Driving tourism in the
right direction
By MAURICE ARCHIBONG
Thursday,
November 8, 2007
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•FTAN
Chief Duke with Tourism and Culture Minister, Prince
Adetokunbo Kayode SAN.
PHOTOS: MAURICE ARCHIBONG
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We digress today from the usual destination-style travel
writing to take a closer look at some agencies of the tourism
and culture sector. In due course, "Travels" would
also x-ray other sectors, whose efficiency or otherwise make
the difference in the growth of any nation’s tourism
and culture industry.
Having edited the Arts and Review pages of some major newspapers
in the country, we consequently had been following developments
in Nigeria’s tourism and culture sector for close to
20 years.
To be candid, there were times; we almost gave up on many
organs of the supervisory ministry, now called Federal Ministry
of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation. As a result,
we simply carried on with our "Travels" without
any recourse to most agencies of that parent ministry.
But with recent developments in some organs of the tourism
and culture ministry, things are getting better. And what
better way to help the industry, than lend our support by
way of reporting our observations, whether positive or negative?
There are numerous agencies under the Tourism, Culture and
National Orientation Ministry: These include the National
Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), National Commission for
Museums and Monuments (NCMM), National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN),
National Theatre (NT), National Institute for Cultural Orientation
(NICO) and the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization
(CBAAC). Apparently, we can’t take them all in one fell
swoop, but as many as we can visit, we would endeavour to
share with you.
This is one of the reasons "Travels" continues to
scour the country, touring outposts of many bodies to get
first-hand information on what each agency was doing, and
weighing our observations against claims by the organ’s
headquarters.
For the purpose of clarifications, "Travels" had
to visit the helmsman of some of these agencies in Abuja for
his side of the story.
And finally, over the next few weeks, as part of "Travels"
guide to this year’s Yuletide, we would feature select
agencies, and how the tourist could tap into their presence
to enrich one’s vacation. Beginning with the NTDC and
NGA, this week, we intend to throw more light on the role
of NIHOTOURS (Nigeria Hotel and Tourism Institute), FTAN (Federation
of Tourism Associations of Nigeria), NANTOP (Nigerian Agency
of National Tour Operators) and other organs or affiliates
of the tourism and culture ministry. But let’s not forget
that tourism is a co-traveller with other sectors, such as
transportation, hospitality, security and so on. Consequently,
we would comment on observations at various airports in the
country, the state of roads and what Nigerians think of Nigeria’s
tourism sector.
It is impossible to talk about tourism in Nigeria without
the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and National
Gallery of Art (NGA). But how much have these bodies been
able to do over the years and vis-à-vis recent times?
These two institutions, NTDC and NGA, are vital arms of the
tourism industry, and growth in either area is bound to rub
off on the social life, economy and national image of Nigeria.
In 2005, "Travels" featured Nigeria’s federal
capital in a story titled "Abuja: At the heart of the
nation’s woes." We had promised to run second part
of this travelogue on the FCT but had to hold fire to see,
if any positive changes would follow. In that first part,
we had lamented that while billions of dollars were being
poured into poorly audited contracts in Abuja, most parts
of Nigeria were simply ignored and that to date, Nigerians
were still paying the price for such unprecedented and profligacy.
We had observed, "Now, we have a new capital but the
country is without electricity most of the time," and
that, "When Obasanjo handed the reins of government to
Alhaji Shehu Shagari, one dollar exchanged at a paltry 58
kobo. By the time Babagida ‘stepped aside’ in
1993, the naira had depreciated in value to about five US
cents. All hail the movement to Abuja!" One had gone
on to declare: "It is difficult to fight the love-hate
feeling about Abuja because in less than 14 years as national
capital, too many heart-rending developments have emanated
from our Federal Capital Territory (FCT)," recalling
that, "It was from Abuja that the June 12, 1993 presidential
election was annulled.
To date, Nigerians have not been given any cogent reason the
freest and most peaceful election in their country was annulled.
