Nigeria: Domestic Tourism Suffers Setback as Usuma Dam Abuja Remains Closed for Tour Activities

By Michael Oyetunji

Nigeria’s domestic tourism suffers a major setback as one of its finest educational tour attractions in Abuja, Usuma Dam puts an indefinite ban on any tour-related activity within and around its vicinity.

Lower Usman Dam is the 5th Largest Dam in the world and is on the Usuma River in Nigeria. It was built in 1990 near Abuja, the new Capital of Nigeria., and supplied the city with drinking water. The dam holds 93 million cubic meters of raw water. The water flows to five (5) water plants, where the water is treated before it is passed to Abuja. The total capacity of the water is 10,000 cubic meters per hour.

Usuma Dam once offered a picturesque scenery for picnic, hilly surroundings for hiking and a pacific mass of water body for canoeing and fishing. It is a multidimensional facility, playing host to students, researchers and fun lovers.

It was on this premise that a group of Sustainable Tourism Professionals led by Capt. Emmanuel LordsGreat, CEO at TBS Africa, visited the site very recently for a tourism and sustainability assessment programme. On arrival to the Administrative building at the site, they were greeted by the Head, R & P Department, Mrs Mary Edafe, who stated outright that the site is currently closed for any form of tourism activities.

In a briefing with the representatives, she maintained that the closure has been in effect since the covid19 lockdown and authorities have decided to keep it closed until further notice. She also highlighted, as part of the concerns, “the current security risks in the country, and how difficult it is to trust that tourists can not be bought over by unscrupulous elements in poisoning the entire water body, thus causing harm and possible death to people who consume it in and around the FCT”.

“We are not ready to take chances with our work and pledge to provide clean, safe and portable water for the city”, she remarked. “We also have had rumors that there is a porous border around the dam, so security operatives are on ground to ensure no one intrudes”.

As reasonable as these reasons sounded, it was met with a dose of disappointment in the ears of the visiting tour experts, who had wished the site is accessible for the promotion of domestic tourism. “This is a heartbreaking news for us in the tourism and sustainability industry. We don’t have much eco-tourism sites in the city, and here we are, Usuma dam is off the list”, said Captain Emmanuel, the co-ordinator of the group.

They therefore urge the Government to expedite action in tackling the incessant insecurity issues in the country, so that domestic tourism can grow beyond bounds. The recent pandemic has made outbound tourism an almost impossible venture for frequent travelers, but looking inward for consolation have not been encouraging for the travel and tourism industry.

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Michael Oyetunji, a tour operator and media professional writes from Abuja as the Editor-in-Chief of The Winepress Station, and the convener of Travel Writers Forum, Nigeria.

NANTA Launches A Pilot Housing Mortgage Scheme For Its Members [See Videos & Pics Attached]

  • Secures Five Hundred Housing Units in Abuja
  • Engages Brains & Hammers As The Property Developer

By Michael Oyetunji

National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) launches a pilot Housing Mortgage Scheme to afford its members opportunities to own houses in the Federal Capital Territory, with the help of Brains & Hammers, and the possibility of housing loan from the Federal Mortgage Bank in the five thousand housing units of the Bungalow City Estate, Kubwa. This was made known at a flag off virtual session held today, 27th April 2021, which had a nationwide participation of all NANTA members.

As part of her campaign promise to create beneficial initiatives for all members, the National President of the Association, Mrs Susan Akporiaye applauded this initiative as a brainchild of the Abuja Zone, birthed by Ambassador Kayode Adeshola – the Vice President, Abuja Zone.

“This initiative started out as an offshoot of NANTA Co-operative Society, initiated by the Abuja zonal administration few years ago. I appealed to my Vice President – Abuja Zone to spread the tentacle towards a national appeal, and he agreed to it. This brought about the housing project”, said the President.

In a virtual session which had about one hundred and fifty member participation, representatives of Brains & Hammers were present to answer questions and inform members of the procedures and all necessary information required to secure a property. Lanre Ogunyemi expressed that “We are a proven giant in housing scheme in Nigeria, and we have a high success rate and partnership with Federal Mortgage Bank in all our housing estates. We will deal with NANTA Co-operative Society on this particular project, although we are open to individuals who are interested in other properties we offer”. Reiterating this, Mr Festus, another representative of the developer insists that there are no hidden charges attached to any of their properties.

“This is just the beginning, and we are going to expand this initiative to all our zones nationwide. We are doing this to keep up with our campaign promises, and we hope this venture is sustained”, said Ambassador Kayode Adeshola, the Vice President – Abuja Zone.

Overall, it was a fruitful deliberation, as members exchanged pleasantries and expressed excitements towards the initiative. “It has never been done in the history of NANTA, as far I am concerned, and I must say that Madam Susan and her team are doing pretty well. This is just so superb, and we need more visionary leaders like the ones we have at the moment championing the cause of the association”, said one of the participants.

