By Dele Sobowale

Nigeria generates 97% tourism revenue from domestic travel —PUNCH, January 31, 2017, p 22.

THE story by Anna Okon quoted a report titled The Nigerian Hospitality Report by Jumia Travels recently. That should not surprise those of us who travel all over Nigeria extensively every year. This writer visited only twenty seven states last year. That has been the lowest number in the last ten years; unlike 2011 when at least one visit was made to all the thirty-six states of Nigeria.

One thing is striking in all those years and all those trips. One seldom meets foreigners, not even fellow Africans, anywhere who are there solely as tourists. Thousands of foreigners visit Nigeria every year for business, conferences, for sports games, for research, from international organizations (World Bank, United Nations, African Union, Commonwealth, EU etc) but those cannot be regarded as tourists in any sense of the word.

They are here because they have jobs to do and they seldom stay a day longer once they have completed their assignments. Several participants at seminars and conferences in Abuja or Lagos are booked on the evening flight on the same day. The question is: why?

Tourism

“Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Nigeria has warned its officials and their families to get clearance from its office before going to Kaduna and two other cities in the country.” PUNCH, January 29, 2017, p8.

The answers are as long as one can think them up. But, lately, one reason had overtaken all the others in scaring away foreign visitors interested in Nigerian tourism – lack of security. The two other cities now included in the warning note are: Kano and Portharcourt. Long before that, there had been outstanding warnings regarding Warri and Aba; and even parts of Lagos.

Furthermore, in another warning with regard to states which Americans are told to avoid for “all but essential travel”, meaning tourism is out!. The seventeen states are: Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto and Zamfara. Lagos state had obviously not been included because it is almost impossible to avoid the commercial capital of Nigeria. Otherwise the Centre of Excellence should have been on the list.

Lagos should have been on the list because kidnapping for ransom which had become our fastest growing sector employing young men is the chief reason. Hardly a month starts and ends without somebody being kidnapped and some killed even after the ransom had been paid.

Expatriates command a premium because as one hoodlum once said in Yenagoa, about six years ago, “When we capture one Oyinbo (white man) we get millions of dollars, who wan work for minimum wage?” Kidnapping is not only devastating economic and social life in Nigeria, it is killing every effort to bring in tourists.

Who would want to leave the security and safety of his home in Europe, USA, Canada, Asia and Europe to come and risk it on any of our few tourist attractions? How many foreigners, even fellow Nigerians apart from non-indigene dignitaries, were at the Calabar festival which was as colourful as the Rio jamboree which brings in hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors annually?

And why should tourists not flock to Rio when lives and limbs are safe and return home on due date is guaranteed and not subject to the whims and caprices of unpatriotic criminals giving their country a bad name globally and literally putting up a sign at our international airports reading STAY AWAY FOR YOUR OWN GOOD.

Unfortunately for all of us – the kidnappers included – domestic tourism brings in no foreign exchange. It is still the same Naira exchanging at N500/US$1 that the visitors spend – unlike Kenya which rakes in the green backs. The obvious conclusion from this is to draw attention to another reason why tourism will not bring any dollars for a long time to come.

We have an awful lot of dangerous and stupid people in virtually all the zones of Nigeria whose activities, now publicized globally are driving tourists away. All the agencies of the Federal and State Governments charged with promoting tourism will continue to constitute drains on our resources as long as the nation is unsafe for its citizens – not to talk of strangers.

The next major impediment standing in the way of tourism is lack of infrastructure and efficient manpower – starting with hotels. With the exception of Lagos and Abuja, no state capital can boast of three hotels which come close to international standards in terms of facilities, décor, furnishing and service. Nothing exposes our total lack of preparedness for international tourists than our restaurant services.

Even visitors from small African countries are appalled at the rudeness of the waiters and waitresses and bar men. After visiting Ghana twice to train the sales staff of a multi-national company, the National Sales Manager, who was curious about Nigeria, was persuaded to come for a visit. All other engagements for two weeks were cancelled in order to personally travel with him to all the places he wanted to visit.

The itinerary took us to eighteen states but with nights spent in only nine – apart from Lagos and Abuja. Mensah, that was his name, was very polite; but it was obvious to me that he was suffering within the first five days which took us through Ibadan, Benin, Warri, Portharcourt, Uyo, Calabar, Enugu, Asaba, Lokoja, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Jos.

As we were waiting for his flight to Accra, he delivered the verdict on Nigerian hotels and their services as well as his impression of the Giant of Africa in one sentence. “Unless compelled to do so, I don’t think I will ever come to Nigeria again or encourage some of my friends who are eager to come to do so.