Amachree Commends Tinubu on Creation of First-ever Tourism Ministry in Nigeria
Justina Uzo
A former president, the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) and proprietor of Brooklyn Group of Hotels, Chief Mike Amachree, has expressed his satisfaction with the creation of the first-ever Ministry of Tourism by the Bola Tinubu administration.
Amachree said he is happy that the federal government has finally heeded to his and, of course, that of other tourism industry stakeholders’ call for the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism in the country. He commended President Bola Tinubu for the “bold and progressive” decision.
Amachree, who is regarded as the father of Nigeria tourism, spoke to journalists recently on the heartwarming achievement after going back and forth, describing the decision to focus on tourism as a “step in the right direction.” He recalled that a lot had happened after the creation of the rested Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in 1999 by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo created the tourism ministry in 1999, I, as the then President of ATPN and other industry practitioners were at the forefront of the clamour for the creation of the ministry.
President Obasanjo listened to us and created the ministry, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation. However, for over eight years when the tourism ministry was scrapped by the last Buhari administration (tourism became a mere department in the Ministry of Information and Culture), Nigeria lost a lot of grounds in the area of tourism development,” he said.
According to him, “We continued to clamour for the reversal of that decision. We thank President Tinubu for listening to us.”
The Port-Harcourt, Rivers State-based tourism practitioner said it’s important tourism boasts thousands of businesses and that the invisible trade is globally recognised as No.1 for job creation because of its multiplier effects and capable of employing both skilled and unskilled labour.
“You see, tourism is the biggest provider of jobs in the country. All airlines, transportation, and movements of all kinds are under tourism. You can see the number of agents (middle men) these people are employing. Talking about foreign exchange earnings, maybe apart from petroleum, no sector can attract more foreign exchange than tourism. If we plan our tourism industry well, people will be coming to Nigeria to visit our tourist attractions,” he said excitedly.
“With this new development, it is time for us to put more effort into developing our tourist sites like museums and other attractions to bring in tourists. This is where the tourism ministry becomes key.”
The tourist attraction owner and tourism technocrat also congratulated the new tourism minister, Ms. Lola Ade-John on her appointment. He urged her to hit “the ground running so that the industry can catch up with the rest of the world in the area of tourism development.”
He called on the new minister to carry the private sector tourism practitioners along in policy formulation and implementation. This, he said, was the only way she could succeed. “All over the world, tourism is private sector-driven because tourism is business. While the government makes the law and policies, it is the private sector that does the business of tourism. If the minister carries the private sector along in her policy formulation and implementation, it will be implemented seamlessly with no hiccup.” The experienced hotel operator regretted that past government policies failed as a result of the inability of government officials to look to public-private sectors partnership.
Amachree, who said he wishes the newly appointed Tourism minister success, called on tourism practitioners to support the new minister for the success of the industry in the country.
According to him, “We continued to clamour for the reversal of that decision. We thank President Tinubu for listening to us.”
The Port-Harcourt, Rivers State-based tourism practitioner said it’s important tourism boasts thousands of businesses and that the invisible trade is globally recognised as No.1 for job creation because of its multiplier effects and capable of employing both skilled and unskilled labour.
“You see, tourism is the biggest provider of jobs in the country. All airlines, transportation, and movements of all kinds are under tourism. You can see the number of agents (middle men) these people are employing. Talking about foreign exchange earnings, maybe apart from petroleum, no sector can attract more foreign exchange than tourism. If we plan our tourism industry well, people will be coming to Nigeria to visit our tourist attractions,” he said excitedly.
“With this new development, it is time for us to put more effort into developing our tourist sites like museums and other attractions to bring in tourists. This is where the tourism ministry becomes key.”
The tourist attraction owner and tourism technocrat also congratulated the new tourism minister, Ms. Lola Ade-John on her appointment. He urged her to hit “the ground running so that the industry can catch up with the rest of the world in the area of tourism development.”
He called on the new minister to carry the private sector tourism practitioners along in policy formulation and implementation. This, he said, was the only way she could succeed. “All over the world, tourism is private sector-driven because tourism is business. While the government makes the law and policies, it is the private sector that does the business of tourism. If the minister carries the private sector along in her policy formulation and implementation, it will be implemented seamlessly with no hiccup.” The experienced hotel operator regretted that past government policies failed as a result of the inability of government officials to look to public-private sectors partnership.
Amachree, who said he wishes the newly appointed Tourism minister success, called on tourism practitioners to support the new minister for the success of the industry in the country.