It was Abuja that murdered environmental and minority rights
activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. It was in Abuja that Chief MKO Abiola,
the candidate widely held as winner of the June 12 presidential
election died, while in state custody. It was in Abuja that
Dr. Marshal Harry; leader of the opposition All Nigeria People’s
Party (ANPP) in the South-South zone was murdered. Moreover,
General Tunde Idiagbon, one of Nigeria’s most patriotic
leaders, died shortly after a trip to Abuja. Abuja our supposed
Centre of unity has been made to appear more of a city of
death and bastion of corruption."
We had written, "Take the spelling of street names on
road signs, for instance; The least you’d expect administrators
of a so-called modern capital is to spell the names of their
past leaders right, but that is not the situation, here. Dr.
Alex Ekwueme was Vice-President of Nigeria during the second
republic but even his surname is misspelled "Ekweme"
on a road sign.
The same applies to Herbert Macauley, whose surname is spelled
"Marcauley." Even Michael, the first name of one-time
premier of Eastern Region, ends up as "Micheal."
In the same vein, the late leader of Mozambique, Samora Machel
has been renamed "Micheal" in Abuja. Now you see
why the belief is strong many contracts awarded in Abuja went
to carpetbaggers. This is another reason our Centre of unity
is seen as the world’s biggest casino. Such were the
many grouses we expressed. However, one had, remarked: "Whatever
her warts, it’s still difficult not to love your national
capital."
It was therefore most heart-warming to note, during subsequent
trips, that some of the issues we raised had been clearly
tackled. Moreover, the Otunba Olusegun Runsewe-led NTDC has
also addressed many other matters that had bothered us over
the years.
The NTDC, nay Nigeria, has not been the same since Otunba
Olusegun Runsewe assumed office as Director General of the
NTDC. There are many reasons behind our observation that things
have not been the same at NTDC since Otunba Runsewe took office
as DG there. For example, for the first time in the nation’s
history, the NTDC is working at statistics of tourists’
flow. These data of tourists’ arrivals and departures,
their preferred destinations, where they stay, what they eat
and what have you are taken for granted in all the countries,
where the tourism industry is properly run. Unfortunately,
it is only recently, courtesy Otunba Runsewe that the NTDC
woke up to some of these challenges.
According to the director general, NTDC staff at Lagos office
was working assiduously on statistics. "Very soon, we
would be having up-to-date, and reliable information on tourism
flow. I have pioneered this in Nigeria," the man enthused.
For the first time in Nigeria’s history, the Otunba
Runsewe-led Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC)
is compiling statistics of tourists’ arrivals and departures.
The Lagos office of that body began this exercise several
months ago. Another historic development is that at last,
hotels in Nigeria are coming under classification and grading.
This is courtesy of the AA Quality Standard Certificate for
Tourism Hotel Grading and Classification acquired by the NTDC
under this Otunba’s leadership. Truly, a lot is happening
in Nigeria’s tourism sector, thanks to Runsewe, Director
General of the NTDC.
Courtesy Otunba Runsewe, NTDC is also tapping into Community
Tourism, as exemplified by the National Yam House project
in the Anambra State town of Igbo Ukwu. The NTDC also donated
toilets to car line driver at Abuja Air Airport, Abuja Mass
Transit as well as distributed Trash bins inside all buses
over 450. Not one for resting on his oars, Otunba Runsewe
has also launched about 10 youth tourism clubs across Nigeria.
These youth clubs boast over 12, 000 members nationwide. Since
the members would naturally be engaged with recreational activities,
this clubs by extension are contributing to keeping the young
ones off vices.
People hardly come more special: Otunba Runsewe is truly unique.
Though Yoruba, the man who was born in Doka, Kaduna State
speaks the Hausa language with the eloquence of a native.
This NTDC DG also holds at least two Igbo chieftaincy titles.
He is "Eze" of Ogueki in Bende community of Abia
State and "Ora 1" of Awka, Anambra State, and has
some knowledge of the Igbo tongue.
