…says it has invested in people more than every government
…We’ll prioritise job creation – UNWTO Scribe

By Emmanuel Elebeke & Ahiaba Maranatha

The federal government says Nigeria’s greatest strength lies in her creative industry.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed at The 61st Meeting of UNWTO CAF Held at The Congress Hall of The Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja

The minister of Information and Culture, Alh. Lai Mohammed stated this at a joint press conference with the Secretary General of the UNWTO as part of its ongoing 61st tourism conference holding in Abuja.

The minister said creative industry is one area government is rebranding with massive investment on infrastructure and the people to maximize the potentials in the sector.

He further stated that government has been encouraging the Nigerian artists with more incentives to develop the industry insisting that tourism remains one area Nigeria has comparative advantage over other nations.

‘‘Our greatest strength lies in our creative industry, our music, and our films. That is one area we need to build on because that is one area we have comparative advantage over many other countries.

‘‘ We are trying to encourage our artists, give them more incentives to develop the industry because tourism is about entertainment. We are trying to create a specific brand for the entertainment industry.

‘‘We have been able to brand the Nigerian tourism. Nigerian tourism is unique just like any other tourism in Africa.’’

One in fourteen jobs in Africa come from tourism.

According to Mohammed, tourism contributes about 8.6% to GDP in Africa, positing that Nigeria must move away from mono product economy and embrace tourism as the next oil for Nigerian economy to thrive.

‘‘Our position is that we must move away from this mono product and diversify our economy. Without enabling environment, without reforms, we will not be able to actually grow this industry.

‘‘That is why we have undertaken investment in power, reforms and infrastructure. Whatever we are investing has a bearing on tourism. That is why we are investing heavily in the infrastructure.

‘‘Over the years, we have seen a lot of announcement from people to invest in the sector.’’

We’ve invested in people more than every government

On human capital development, the minister averred that the present administration has invested more than every other government in the past through its social investment programmes and youth empowerment initiatives.

‘‘What I will say, we have done more than every government in this country to invest in people. Our social investment program, our School Feeding Program which today feed about 8 million people every day, our N-power that employs 200,000 unemployed youths, our Conditional Cash Transfer that gives stipend monthly to about 297,000 families and other tips that is helping small and medium scale enterprises. I can confirm to you that our government has invested in people.’’

On the issue of reforms, he noted that the regime has overhauled our airports and the rail lines to boost transportation and tourism industry.

I think everything we have been doing shows that the basic ingredients for tourism to have been provided by the government.

‘‘In addition of the subsidy, we have helped the creative industry too not just by promoting the industry but actually by organizing seminars.

‘‘Also the government has taken a very bold step by putting the industry on the list of industry that qualifies for pioneer status which means that, if you invest a huge amount of funds in the industry like in the films or videos, you will be entitled to tax rebate, and tax holidays.

‘‘Also your dividends will be exempted from tax. All this has helped Nigeria to be the destination for those who want to invest in the creative industry.

‘‘I think these are all the things we have done. This morning we have this technical seminar and technical session of statistic which is like data and figures without which you cannot plan development.

‘‘I am glad to see that the challenges we are facing in Nigeria are not unique to Nigeria. They are global. For instance, all the speakers one after the other have been emphasizing a lot on tourism in their own countries just like Nigeria is rather informal and because it is informal, it is impossible to get the accurate figures. This has not helped much.’’

The minister appealed to all ministries and parastatal to cooperate with the tourism ministry in developing the sector, insisting that the development cannot be left to the ministry alone.

‘‘As a matter of fact, virtually every major ministry, departments or agencies has a major role to play in tourism. Agriculture, health, revenue and taxation have a role to play in tourism.

‘‘This is why all MDAS should cooperate with the ministry of tourism. We are only the coordinators. A lot will depend on what these other ministries do. We don’t not build roads, air ports, rail ways but all these are important for tourism to survive.

‘‘When this is being repeated again, it means our problem is not unique to us. Together, with the support of the UNWTOO, we will be able to overcome the challenge and make Nigeria the tourism destination in Africa.’’

We will add 2000MW by end of 2018

On power, Mohammed said the administration had increased the power distribution generation from abysmal level of 2,680 mega watts to 7000 mega watts and promised that before the end of the year, it will add about 2000 mega watts.

We’ll prioritise job creation – UNWTO Scribe

On his part, the Secretary General of UNWTO, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili said his administration would prioritise job creation and tourism development in Africa.

He said African potentials in tourism is huge with many interesting things but requires a new approach to maximise the potentials.

‘‘Our priority is job creation. We look forward to seize best opportunities; we need more new jobs, and need more people working, not only in the continent but in the world

‘‘We are starting to work and we have set up 4-6 months to come up with something concrete on the strategy we will use to deliver on our 10 point agenda.

‘‘Africa is huge with many interesting things that is why we are trying to create a partnership with the strong private companies. We are also trying to set up innovation hubs as a strategy across Africa member states.’’

The three-day event is expected to end on Wednesday with a visit to the Eko Atlantic City.