Tourism traps that may undo Lai Mohammed

There is no denying the fact that Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Tourism and Information minister has a way with words – either written or spoken. To many people, the minister is an information specialist while to others, he is simply a propagandist. Since he came to tourism over a year ago, he has systematically but cautiously deployed his years of experience with “Words” to push tourism to the front burner of uncertainty. Lai Mohammed acquired this feat not through the octopus government media channels such as NTA, Radio Nigeria or Voice of Nigeria, he simply targeted the under belly of the huge private sector media organizations, particularly the print segment.

Indeed, in the whole of Africa, Nigeria’s tourism media remain the most vibrant with an aggressive presence which unfortunately hardly speaks tourism truth to power and do not hold tourism leaders accountable. Even though there were weak and feeble attempts in the past by the Nigerian tourism media to bring to public discourse some very negative and disturbing tourism issues under the watch of Edem Duke, former President Jonathan Minister of Tourism and in Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), government apex tourism regulator and marketer under Ms Sally Mbanefo, whose tenures  tragically left a deep gully in the affairs of tourism in Nigeria, a huge drawback to which Nigerians wish Lai Mohammed should have set up an administrative inquiry to probe the deliberate and painful misapplication of tourism funds and thereafter power a transparent search for the best hands with verifiable administrative pedigrees to transform and reposition Nigeria’s tourism in the world tourism market place. Instead, what we see is a struggling Lai Mohammed who blows hot and cold at same time, so much talk without tourism conviction and action. Indeed, Lai Mohammed is on the way to back to our tourism Egypt, the same old ways that held us captive under our immediate past tourism leaders including those masquerading at the corridors of power in Abuja.

Specifically, Lai Mohammed has failed to unshackle himself from the many traps and witchcraft spell like directives and operational baselines of his predecessors in office which bred massive corruption, ineptitude, incompetence, deception and embarrassment to Nigeria quest as a notable tourism destination. There is no doubt that the likeable minister and his aides have being hijacked by the powerful civil servants cabal, same set of enters of flesh and drinkers of blood that contributed to the dismal ranking and poor rating of Nigeria’s tourism in recent times.

In fact, the cabals actively connived, participated and shared from the looting and misapplication of tourism budgets and funds for Nigeria Tourism Master Plan, Nigeria’s poor and shameful show at international tourism expos from late 2013 to date, so called embellishment of Nigeria airports and Nigeria embassies in South Africa, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Abuja Carnival from 2012 to 2015 and the failed “Privatization” of National Arts Theater in Lagos. So what is Lai Mohammed’s position on all these verifiable corrupt tourism templates and where possibly could all these lead us if unchecked? We explain sadly the many fears and attendant consequences of Lai Mohammed tourism struggles.

World Travel Market (WTM London)

There are three official maybe four tourism promotion markets that Nigeria Identified to Market its huge tourism and culture potentials. And of these four, namely, London World Travel Market, ITB Berlin, Germany, FITUR, Madrid, Spain and Arab Travel Market in Dubai, the WTM remains Nigerian soft spot to the global tourism market place.

To trade (Promote) at WTM, most Nations come to the table and tourism town hall exhibitions with their very best and to these efforts, Nigeria between 2007 and early 2013, brought the best organized vibes to these tourism trade posts. It was never left to imagination or any propagandist intention that Nigeria has indeed and truly arrived to make a statement. And from 2007 to March 2013, Nigeria tourism promotion took the front view and a global new tourism trade to trade ranking and rating under Olusegun Runsewe as Nigeria’s Chief tourism marketing officer. Nigerians in London, Spain, Germany and Dubai poured out into the Nigerian Pavilion with their friends and the world, particularly Africa took notice.

Indeed, with a yearly progressive ranking in refreshing tourism marketing templates, Nigeria tourism under Runsewe became the future tourism signature of how best to promote a destination and other African nations, particularly West Africa participating nations, proudly asked Nigeria to lead the way.

