The grandeur of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, was the setting for history on Sunday, September 14, 2025. The 21st Akwaaba African Travel Market — Africa’s largest and most influential tourism gathering — came alive with celebration as Ekiti State, under the visionary leadership of Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, clinched two of the most coveted honours: Best Tourism Governor of the Year 2024/2025, awarded to the governor himself and Most Active Tourism State in Nigeria, awarded to Ekiti. In one evening, Ekiti moved from the periphery of Nigeria’s tourism map to its pulsating heart.
The accolades did not come by happenstance. They were the product of a rigorous poll conducted by African Traveller Quarterly magazine in partnership with Akwaaba. Tourism stakeholders across Africa — tour operators, investors, hoteliers, cultural promoters, and journalists — cast their votes. The result was emphatic: Governor Oyebanji’s record stood tallest, and Ekiti emerged as the state most alive with tourism energy. Ambassador Ikechi Uko, publisher of Travellers magazine and founder of Akwaaba, captured the significance: “Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has, within two short years, lifted an otherwise recluse tourism state into a global reference point and destination. This is no mean achievement, and Africa must celebrate it.”
“Tourism is the noblest way of telling your story to the world without speaking a word.” — Anonymous
Governor Oyebanji’s journey began almost immediately after he was sworn in. Weeks into office, he detached tourism from the Ministry of Arts and Culture, establishing a standalone Bureau of Tourism Development under his direct supervision. Barrister Wale Ojo-Lanre was appointed as Director-General, and with that move, Ekiti gained its first structured tourism machinery. From there, momentum gathered at an extraordinary pace. He launched visitekiti.ek.gov.ng, inaugurated the Ekiti State Tourism Policy and the Ekiti State Tourism Development Master Plan in partnership with UNTourism, marking the first collaboration between the global body and any state government in the world.
The hitherto abandoned Ikogosi Warm Springs was concessioned and transformed into Nigeria’s most vibrant resort. The Ado Ekiti Bus Terminal and the Agro-Allied Cargo Airport were completed, while roads leading to every major tourism site were rehabilitated. Fifty professional tour guides were trained, two each from Nigeria’s three major religions, ensuring that every visitor could feel at home.
Ekiti did not stop at policy and infrastructure; it showcased itself proudly on every stage available. At the Canadian Consulate Tourism Fair in Lagos, Ekiti’s pavilion stood out. At the NIHOTOUR Gastronomic Festival in Abuja, Ekiti cuisine thrilled visitors. At the Goge Africa Celebration in Abuja, the state’s cultural displays earned ovations. And at the Oodua Tourism Fair in Osogbo, jointly organised by FTAN South West and the Osun State Tourism Board, Ekiti was again a star performer. Each event was another proof that under Oyebanji, Ekiti had become Nigeria’s most vibrant tourism state.
“A people without the knowledge of their history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” — Marcus Garvey
The turning points came through symbolic Easter hikes that captured continental imagination. In 2024, Governor Oyebanji led thousands to the Abanijorin Rock of Wonders in Iyin. In an unprecedented show of support, Nigeria’s first Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade John, and NIHOTOUR DG, Nura Kangiwa, joined him. That Easter Monday marked the first time top federal officials performed tourism duties on a public holiday. In 2025, he repeated the feat at Oke Sagbonke, the Mount of Clouds in Efon Alaaye, where more than 4,000 hikers danced, dined, and ate in the clouds. The people of Efon, inspired by the spectacle, went on to host their own independent hiking event without government intervention, proof that Oyebanji’s Community Tourism Initiative was bearing fruit. Other communities followed quickly. Ilogbo Ekiti began showcasing its world-famous 42-headed palm tree, while Ilupeju Ekiti embraced the Oke Ewo War Stones, where invaders were turned into stone.
Tourism thrives only where peace reigns, and Oyebanji understood this truth well. Through Amotekun, Peace Corps, and Agro Marshals, Ekiti became Nigeria’s safest state, and with ease of doing business reforms and a friendly tax climate, it grew into fertile ground for investors in hospitality and culture.
In Ado Ekiti’s Oja Oba market, the awards were received with joy. “For the first time, we feel like the world is looking at Ekiti. Oyebanji has made us proud,” said Mrs Yemi Abimbola, a bead seller. In Efon Alaaye, a community elder, Prince Adeyemi Adejolu, said, “The Governor opened our eyes to the value of Oke Sagbonke. Now, even our youths see tourism as wealth.” A student at Ekiti University, Omobolaji Aina, added: “Tourism is no longer abstract; it is something we can study, live, and work in.” The pride was not just local but diasporic. Ekiti indigenes in Lagos and abroad flooded social media with congratulations, hailing their state as Nigeria’s “tourism heartbeat.”
Receiving the award on behalf of the Governor, Barrister Wale Ojo-Lanre said: “This award belongs to the resilient people of Ekiti. It is their heritage, their culture, their nature that we are showcasing. We are only custodians of what they have preserved for centuries.”
The double honours at Akwaaba were not just a celebration but a challenge to Nigeria and Africa. They showed what political will, strategic planning, and community involvement can achieve in a short time. Ekiti has proven that tourism is not about potential but performance. Oyebanji’s model is clear: policy, infrastructure, and people together create a tourism renaissance. In two years, a landlocked agrarian state has become a continental benchmark.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” — St. Augustine.
As the drums of Akwaaba faded into the Lagos night, one truth echoed across Africa: Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has branded Ekiti not just as a state but as a story—of nature meeting culture, of heritage meeting modernity, of a people finally stepping into the global spotlight. Ekiti: The Land of Wonders—Where Nature Meets Culture
