President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Susan Akporiaye, has revealed what the Minister of the newly-created Ministry of Tourism in Nigeria, Ms. Lola Ade-John, should do to succeed and revamp the money-spinning industry for the benefit of the country and her people.
Akporiaye disclosed this in an exclusive interview with REPORTERS AT LARGE at the just-concluded Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Award, held at Gaborone International Conference Centre in Botswana.
After many campaigns by Tourism stakeholders over the years for a separate Ministry of Tourism, President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, announced the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism and appointed Ms Lola Ade-John as the minister. Since the pronouncements, stakeholders have continued to offer information and advice that could help the minister succeed, thereby emboldening Nigeria on the map of tourism nations in the world.
Akporiaye, who expressed optimism that Ms Ade-John must have received all the reports from the agencies under the ministry, the Nigeria Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) and the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOROUR), since there was no handover note for her because there was never a minister of tourism, emphasised the need for the minister also to get comprehensive reports from the private sector.
“Let her not depend only on the government reports. That one-sided report would make her decision one-sided. We have been suffering from that one-sidedness for a very long time. The government and the private sector’s reports and her independent research will produce a proper balance, propelling the industry’s expected overhauling and revamping. Ms Ade-John must not listen to those claiming to be ‘the real people’, the self-acclaimed ‘the voice of the entire private sector,’ because I also understand that politics play out even in the private sector. We are fighting against our personal demons. Politics is everywhere. I am a private sector person and have been in a leadership role in the private sector for a long time. Some people are playing politics, and others are very selfish, as you see them running and pursuing personal, not corporate, agendas. She should do independent research to know which private sectors make a huge difference.”
The National NANTA President said that, having found out the real and influential bodies and individuals in the private sector, Ms Ade-John should call them to a private meeting, brief them about the government agencies’ reports, and request theirs.
“If she needs help, she can call the government and the private sectors to a retreat and let both parties sit down at the same table to forge a progressive and sustainable direction for the Ministry and the Nigerian Tourism industry. I am sorry, but we might have issues without that because tourism is more private than government.”
Akporiaye noted that the retreat should not be a one-off. Instead, it should be periodical and heart-searching, which may result in clashes of opinions and perspectives, but all for the good of the Nigerian tourism industry. She added that stakeholders should be allowed to be honest in such retreats, not just massage someone’s ego. “There should be no press or media attention so that people can be honest, open, and sincere about the reality of the Nigerian tourism industry.”
While advising Ms Ade-John to lead such meetings without judging, indicting, or crucifying anybody, Akporiaye noted that participants should express their perceptions. According to her, this will reveal the actual state of tourism in Nigeria and help people prefer valuable and sustainable solutions to the industry’s challenges.
“Just a 5-day serious-minded retreat in one hotel where the challenges in the industry would be discussed in the first two days, and nothing in the retreat should go to the public through the media—all players should sign an agreement that nothing discussed here would be made public and nobody would be victimised by telling ourselves where we went wrong—and the next three days are for the way forward, like a road map to success and prosperity. I am sorry for using the word ‘roadmap.’ It is because I am used to the word as a tourism expert. Like Lagos’ and Nigeria’s tourism roadmap, I am tired of those roadmaps; what are we doing with them?”
Expectations from the Tourism Minister
The NANTA National President expressed optimism that Ms Ade-John’s success would be fullest if the Minister could successfully organise meetings with the public and private sectors to sincerely discuss issues and find solutions to the many challenges in the Nigerian Tourism industry.
Reacting to the newly created Ministry of Tourism, her expectations, and the minister’s banking and technology background, the NANTA boss said, “One good thing about tourism is that any profession can work in it; everything needed is passion. I am a microbiologist, so look at me here now. To perform well in Tourism, you don’t have to study Tourism in school; all you need is to make a difference.
“Almost everybody has an idea of tourism because they have travelled. A lot of people are involved in tourism activities without even knowing. Their tourism idea may be holistic, but they have an idea because they travel outside or within the country. I don’t share the school of thought that for the Minister of Tourism to do well, he/she must have studied tourism. I say a big “NO” to that philosophy. Funny enough, Ms Ade-John has been involved in tourism because the fundamentals of TravelTech are technology. The saying goes that the future of tourism and travel is technology. She is a technology expert; invariably, she is involved in tourism. She already has an edge in tourism because everybody is talking about the future of technology. She has the technology to bring on board and to help.”
Akporiaye noted high expectations from Ms Lola-John and said, “I feel for her because we never had the Ministry of Tourism as an independent and separate ministry, so she may not have any form of reference. I think Lai Mohammed did more for information than for tourism.”
Meanwhile, the NANTA National President felt that the government should have made it a Ministry of Culture and Tourism, explaining that “because for us, it is our culture that we sell as tourism because that is the product we have.
“The Ministry of Tourism is new in Nigeria, without any form of reference, unlike the Western world. For things to work in the industry, the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, have to work hand-in-hand; they have to be best friends. They cannot afford to fight, and we must pray for her.”
Akporiaye added, “I cannot say I expect much or less from her. I tend to underpromise and maintain modest expectations. However, my hopes for her are high, and as a woman myself, I anticipate a great relationship with her, while we wait for the outcome. There’s this saying that when women rule, everyone wins. We are hopeful that Ms. Ade-John will make a difference; if not, she might probably give the government reasons to scrap the ministry again. This is why we are here to support her; this is not the time to fight our minister but to support her, give her all the ideas, and let her know what she needs.
“Most importantly, the choice is hers: if she wants to listen to us, or vice versa, it is her choice. She is the minister; she is my boss. She decides what to do, and we hope she works with the private sector.”
NANTA and the Public Sector’s Relationship
Akporiaye disclosed that “NANTA, as an association for travel and tourism entrepreneurs, used to have two fathers. Now that we have three ministries, aviation, culture and tourism, we have one father and two mothers. Of course, we cover all the areas and have relations with all the ministries. For us, it is to continue to build that great relationship with the government. We should continue to let the government know that we are here to inform them of the best way to do it. We will continue to push and establish relationships to strengthen private and government relations to enhance better industry policies. If we had good general policies for travel and tourism, it would be easy for NANTA members to sell. Sometimes, the difficulty of policies discourages selling. NANTA’s responsibility is to make sure our members have the opportunity to sell ‘destination Nigeria’. How do we do that? We will continue building relationships with the government to ensure a good level playing ground for every stakeholder and the right policies for our members to sell.”
