By Frank Meke
I have always avoided certain extreme feelings and discussions on and about cultural differences and the impact on some people. How the Chinese systematically and intentionally globalised the Chinese culture, particularly her food culture, zhuzhing it into the daily menu of international and continental hospitality bucket list, is certainly magical for me.
The Chinese left us a study in strategic understanding of the power of culture and to which has gleefully become top discussion across diplomatic tables.
Trust the Chinese, they carefully kept quiet about the power of their cultural tourism influence, preferring that other people, teachers, students, tourists and researchers on culture take up the challenge and make it a top study across the world. Today, the Chinese global socioeconomic and political presence all over the world is driven by the Zhuzhing of its culture, and there is no deliberate deployment of lying machines or intent to deceive anyone even the ordinary Chinese about the Chinese culture impact.
Now, back home, a rather misty zhuzh on our disapora cultural tourism possibilities during the xtmas holidays has became a one chance and “accidental” push away from reality as a certain tax consultant or abi na tax collector from the synagogue of deception, conjured up alluring ROI on tourism and hospitality gains to the purse of lagos state government. Abeg, where is the practical evidence?
That gambit and statistical foray into the land of dreams and as ironically named” detty ( dirty to me) December and credited to one innocuous special adviser to lagos governor , had become the new leverage to zhuzh the envelope of tourism funds and misapply same.
Science, including law and reportage of new discoveries and realities are evidence driven, but here in our clime, we clandestinly manipulate mere academic exercises and experimental results into advantage conduits for slippery earth worms, engendering outlandish jobbry to zhuzh our very annoying corrupt lifestyle.
For over four decades and counting, we have cherished self glorification over and above national development and peaceful coexistence of our people. We rob our people blind in the name of development, stripping them bare like a chicken being deboned and without skin. Instead of verifiable developmental milestones, we conjure pictures, mere mental pictures of cultural tourism opportunities and projects, and like the priests of the yore, baptisied non-existent or poorly executed projects in the name of lies, damn lies and statistics, making the Old iconic late British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill turn in his grave.
The Old British pre second world War political Leader was known to sneeze at statistics as a big factory where lies and damn lies were manufactured to swing and zhuzh envelopes ladden with British Pounds into private pockets usually driven by the deceptive urge to better the lots of the common man.
There were two former Nigerian ministers of culture and tourism who were so gifted with statistical forecasts on tourism in Nigeria, deceiving their principles and conjuring “faultless” surreal impacts of their agendas on cultural tourism development and promotion with post forecasts impacts , after many years, which only revealed deceitfulness per second and an advocacy dipped in the wool of corruption.
I possibly like the threats by the National Assembly to the effect that non performing ministers and ogas at the agencies would be denied budgetry allocations if they have nothing worthwhile to show evidentially as verifiable deliverables. The statistical numbo jumbo in our culture tourism space must stop.
One is indeed worried about the absence of critical interrogation of how public money is spent in Nigeria, particularly on our cultural tourism space, where industry players are used as baits to fund illegalities and selfish aggrandisement
I won’t forget easily where one critical agency in the tourism and hospitality training sphere was reduced to a transactional agency , conjuring cultural and hospitality ecological reach into a slush of corruption and selfish gains.
Honestly, I took a deep breath and begged God to help our industry when the president gifted us with a propagandist to head a very critical cultural orientation agency. The first achievement of the guy just a day in office was to corner all the agency’s operational vehicles and turn them into a security convoy to protect his big Humpty Dumpty and empty frame.
Na who wan kpai this nonsensical fellow who had spent one year in office in controversial submissions and pranting to Zhuzhing budget envelope for his run down agency. If I am a member of NAS, this fellow won’t get a dime!
Recently, I read that Delta state governor, Mr sheriff Oborevwori, now goes about with measuring ” rods” and appliances to critically evaluate the work done by contractors on roads and other infrastructures, reminding me of a street wise Russian leader who always love to expose contractors who delivered below agreed deliverables. He measures roads and bridges, woe betide a contractor ( s) who delivered less on agreed terms!.
Governor Oborevwori would do better to come to our sector and measure the impact of developmental issues under our minister and her agencies heads since Hadiza Bala Usman has chosen to look the other way!
While Delta state governor thrills and tickles me with his measuring rods, I am curious to know more about our Senate committee chairman on culture and tourism, Senator Mohammed Onawo who was worried about the ” envelope budget ” given to our culture and tourism agencies at least since the advent of this government.
Senator Onawo revealed during budget defence by some of the agencies’ heads that almost all the agencies are capable of generating billions of naira but could not do so due to poor budgetry allocations and possibly releases.
I should think the Senator is right in his submissions, but again I worry about an agency head who sits atop billions of naira in derivatives yet waiting for the either pepper soup or elephant budget allocations before he could do his job.
I know one or two of such agency heads under our ministry who plunged head long into their areas of jurisdiction, reaching out to the private sector , building trust and engaging the possibilities of extracting the hidden gems in their mandate without thinking about what comes to their pockets.
If I mention the names and agencies of the failed chief executives now, their nauseating foot soldiers and praise singers will raise to defend their failings, possibly blaming me for their removal in office.
But honestly, I am interested in the few who, though suffering from poor envelope tourism budget elephantiasis, have held their head high despite myriad challenges.
Yes, I agree with the Senate committee chairman, but who has he too met in the sector since his appointment to help give deep insight into what has kept us back from harnessing the cultural tourism trade billions?
If and when these agency heads get the deserving cultural tourism fat envelope, how and what would they spend it on? Non, except two of them out of about eleven of them, have taken measured steps like Delta state governor to reach out to the organised private to ask what actually is the way forward.
Their alligence is to grease the palms of their political godfathers and the rest to their corrupt kitchen cabinet and their handbags. Now, Mr. Senate committee chairman, do you now see why it is difficult to process the zhuzh of culture tourism budget envelope?
Even what they came to present to you, sir Senator, did you tell us or publish the content? Are you sure the DGs have competent budget experts as against poor trained cashiers whom they bully to put together their budget and who are ever willing to shut their traps in order to do their masters mago mago budgetry works geared towards selfish empowerment and transactional gains.
I dare the Senate committee chairman and even the entire ministry of culture and tourism architecture to reveal for public debate and contribution the full disclosure of culture and tourism 2025 budget outlook and including any justifiable add ons, not padding ooo.
Well, walls have ears and nothing hidden that shall not come to light, so going forward, the call for a bigger cultural tourism envelope must be processed by integrity, performance, and the expected impact on the private sector players and our rural economy.
Anything short of this measuring progressive ecosystem would not fly, and we shall not fear to hold our servant leaders accountable. That’s our job down here!
