The Success of Tourism in Nigeria Begins and End with NATOP” – Dr Allen Onyema

By Stella Okocha 

The CEO and Chairman of AIR PEACE limited, DR Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, has lend his voice in the promotion of tourism in Nigeria, stating that Nigeria is yet to optimise the tourism Potentials in the country.

Speaking at the 10th edition of the AGM/Conference of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), held last week in Lagos. He said a lot of people mistake comparing NATOP with the travel agencies, the travel agents, but he thinks they represent a different sector entirely.

“I think the beginning of tourism or the nation’s success in tourism will begin and end with NATOP. It depends on the seriousness you put into it because this country has been so dependent on oil over the years since 1960 to our independent.

” I tell you, Singapore does not have oil., but Singapore can feed Nigeria with its population of over 230 million people for 20 years nonstop with what they get from tourism and other industries. But Nigeria has been so dependent on oil and oil has become a cost or somehow a cause that has become an abomination of a kind for this nation. So when you talk about tourism, a lot of us don’t even understand it”, Dr Onyema explained.

Dr Allen highlighted that he chooses to neglect the challenges facing the country and lend his voice in the promotion of tourism in the country because many tourists operators and citizens don’t understand the potentials that are embedded in the tourism sector of the country. “If this country can harness its tourism potentials, oil will be a non-starter”.

Speaking of the issue of insecurity and poverty, Dr Onyema stated that tourism is one sector if well promoted by both government and the private sector, will go a long way to wipe out poverty.

Dr Allen emphasized that one of the best things the current regime has done is the development of the coastal highway. He said It will go a long way to create job opportunities for the downtrodden and the impact on the entire country will be very awesome.

The AIR PEACE boss stated that he is in support of the federal government’s opening of the Coastal Highway from Lagos to Calabar. He called on every Nigerian to support the initiative because it’s going to create a lot of job opportunities for people and also improve tourism.

“All these Caribbean nations, they don’t have oil. All they have are waters, and that’s what they sell. Looking at Nigeria with a sprawling geography of Atlantic Ocean from Lagos to Akwa Ibom, bigger than all the Caribbean nations put together. And we cannot assess tourism using that. The opening of the coastal highway is going to expand Nigeria’s tourism potential”.

“Nigeria is a country of 378 ethnic nationalities not 250 as some people made the mistake to say. It’s a country of 378 ethnic nationalities. It means 378 different diverse cultures. That is tourism for you. How do we address it for people to come and see? So you have 378 cultures to promote”, he stated.

Dr Allen further explained that If the government and the private sector can invest into the development of those palaces, they will become money spinners, foreign exchange earners for the country.

According to Onyema, “When you go to the palaces of the emirs in the north, that is a good idea to be sold. When you get to the northern part of this country, there is the Durbar Festival. Do you know that you can sell the Durbar Festival as a Tour Operators? All you need to do is to key into the season of Durbar Festival. Or even go deliberately, be intentional. Nigeria should be intentional to promote that Durbar Festival.

“When they do carnivals in the Caribbean, all of us will be running to go to the Caribbean for carnival. Calabar will do their own. You will not see Nigerians going there. Durbar Festival will happen. You will not see Nigerians there. The Durbar Festival is so beautiful to watch.

” All you need to do is to set up a theater-like kind of auditorium, and foreigners will pay to come and watch how the emirs administer or carry out traditional administration of justice in their domain. How the African society evolved. People will be willing to pay to go to those palaces to sit down and watch culture being exhibited.

He told NATOP that Nigerians don’t even know Nigeria, and there are so many cultural events happening in all these ethnic nationalities that make up the country, and people don’t know the dates and times of those events.

He insisted that the private sector, as well as the federal government, the state government, even the local government must be involved in promoting the culture if they want tourism to be taken seriously in this country, and very important. “There should be the public-private sector partnership to develop tourism in Nigeria. It is one area that is yet untapped. It is very green”.

He called on NATOP to pioneer tourism programs, starting by visiting the private sector markets, the government, involving the National Heritage Agency in area that is yet untapped.

“Let us use our diversity for good for once. We can explore and make something out of it, better than oil. This is a country that is very green. There are so many things we can do to make money.

“Nigerians are being trafficked abroad. Some of the people we are bringing in from South Africa, they didn’t know why they were going there in the first place. Those who sell visas to them, they will sell their land to buy visa, thinking that when you get there, manna will come from heaven. But you can see where it has ended.

“We are talking about national development here. We are not playing. A lot of Nigerians are being trafficked outside this country. Let us promote tourism. It will create a whole lot of job opportunities for people. And all this trying to flee the country will stop.

Dr Onyema added that patriotism is key in achieving any visible result in tourism. “The problem we have in this country is that we’re not patriotic. If we are patriotic, we will shun corruption. If we are patriotic, we won’t steal money belonging to the public. If we are patriotic, you must be your brother’s keeper. If you are patriotic, you won’t do tribalism. If you are patriotic, you won’t do religious nationalism.

“What we have in Nigeria is not broad nationalism. What I preach is broad nationalism up in Nigeria. Not every time, I’m Igbo, I’m Hausa, I’m Yoruba, I’m this, I’m that. What we have in Nigeria is ethnic nationalism and religious nationalism. I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian, I’m this, I’m that. As if that alone will put food on your table and take you to heaven. It’s your relationship with God that will determine everything at the end of the day, not that rubbish you profess in trying to fool people”

“So can we decide to be patriotic for once? That patriotism will lead you into always standing up for your country. It will help tourism. Because in a situation where we are the chief demarcators of our own nation, that is very, very bad. Everybody believes that everything about Nigeria is evil. It’s bad. This is a beautiful country of 378 ethnic nationalities. I don’t want to be anything other than a Nigerian.

“The population is our advantage. Everybody wants to come to Nigeria, and we’re running away from Nigeria. So NATOP , start to be intentional. Nigerians don’t understand tourism yet, the tourism potentials of our nation