BY FRANK MEKE
Dear Mr President elect, I felicitate with you and wish you well as you prepare to democratically run the affairs of our dear nation as the 16th President of Nigeria.
It is a tough job and to which we pray that God will use you to turn around the fortunes of Africa’s biggest black nation, with diverse cultural background and ecosystem, equal, if not bigger than most frontline political systems in the world.
As a leader with immense knowledge and connections all over the world, am sure, your Excellency, certain issues concerning Nigeria’s cultural tourism economy ranking, may give you goose pimple.
A nation of 200 million people, with rich culture and tradition, hospitable, with record showings in music, dances and tech startups, not excluding rich virgin forest and fauna ecosystems, flourishing brown water economy, all untapped and jobs enablers, unarguably lost to lack of serious assessment and socioeconomic engineering.
It’s important to note sir, that the cultural tourism of Nigeria, has not been truly evaluated, empowered and given a political breather to contribute to national development. We have for over thirty years, dreamt of only of becoming a tourism nation yet has not done anything to significantly harness its potentials. We appointed persons, doctors, diplomats, pharmacists and others such like, with verbose abilities, churning out obnoxious research works and jaundiced multiplyer effects of tourism, citing copious and stupendous socioeconomic impacts from other nations, sweet to the ears, yet impracticable, eurocentric and strange to solutions to our unique cultural colourations. Please sir, call for video recordings of National Festival of Arts and Culture ( Nafest), and you will be amazed at the gift and richness of Nigerian culture, begging for international marketing and promotion..
Apart from the absence of a tourism stand alone Ministry which was swept away in 2015 by APC, in the haste to re engineer and to respond to certain economic issues of that era , we must confess sir, that the absence of that strategic Stand alone Tourism Ministry, blinded and blighted our national focal agenda for the industry.
Mr President sir, it will amount to wasting your precious time, to join noise makers and tourism portfolio minders, in running commentaries of tourism successes around the globe and in particular in Africa, suffice to say that we cannot guarantee cultural tourism economic rebound if we continue to merely pay lip service to its full blown deployment not only to create jobs but to also change negative image of our dear country.
I won’t be Suprised that certain elements with political connections, and or experts in shopping for appointments, may have reached you with beautiful copious proposals on tourism or related activities, indeed they may have dreamed up a Creative Ministry, just for the sake of being addressed as Minister(s) and to confound your administration into taking hasty steps which may further put us under scorn and mockery in the community of tourism nations.
Am convinced dear sir, thst going by your acceptance speech as our duly elected President, that serious efforts must be seen to made in creating verifiable cultural tourism jobs and economy in Nigeria. This is not a game for dancers in dark robes or is it a competition for the best cooks in Nigeria. It is a serious business, life and future of 200 million people, where those tested ( don’t like words like technocrats), self driven with visionary capabilities, beyond running a bar and moonlight randervours, must be head hunted to do something new for tourism..
This is what matters to us in Cultural tourism sector. We are with you on this Mr President, and no doubt, the world will find Nigeria, truly a unique destination, powerful and enduring to open up a flood gate of investment opportunities and thermostatify bridges across multilateral economies, thus engendering sustainable jobs conservation efforts.
Mr President, in reaching out for greater opportunities in tourism, we also be well guided that efforts and strategies to full realisation of our cultural tourism economy, must be seen from militaristic perception and culture. Head hunting for drivers of this yearnings and aspirations under your watch, must shape and shop for individuals, who has the capability to work and work without being engrossed with Roman calendar timelines. Above the sky must should not be the limit to our cultural tourism expectations and reality.
Monday to Sunday, except for for few minutes to seek for God guidance and wisdom, we desire profiles of patriotic Nigerians, fearless and courageous to set our cultural tourism economy in perspective.
Copious degrees and paper qualifications, maybe good to meet with senate appearances, but should not replace time tasted background of hard work and passion for leadership of new Nigeria tourism.
We desire transparent, honest,and humble achievers, not persons of perverse, toxic and questionable testaments. Nigerian Tourism must rise to the demands of national development and therefore needs persons of apostolic bearings, willing to turn around the fortunes of this untapped goldmine without being overwhelmed with full compliments of the office but willing to break ceilings for a refreshing transformation of the industry.
Mr President, we know your political engineering antecedents and achievements in lagos. We know your practical approach to socioeconomic issues and expectations to sharing prosperity to all, either willing and unwilling, for we know prosperity scars some people.
Your key traditional tittle, Jagaban Borgu, is a frontal statement to your focal love to Cultural tourism in Nigeria. It’s a cultural announcement by a prophet King, the late Mai Borgu, senator ( Dr) Haliru Dantoro, who while he was with us here on earth, pursued with vigor the transformation of Borgu land as a cultural tourism destination.
The late mai Borgu cultural tourism perceptions, may easily connect and resonate with you and no doubt, still on the handle by his son, Barrister Muhammad Sani Haliru Dantoro, who is the current Mai Borgu, Emir of Borgu land , all in dear expectations that your administration, will top notch cultural tourism economy more than ever before in our land.
Culture easily connect us, processes and harbingers peace, national security, watering integration and love for each other. No white man, will invest in out culture because it’s a powerful tool for national development and empowerment. We must learn from the Chinese, how their resilience in advancing and articulating their cultural identity shaped their multilateral economies even military achievements.
Mr President, Nigeria cultural tourism is a mystery, beautiful and rich. Our artifacts, songs, dances, indigenous Culinary expressions and tongues, fashion and gifts of nature, so astonishingly reflects deep economic opportunities which must not be subjected to voodoo technocrats jabberings. What men don’t understand, Mr President elect, they easily give negative names.
Biblical Bartimaeus was called blind by men who does not know how to turn disadvantages to advantages. Blind Bartimaeus came seeing cos there was a Christ Jesus who connects to heavenly principles and changed his situation and made him useful, not only to self and family but many people connected to glorious destiny. Cultural tourism, may be blind Bartimaeus to some people with know it all perceptions, however am sure, your Excellency, that you will make this sector viable, visible, examlpry driver of your economic blue print in the next four years. Give us as restored and powerful cultural tourism economy, built around the people and for the people. Am sure, the global tourism traffic will head this way once you flag off the process and we don’t need any unwto conference to achieve this expectated cultural tourism narrative. Thank you, Mr President.