree.

The cultural dances and other offerings are sustained through the hard efforts of the royal fathers across the nation and not by any shred of support from the ministry or NTDC. Indeed, fascinating Nigeria documentary is an un-ethnical tourism promotional item that exposed our lies and deception on how not to package our undeveloped tourism products for both domestic and international tourism. A visit to most of those “embellished” sites will expose how “fascinatingly” corrupt our tourism has become in the past three years.

Tourism Summit: Readers React

It was a well crafted piece.

Thanks, Frank I have just read through and it was a nice one.

Andrew Okungbowa

Tourism Editor, Telegraph 

Don’t Forget Tourism Sure-P Fund

My dear brother. Long time, how are you? Please don’t forget to re-visit the tourism Sure-P Fund. The looters must go to jail.

-Chike Okogu, Abuja

A brilliant Exposition

Thanks my friend, the report is a cogent and brilliant exposition of the summit. That’s why you are one of our best tourism Journalist.

Alhaji Kabiru Malan

President Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) 

Objective, Very Objective Assessment

It is an objective assessment of the so-called summit. Good Piece my brother.

Uche Ude, Abuja 

Forthright as Always

Well done, my dear brother. Forth right as always. I marvelled at your concise reading of the “Race to the Mantle of DG” that was barely veiled. May God continually order our steps and guide us in the right direction and choices as we journey through life.

Nkiru Alozie, Abuja 

An Apt Reportage

Good evening Frank, that was an apt reportage of what transpired at the summit – Good job my brother! You kind of left out Donald Duke’s presentations – keep the good work and more grease!

Clara Braide

Tour Operator, Abuja