BUHARI’S FAINT FOOTPRINT ON TOURISM
The 2022 Act has some redeeming features for the sector, writes Chuks Akamadu
A bird’s eye view of Nigeria’s tourism landscape would reveal the abundance of unique tourist attractions. However, despite the notable attractions and their inherent benefits to the economic development of the Nigerian society, the resources seem not to add much value to the country because they are largely crude, untapped and undeveloped. It is sad to note that the local and state governments where such potentials are deposited are either ignorant of the benefits of developing those potentials or rather not willing to invest in them.
It is worthy of note also that countries like Malaysia, Kenya, United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa among others firmly depend on tourism as a major source of revenue and believe me, they have created niche markets for their respective touristic products. For example, Dubai (UAE) is known for business and conference tourism, Kenya is known for eco-tourism, India for medical tourism, Malaysia for educational tourism and South Africa for adventure tourism.
Little wonder the number of aircraft that land in Dubai airports are on the increase even though they are surrounded by large body of water. Famous for having one of the best education systems on the continent of Asia, Malaysia is aggressively boosting its national economy through educational tourism, Kenya centres on wild life and ecotourism while South Africa exploits adventure tourism. For these countries, tourism is a serious business with massive impact on their respective domestic economies.
On the contrary, tourism is found on the fringes of Nigeria’s economy. Over the years, the private sector has been the chief driver of tourism in Nigeria – and I dare say with avoidable, man-inflicted pain. Tourism employs a lot of people but it is severely handicapped by government’s failure to put the necessary infrastructure in place and, at a minimum, institute a tourism satellite account (TSA) which would make it possible to capture all the revenues accruing to the nation from the sector, as opposed to what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is doing at present.
Besides, there are issues of obsolete cultural policy and tourism masterplan which have significantly hindered the prosperity of an industry that is not only an obvious low-hanging economic fruit, but also a cash-cow yet to be recognized. That’s not all. Some of the pillars of our tourism superstructure such as National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) which was conceived to be a busy bakery of the technical expertise and skilled manpower required to standardize and reposition the industry has been harshly limited by successive governments’ unhelpful perception. Regrettably, they preferred to see tourism as an item domiciled in leisure, as opposed to appreciating it, rightly, as a massive job-creator and tool for sustainable economic growth and development.
With the foregoing in mind, I am pleased to say, for all it’s worth, kudos to all stakeholders who worked assiduously for the repeal of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation Act (1992) and its replacement with the Nigerian Tourism Development Authority Act (2022) signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari recently. What’s most refreshing – and indeed gratifying – to note in this transmutation is that whereas the former had obvious defects, the latter has supplied reasonable cure. To be prudent with words, the 2022 Act has bridged a gap between and among industry players as well as created a wide-enough room for robust collaboration amongst the three tiers of government and mutually rewarding partnership between the public and private sectors, in the overall interest of our tourism sector. Something to cheer about, isn’t it?
According to Mr. Folorunsho Coker, director general of NTDA, “the new law provides for a Tourism Partnership Alliance, where willing stakeholders under the alliance can be regulated as well as benefit from the federal advantages, which the alliance has to offer.” This wasn’t the case before now. What obtained in the past was absence of synergy which brought unmitigated mutual loss; and it is on this score that I wish to commend President Buhari for his belated acknowledgement of tourism as a sector that is deserving of federal government’s attention.
Although this singular “feat” by the Buhari administration does not necessarily warrant a call for standing ovation, it has, to be fair, at least provided us an opportunity to lament the ugly state of our tourism sector afresh. Additionally, it has also supplied the next government enough to chew on with regard to the imperative of energizing and mainstreaming tourism into the economy. What, however, remains to be seen is the enthusiasm with which the sector’s diverse stakeholder-groups would embrace and optimize the opportunity thus provided, even as Nigerians would also like to see much more robust policy interventions by the next administration.
Akamadu, M.IoD, is Managing Director, Afrocultour Limited
