By Frank Meke.
After the second war, the Germans knew that they had to mobilize the entire citizenary to national development and restoration. They were at the receiving end of pummelling by the free world and held in suspension.
Remember, the eastern flank of the nation was under occupation by allied forces ( the communist Russia ) for a while. That in itself is a national embarrassment to every patriotic German.
The West frontier leaders knew that they must work hard to remodel the economy and show forth the need for absolute liberation of the entire nation as one people but must prove to the world that the German people can be trusted to hold out on their own.
I took to this recourse to beg president Ahmed Tinubu to take a second look at our cultural tourism and creative economy and pay a very strategic intentional intervention attention to its development by looking for good hands to run it. Better hands.
I do not wish to go the way of smug and pedestrian analysis to prove that cultural tourism economy is our best solution ground to recalibrate our economy, grow jobs, and reverse the run away geometric populist desire by Nigerians to crave for foreign way of life and abandone the nation.
Since the appointment of Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa as Minister of Culture and Creative Economy and Lately Tourism, it’s manifestingly obvious that she is not fit to do the job. Hannatu Musa Musawa is a huge mistake, and her many failings and infractions are too many to be ignored and excused as mistakes of a kindergarten political hired hand. Yes, a hired hand!
She is overwhelmed by an industry that presents plenty of advantages and numerate creative, hard-working Nigerians in the private sector and dwarfed by her own fears and inadequacies.
I won’t waste my time highlighting many of her assumed operational deliverables, which are works of sorcery and kitted from the kitchen of black magic, painted in dramatic colours of deception and grandstanding.
It’s indeed in the public space that her first ever and last stakeholders meeting targeting solely the creative community failed flat because madam minister had no Intel on how the creative community in Nigeria struggled without help from government to brace into international recognition and influence.
Like our off the mill political appointees and street urchins intoxicated by the presence of outriders with siren blaring cancaphony and ego massaging aides, Hannatu Musa Musawa thought she is the queen of Nigeria’s cultural tourism and creative narratives and must therefore impose herself on the community of operators and players.
Her ground zero operational evangelical approach stirred up bitterness and irked both public and private sector institutional memories minders
How can a learner tell experienced drivers the mechanics of driving a bus on a busy highway, not minding that there were established institutional regulations and ethos before the learner came to be.
The Ministry of Culture, creativeArts , and Lately Tourism, is an octopus ministry with institutional memory dating back since independence. Yes,the footholding the culture and tourism economy had gone through certain enabling partnership concupieance such as commerce, information, and national orientation, it has, however, survived government structured policy experimentations, interferences which sometimes are not well thought out, lacking democratic and intentional engagement with the private sector, traditional rulers and the organised specialised tourism media.
With over thirteen agencies under the ministry, it is an absurdity and a confrontational rascality by Hannatu Musa Musawa to weaponize her ground zero operational ecosystem to destroy an industry that has been in existence before she was enrolled into nursery school.
Indeed, Hannatu Musa Musawa’s policy grandstanding and determination to work and operate outside government structured administrative ecosystems is the bane of the dislocations and dysfunctional wahala in the system in the past two years. How can a failed minister like Hannatu Musa Musawa be pranting and pretending representation of a sector that has ignored her self deceit as the queen of Nigeria’s cultural tourism and creative economy,. Sadly, how she survived the last cabinet reshuffle speaks volumes of the seriousness and promises of President Ahmed Tinubu to harness the economic values of the industry.
Let’s face facts and leave emotions out of our love for our country and people. Hannatu Musa Musawa is not our Messiah in whatever cultural vision that this government wishes to engage with our cultural tourism economy.
She is dead pan to reasonable action plans, divisive and intentionally anti people development, confrontational and all-knowing yet not knowing anything.
In the last two years, Hannatu Musa Musawa ranks tops as the most travelled minister in this president Tinubu administration, squandering government funds and short on deliverables performance. Compare the cancaphony of avoidable infractions in her ministry to others in this government, and you think that Hannatu Musa Musawa is untouchable and indispensable. She is not. Maybe the gods are not angry enough!
All her achievements are laced in grammatical jingoism and propaganda. Hannatu is an unrepentant queen of press conferences and statements. She is queen of the television shows, with poorly scripted lines rubbishing the values of cultural tourism opportunities in Nigeria. She certainly runs in circles!
We are tired of pretenders to our economy and national cultural rebirth. Two days ago, allegations of financial infractions in the ministry gained traction all over the place, demarketing our cultural tourism values.
Another video called for the sacking of an alleged Hannatu Musa Musawa appointed Director of General Services by the ministry workers trended all over . The Ali Abu Sufiyanu ( the Director General Services) must go cat calls is another show of shame in the ministry, indicative of Hannatu Musa Musawa inability to manage, motivate and inspire others and the industry as a whole.
Since the president didn’t appoint her to turn the industry upside down but provide effective leadership that could enable and empower strategic and effective cultural tourism development enabling environment for the accelerated growth of the sector, it is there glaring that keeping Hannatu Musa Musawa a day longer will not portend well for our people and nation. We thank God she has not descended yet into the arena of pugilism, prizefighting, and karate craftsmanship to knock out the teeth of perceived enemies and journalists alike. The signs are, however, potent. Leaving Hannatu Musa Musawa on this seat may witness a power drunk minister who is clearly rejected by her assigned constituency.
