By Frank Meke
This are interesting times in Nigeria, indeed the world. Earth quake in Turkey, its emergency response mechanism, grounded. In China, Covid pandemic seems to give way to bright days and you need to visit maternity homes, to hear cries of new babies and smiling faces of once depressed Chinese couples, praying to enjoy life again.
In our shore, we blab in pain through fuel scarcity, new naira scarcity and boring election campaigns, with jaundiced manifestos.
Expressly, bereft of new thoughts on economy, health and security, our politicians sodomise the podium with compendium of lies.
Now, results of eight years tourism administration is being made to look like sorcery. Incidentally, the tourism Chief Priest is still waiting on the gods to give their verdict. After all, the tourism Chief priest is just a messenger, even though he is used to boasting, that he is a tourism oracle.
In eight years, what and where are the achievements of this government? Two or three months down the line, other sectors had proudly showcased their achievements. Many of such agencies are still proudly on queue.
Significantly, it was the call of our tourism oracle, to tell the stories. As Chief priest, he sits at high table flanked by achievers in those particular domains and reads out scripted lines. It’s sacrilegious for an oracle to make mistakes.
Just few weeks to the elections, we, members of Nigerian tourism village, are yet to hear our score cards. Yes, there was a tourism campaign visit to the Spanish headquarters of United Nations World Tourism Organisation by the oracle and his angels..
Like spirits, it takes those in the spirit to understand that every promises made, bearing the month of MAY as delivery date this year and in Nigeria, is magic and sorcery.
Let me again list the gifts from Spain. A unwto tourism academy, unwto sanctioned Gastronomy festival, a sleep walk rated plea to headline a single African Air Transport market ( where is Brother Thomas) and all kinds of gibberish melancholy.
Now if we jump ahead to pass verdict before official pronouncement on wasted eight good years of our tourism opportunities under the very guide of our Chief Priest and his small gods, some people will begin to yell out curses like deranged Goliath.
Tell it not in kano, sing it not loud in Cross River, dance not to the drum beatings of tourism sorcery in Jos, where in lagos, or Benin, where did tourism make impact under lai Mohammed?
Two weeks ago, I was in ibadan and for whatever reason, I cannot explain, one just simply refused an offer of Nigeria super delicacy meal , Amala. All plea by President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, Mrs Susan Akporiaye to change my mind failed..
I was stupefied by the unbelievable presence of the abandoned National Museum of Unity, Aleshinloye, Ibadan and the waste it has become.
I had to put a white handkerchief to my mouth as I moved from one section to another at the Museum, wondering if the gods in charge of this abandoned iconic place, still speaks.
It is indeed very glaying that our the quest and pursuit of the colonial merchants who stole our artifacts and cultural heritage items, had no Patriotism behind it. The game is self, the colour is corruption and Nigeria, we hail thee, in pieces and in deception.
Is this how our museums across the country looks like, in eight years? No wonder the Oba of Benin wants to take custody of the returned Benin artifacts. The Europeans must be laughing at us. Seriously, our museums as driver of our historical, cultural and traditional heritage bank, is in shambles.
Maybe poor funding, or whatever, is responsible yet I wonder where managerial creativity flew out to?. In eight years, we don’t know how much this government has committed to the funding of this critical aspect of cultural and historical narrative.
In our industry, secrecy is the watchword. It’s a coven entrapment. The key to the purse is in the hands of the small gods, to dispense and to share to their impoverished beggers. One rat head from the city of aquatic splendour, flies into Abuja at any established time of budget releases, pays overhead runnings and since salary of the agency is structured and beyond his thieving fingers, he clears the rest and heads back to nightclubs in lagos.
When we speak and write about those who we see at their duty posts and are working hard to give the industry a direction, these accusers of the brethren, will squel poisonous innuendos, beat the drums of blackmail, and tell their father Satan, how we have harassed them endlessly for their hard earned money, as if the call to serve is a personal estate.
Like the demons, they represent, destroying whatever is noted as an industry, these fellows who were struggling financially before the President made the mistake of appointing them to help redefine the future of the sector, now brag about, living big on tourism budget releases.