It was in his office, within the Ministry of Tourism, Culture
and National Orientation block of the Old Federal Secretariat,
in Area 1, Abuja that we met. However, our stay in this Otunba’s
office was long because many others were also waiting to see
him.
When we were eventually shown into his office, the man looked
so young you almost didn’t recognize him. Used to seeing
Otunba Runsewe in "Agbada" topped by "fila,"
his appearance, the day we met certainly took us aback. But
we were not the only one. As the man himself recalled, on
a visit to Transcorp-Hilton clad in shirt and trouser, someone
had stopped him to ask: "Do you have a brother in Tourism?"
Apparently in the mood for a joke that day, Otunba chose to
play along and responded, "Yes." "Please, greet
him, and tell him we believe he is doing a great job,"
the stranger had added. This joke about being mistaken for
the younger brother of oneself elicited much laughter from
everyone inside the NTDC director’s office. But there
was at least one other memento. On her departure, a lady’s
parting shot was: "Nobody can keep up with your energy."
She more or less took it out of our mouth, for this was a
perfect encapsulation of Otunba Runsewe’s drive on a
regular day.
An alumnus of London School of Management Studies and Edo
State University, where he took an HND and MBA respectively,
Otunba Runsewe, who holds other credentials in Public Relations
and Property Management, was once Marketing Manager and later
General Manager of New Nigerian Newspapers. A former Head
of Media, National Theatre, Otunba Runsewe is MD/CEO of Sports
Weekly. He is also Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of National Network
Newspapers.
Apart from serving as Executive Director of National Orientation
Agency (NOA), Otunba Runsewe was also the National Media Coordinator
for the 2003 Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting (CHOGM),
which took place in Abuja. Experiences garnered from that
summit formed the core of "Sketches of the Commonwealth
and the 2003 Nigeria CHOGM," which marked Otunba Runsewe’s
debut as an author.
The NTDC DG enthusiastically revealed that a treatise on tourism
in Nigeria would soon follow this volume. In the appendix
of "Sketches of the Commonwealth and the 2003 Nigeria
CHOGM," Otunba Runsewe admitted that without the opportunity
of serving as 2003 CHOGM National Coordinator, he probably
couldn’t have made his debut as an author. Otunba said
he was motivated to write that 219-page, all-colour, hard
cover book by "a desire to leave a little something to
help inform anyone seeking to know the commonwealth, and to
assist scholars, who want to research on CHOGM and its activities."
Otunba Runsewe again: "Posterity would not have forgiven
some of us, if the book had not been written. By hosting 2003
CHOGM, Nigeria made history as the first nation to host that
Head of States (HoS) summit since it was launched in 1966.
It was similarly noteworthy that Nigeria hosted the meet barely
five years after re-admission to the body from which she had
been suspended in 1995. And it could be recalled that the
Queen of England even graced the summit with her presence."
As the Otunba intoned, the visit by the HM Queen Elizabeth
II, was not only an endorsement of Nigeria’s deserving
return to the comity of nations but also pointed to the safe
security situation of our country.
For someone with his rather huge frame, Otunba Runsewe has
a sprightly gait and moves smartly. We put this down to his
hobbies, which include lawn tennis, squash and dancing. Like
most men, Otunba Runsewe is also a soccer lover. The NTDC
chief also revealed his favourite dish is beans and "dodo"
(fried plantain), and he likes straightforward and caring
people, who understand that life is not stagnant. Apparently
owing to his office as NTDC chief, which obliges him to love
every part of his country equally, Otunba Runsewe would not
come up with his favourite holiday destination in Nigeria.
He however named Spain, Germany, UK, South Africa and Ethiopia
among unforgettable places he has visited outside home.
He agreed that epileptic power bogs tourism, but Otunba Runsewe
was nonetheless optimistic that the industry would continue
to grow. Tourism, he submitted, is gaining from President
Yar’Adua, who made it one of the seven priority areas
of his administration.