Soon, the organizers of these exhibitions from their research findings and visitor’s assessment, yearly visit Nigeria to “beg” Nigeria to bring that refreshing touch their events. However, that was a dream that died immediately Runsewe was removed for political Considerations and to which Nigeria is yet to recover.

it is however very sad and telling that Lai Mohammed has approved the participation of an unprepared Nigeria cum NTDC to the premier tourism trade show in London without first carrying out due diligence on Nigeria’s tourism show of shame from 2013 to 2015. It is in public domain that Nigeria’s subsequent outings and participations from 2013 till date had all ended in controversy, sometimes with no exhibition stands, key trade products and information on sites and a reliable marketing team.

Regrettably, Lai Mohammed “strange” last minute approval for NTDC participation with him and three of his aides as leaders of delegation is clearly against the expectation of many tourism enthusiasts and practitioners who have wished for a total cleansing of failed NTDC and a proper planning to restore Nigeria’s lost tourism marketing glory. So, the question begging for an answer is what does Lai Mohammed want to achieve at WTM? Maybe, a hand shakes with the queen or promotion of self and not the nation.

Abuja Carnival

Abuja cultural carnival just like the failed Nigerian Tourism master plan is the baby of President Olusegun Obasanjo who also apart from putting in place a Presidential Council on Tourism (PCT), a “unitary” platform to engage state governors on the benefits of tourism business, did also gave Nigeria its first full fledged tourism ministry portfolio.

Abuja carnival to Obasanjo is a cultural vehicle to drive and sustain Nigeria rich culture to the consumption of Nigerians first and later to the world. The idea to celebrate the best of our culture once every year in Abuja is also to use the platform to reaffirm our unity in diversity and showcase to the world a different kind of mass carnival that cannot be found elsewhere in the black Africa. The founding handlers gave and interpret the Abuja carnival dream to Nigerians and the world in general and after very successful and wave making outings in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the carnival started to experience a limping process and completely became a local naming ceremony affair between 2012 and 2015. That Abuja carnival has come to an end of its mission and vision circles in such a short-time compared to other global carnivals that successful kept improving in ranking and attendance, again highlights our expectations that Lai Mohammed need tarry to re-jig the organizational structure in order to rebrand the national carnival. That expectation fell swoop on the ground as he put to pen to paper to approve the hosting of the festival in Abuja before December. There is no denying truth that the hands of the cabal that brought the carnival to its present poor state is behind the minister’s approval, but what really rankles is the inability of Lai Mohammed do something differently with Abuja Carnival and restore its fame and glory instead of dipping his hands into the pot with failed former managers of the festival, who like Judas, have set him up for ridicule if the carnivals falls short of national expectations.

Nigeria Tourism Master Plan

We have done more than enough epistles on TMP and for all the care about Nigerian tourism, Lai Mohammed’s brag on TMP revision will come to naught.  There is something fundamentally wrong with Lai Mohammed’s approach to tourism monitoring and supervision which is not hard to understand. The minister has no tourism blue print and appears in haste to claim credit for whatever that catches his fancy as an achievement. He keeps the industry in gross sad expectation of his next hasty attempt to assume the new tourism messiah. NTMP will not see anything sustainably refreshing and new with Lai Mohammed.

National Theatre

On paper, Nigeria has two national theatres, one in Iganmu, Lagos and another in Calabar without an address. Both are bedeviled in controversy, not really the making of Lai Mohammed but the truth is that Lai Mohammed cannot tell us where the one in Calabar can be located since was captured in previous budget(s) while the “owners” of the Lagos based Theater alleged that Lai Mohammed has “withdrawn” their “legally” approved concessionaire hold without due process. Honestly it is not yet Uhuru for tourism under Lai Mohammed.

Tourism summit: seven months after

Nigeria tourism stakeholders’ summit was held in April and Lai Mohammed’s first official outing to engage and “feel” the pulse of industry practitioners. Sadly seven months down the line and with a fervent promise to re-appraise the various submissions at the event in order to have a workable blue-print, Lai Mohammed has failed to live up to the billings and have neither explained to his “select” inner disciples why the committee’s position was not made public. Maybe, the rebirth of Presidential Council of Tourism (PCT) is the only practicable solution to Nigeria’s numerous tourism woes. PCT is not Lai Mohammed’s idea, it belonged to Olusegun Obasanjo.