A day of reckoning is around the corner. Those who stole plate numbers production sales and now junket around the country, boasting that it’s their turn to become another failed Minister of Tourism, must be living in the moon.
Just look at how disoriented and disorganised the industry is because one lucky fellow out of 200 million people, simply thought tourism is an extensive political farm land, where divide and rule thrives.
They forgot collaboration drives this sector. They forgot creativity is the master game, they forgot passion, commitment, sacrifice and dedication, makes a new nation and destination.
Just imagine, a fruitless eight years, just imagine. No shame, no remorse, just plain arrogance in face of failure. It took a visit to Spain, to organise a tell tale make-believe May Day concoction. They think were mugus!
Tell us what you have done in eight years, and what you get from a Ministry and a tourism headline agency, is arrogant looks. These guys are procurement specialists. They hate to play polo games because the horse will throw them off its back, because they play to cheat and not to win.They are ignorantly ignoramus.
December, last year, an industry NGO, mobilised its members, went to World Travel Market in London and made Nigeria proud. They sacrificed for nation and people, and when the men in black at our government tourisnm gates were approached to join hands, to collaborate to tell the world about our tourism potentials, the fund rightly appropriated and released for such interventions, suddenly grew legs and became scarce.
For our deranged government Oracles of tourism, they gladly flew first class, treated themselves lavishly in Madrid, nightclubbed and came back to tell us tales by the moon light.
As wont with them, they forgot it’s eight years, a long wait, a time in space, that truly could transform our sector and give back to the man who graciously appointed them, President Muhammadu Buhari, something to boast about when he retires to Daura in less than three months time.
Good man, this our President. Am sure he would be biting his fingers in regret for picking these vultures to dry clean and skin our industry. Eight years, honestly, where are the tourism sector score cards, where are the achievements. Someone must tell us, what does this sector represents and presents?
I just pity my friends in the travel media. They have been impoverished and when they find their voice, demanding for accounts of stewardship, hell will be let loose.
Many years ago, we ruffled the feathers of a powerful and untouchable lady at then Nigeria Hotels Ltd. I ran a column then in Nigeria’s biggest tabloid, the weekend concord. Mike Awoyinfa and late Dimgba Igwe( may God keep his soul) summoned me with military dispatch and told me , the Publisher, Mrs Doyin Abiola could not sleep because of unbelievable calls generated by my ” innocent ” report.
” who is this Frank Meke, who has touched tail of a female tiger?” , she was said to had screamed at my two Ogas. Anyway, that was the stuff we are made of. My editors did not sell me off, neither discouraged me. Both visited the tiger lady with over twenty questions drawn up by me and when they returned, there were no accusations that one asked the ranting lady for gratification of any kind. It’s been 30 years and no one survives on this job, by being afraid to confront corruption.
There were many encounters such as stated with corrupt leaders, who if and when full investigation is launched into how they manage media and tourism promotion funds, some of them who prant around, calling us names, will end up in EfCC gulag.
Eight years, no tourism activities, no exposure, training for the travel media, nothing to show , except to stringently divide divide the travel. Media. The media is tell of achievements and to hold accountable where necessary, and set set goals. Not with these with over priced area boy turned administrators. We lost a colleague a year ago to cold hands of death, no help whatsoever except from him who has refused to abandoned the travel media. When we ask them to
account for their excesses, it is then they remember , we once eat amala with them. Sadly that’s is what they did in eight years, adding Abuja flavour to Nigeria’s tourism shame.
Stop Press
President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Bill( now Act) establishing National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism. The full imports of the bill is not yet in public domain but I worry about the ” Registration ( regulation?) Exclusively mandating nihotour to “register” Hospitality, travel and tourism ” personnel “. I want to believe nihotour is still a vocational training institute! Hope this will be made clearer in due course even though everyone denied when asked if Public hearing was held before this revelation,. Good luck to NIHOTOUR , at least, Ntdc won’t breath down on it again as its baby. We also hear Ntdc, has Procured its own mandate. Interesting, as we head to the climax in the Month of MAY, 2023.