Some critics say Tinapa is an epitome of social and economic
disconnect. Such skeptics argue that Tinapa is not likely
to benefit the host community of Calabar because it is a mega-dollar
exercise in a micro-naira environment. But this tourism Maharaja
sees no disconnect here. Hear him: "If other governors
had done 15 per cent of what Duke did, it would help the poor,
a lot. Tinapa is one of the greatest prides of Nigeria. People
said the same of Liberty Stadium and National Stadium, when
these structures were being built. But we have all come to
see how much either stadium has served our nation over the
decades."
Interestingly, failure, rather fear of it, drives Otunba Runsewe
to success all the time. The man revealed he has what we want
to describe as a morbid fear of failure. Hear him: "Failure
is a stigma." Like every normal person, this otunba is
interested in what people would remember him by. But, while
he would express his fear of failure, this NTDC DG would rather
leave the talk of legacy to posterity. An obviously charitable
personality, Otunba Runsewe mused: "It would be unfair
to totally speak about myself. But we’ve been able to
change the entire tourism from a mere talk shop to practical
synergies. However, we have been able to do these things through
concerted efforts."
He, however, added: "I am happy that we are currently
registering our presence everywhere. We’ve moved tourism
from a mere talk shop into people’s lives. At last,
we now have Abuja Street Map and a Complete guide to Abuja."
The Runsewe-led NTDC has also enlisted stickers in the tourism
push. Some of such potshots read, "Journalists love Tours,"
"Everyone loves Tourism," "Fish It: Argungu,"
"Yam It: Igbo Ukwu, Anambra."
Sparkling images of the National Gallery Art
What is Art? Art is creativity, a beautiful way of doing things.
Art is power: Culture, medicine, gastronomy, design and everything.
Art is life because it is everything. An artless people form
a nation without vision, an ugly community. Every society
thrives on art, where art is relegated, the spirit is dampened
and beauty is diminished. This is the reason, our sojourn
in Abuja also took "Travels" to the National Gallery
of Art (NGA), whose Director General, Mr. Joe Musa, has recorded
tremendous strides in barely one year after assuming duty
there.
The NGA is the Federal Government’s agency responsible
for the supervision and regulation of the visual arts sub-sector.
Established via Decree 86 of 1993, later amended by a National
Act of 2004, the NGA has two core (Professional) departments,
Curatorial Services and Research and Education. The art body
has five Directors/Heads of Departments, who assist the director
general.
The NGA was conceived to serve "as a repository of the
creative genius of Nigerian. Visual arts include painting,
sculpture, pottery/ceramics, photography, architectural designs,
graphics and textiles and the NGA is responsible for the promotion
and propagation of excellence in these fields. The body is
further saddled with the task of promoting art appreciation
at all levels well as support art education and research.
Furthermore, the NGA is obligated to promote excellence in
the theory and practice of visual art, organizes workshops,
seminars, talent hunt et cetera.
The NGA is charged to acquire, preserve and exhibit the best
of modern Nigerian artifacts: Works that are devoid of spiritual
connotation common to traditional art. Aside these assignments,
there are recurrent programmes, which include Independence
(National Day) Exhibition, Annual Distinguished Lecture, Annual
Children’s Day Talent Hunt, Saturday Art Club and Artist’s
Residency Programme, all under the purview of this art agency.
The National Gallery has its headquarters in Abuja but maintains
studios in at 20 towns across Nigeria’s six geo-political
zones. "Travels" personally embarked on visits to
select outposts of the NGA and can authoritatively reveal
that this body’s headquarters has been spending millions
of naira annually as a result of being housed in a rented
property. Already familiar with the former headquarters of
the NGA within the National Theatre complex in Iganmu, Lagos,
our latest tour also took "Travels" to the Gallery’s
other stations in Igbo Ukwu, Sokoto and Maiduguri.
When asked what outstanding strides have been recorded since
he took the reins of NGA, Musa, who was recently installed
a chief of the Anambra State town of Igbo Ukwu remarked: Musa
responded: "So many things have happened between our
last meeting and now. We have gone far in the process, where
we want to empower stakeholders, schools, artists, collectors,
galleries and institutions. The Gallery has floated the Saturday
Art Club, a sort of ‘catch ‘em young’ strategy,
which has landed us a grant from Ford foundation. However,
the Ford foundation money is for rehabilitation of the Lagos
gallery. That project is to serve as a model. Where success
was recorded, more support would likely follow, "Travels,"
gathered.
Also, we now have an "NGA Business Think Tank Committee"
headed by Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, with Yemisi Shyllon, Sammy
Olagbaju, Afolabi Kofo-Abayomi, Bolade Osibodu and Evelyn
Oputu, MD of the Bank of Industry as members. The NGA Think
Tank has adopted five NGA stations, and some state governments
want to adopt some too. Ultimately, therefore, running of
the NGA would not always depend on federal government’s
funding or lack of it.
The DG further revealed that the "NGA has a very strong
partnership with embassies/agencies of the government of France,
Spain, Holland, South Africa, Goethe Institut (German Cultural
Centre) and so on. This has to be true, for NGA officials
were in the German capital, Berlin, last June. On July 9,
seven Directors of NGA were also in the US to study American
art institutions, with a view to developing further collaboration.
As regards a permanent structure of the NGA in the federal
capital, a primary demand of most artists in Nigeria, the
DG had this to say: "Our dreams for a befitting National
Gallery Complex in Abuja is still alive. The National Gallery
Complex project is still on. In fact, we recently returned
from a tour of Europe, where we met architects that designed
major galleries in that continent. Whatever we want to achieve
at NGA, without infrastructure, it would be like beating about
the bush. But, while waiting to get certain things in place,
we’ve expanded NGA from eight to 22 states, to cater
for artists and meet their local needs."
Continuing, Musa revealed: "We’ve also designed
a blueprint for Artists Grant. It is designed to help artists
launch their career or facilitate their professional practice.
This will take off in 2008. There’s also a mentoring
programme, where an established artist is encouraged to adopt
a professional protégé." Musa also intoned
that ultimately; his goal is to professional The Gallery.
What he met on the ground was a situation of ratio 5: 1, of
non-professionals to professional artists.
Musa believes the reverse should be the norm: "I want
to reverse it to one to five. We came up with an initiative
with the initials of PPP, which stands for Private-Public-sector
Partnership (PPP). We also opened two specialized galleries,"
he declared.
The DG was referring to the NGA’s outposts in Sokoto
and Uyo, capital cities of Sokoto and Akwa Ibom State respectively.
In a nutshell, Sokoto boasts a National Gallery of Islamic
Modern Art, while Uyo holds the Christian equivalent. "Travels"
would feature details of NGA in Sokoto and Uyo in reports
on either city in the near future. At some point, we had worried
over the rate at which Mr. Musa was expanding the NGA’s
outstations. Our fear was that the Gallery could spread itself
too thin. But after our meeting in Abuja, we left convinced
Musa certainly knows where he is taking the NGA, Art in Nigeria
and Nigerian artists as a whole.
Earlier in the year, there were plans for an NGA roundtable.
At that summit, the NGA DG was supposed to give a talk on
what it takes to have a national collection. "Travels"
later gathered that the event, which had been slated for April
28, as a prelude to June 14 stakeholders forum, had been postponed.
What happened? Musa again: "The roundtable could not
take place because of preparations for the general elections
in May, this year," Musa revealed.
On his installation as a chief of Igbo Ukwu, the NGA director
general had this to say: "For me, the chieftaincy title
was just like a cap. It wasn’t strange to me, being
a Prince of Chief Musa Afetokhai from Edo North. Nonetheless,
I really felt honoured. Traditional recognition outside one’s
home area is sometimes commendable.
I see this one as a challenge to spur me on to greater height."
Although his father died in 2003, many could still recall
that the late Pa Felix Ahmedu Musa had spent many years serving
his fatherland and eventually retired as a Commissioner of
Police. That was not all; Pa Musa was also a FIFA-graded referee.
With this background, it is easy to understand why Joe Musa
is keen to serve, and enthusiastically too.
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