SEE MORE PICTURES & VIDEOS OF THE PROPOSED NANTA ESTATE ABUJA

   

 

 

 

 

 

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Michael Oyetunji, a tour operator and media professional writes from Abuja as the Editor-in-Chief of The Winepress Station
info.winepress@gmail.com
080 9770 7844

 

Security Concerns Over Mpape Crushed Rock Site – As Hoodlums Harass Tourists and Visitors

By Michael Oyetunji

Mpape crushed rock, one of Abuja’s finest attractions for picnic and other recreational activities is currently under threat of insecurity and harassment of fun lovers. According to a recent experience by some sustainable tourism experts and SDG advocates who visited the site to mark the 2021 International Earth Day, hoodlums have taken over the entire space to harass and extort unsuspecting visitors.

In Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Mpape crushed rock is a major tourist site, which initially was a quarry site from where building stones were being supplied. After a while, site workers struck an aquifer: an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, and it was closed down. But in recent times, Mpape crushed rock became a popular site for Abuja residents due to the beautiful scenery of lake and high cliff it affords, for hiking and picnic purposes.

However, not much is left to be desired of the site as the vicinity now harbors criminal minds and hoodlums who harass unsuspecting visitors and threaten to harm them. It was gathered that a team of sustainable tourism experts and SDG advocates, who visited to the site to conduct a tourism & sustainability assessment in commemoration of the 2021 International Day of the Earth at the site, escaped by a hairs breadth as hoodlums launched an assault on their convoy after ripping them off monies.

Speaking with the coordinator of the team, Captain Emmanuel LordsGreat, CEO, TBS Africa, “we were eager to have fun and celebrate nature, based on the wonderful stories we heard of the Mpape Crushed site, and I in particular was very elated to physically see this wonderful site which I have seen so much in pictures”, he stated. Another participant, who pleaded anonymity also confirmed that they paid their way through to the site by some funny looking guys who claimed to be the security of the environment, but were harassed by another set of hoodlums, and finally chased away by another batch of miscreants.

“Such a scenario, as we witnessed yesterday, is not good for the sustainability of domestic tourism, seeing the potentials such a site has to offer”, said Captain LordsGreat. “Coincidentally, we came here to conduct a tourism sustainability assessment of the site, so we will be publishing a detailed report of our sustainability outlook for this place in the coming days. Government needs to secure this site, and make it safe for visitors, as we don’t have much of such places in the FCT. Tourists should not be subjected to such extortion, fear or harassment.”

Upon further investigation and speaking with some officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Agency, who pleaded anonymity, it was gathered that after conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), it has been recommended that the site be closed. According to the EIA, the crushed rock site which was used for quarry and mining activities in the past poses a safety risk to tourists, as well as residents of the area due to possible tectonic land shifts which could cause possible dangers to tourist and settlers alike.

Tourism as we believe, is life. It becomes the opposite when insecurity of lives is involved. The tourism sector therefore calls on appropriate authorities to look into the situation and save the environment, thus ensuring the safety of other visitors in the near future.

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Michael Oyetunji, a tour operator and media professional writes from Abuja as the Editor-in-Chief of The Winepress Station
info.winepress@gmail.com
080 9770 7844

TBS Africa Joined the Visegard Group (V4) and the Ministry of Environment To Commemorate Earth Day 2021 in Abuja

TBS Africa Joins the Visegrad Group – V4 (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland & Slovakia) and the Ministry of Environment for Tree????Planting Exercise in commemorating Earth Day 2021 in Abuja, FCT.

The Visegrad Group (also known as the “Visegrad Four” or simply “V4”) reflects the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have always been part of a single civilization sharing cultural and intellectual values and common roots in diverse religious traditions, which they wish to preserve and further strengthen.

The Earth Day is an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection.

The year 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual celebrations. This year’s theme for Earth Day is ‘Restore Our Earth’.

    In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.

TBS Africa Joins The UNWTO Global Rural StartUp Competition, With Focus on Planet – Building Back Better

TBS Africa, an eco-tourism, tourism4sdgs and sustainability advocacy platform with the mission to promote and run advocacies for eco-friendly & SDG-compliant travel & tourism in Africa has officially joined the UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition through her “Clean & Green Tourism Campaign”.

The “Clean & Green Tourism Campaign” for Africa which was recently launched as an initiative targeted at identifying eco-tourism sites and attractions in Africa for deliberate, intentional and intelligent “Clean & Green Tourism with SDG Action” activity-based advocacy. TBS

TBS Africa, will be joining the global competition in the second category: Planet – building back better – with focus on projects related to the promotion and protection of natural resources, namely the mitigation of the impact of tourism on waste, energy and water in rural areas.

The UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition seeks to source new startups and entrepreneurs that advance the contribution of tourism to rural development and support recovery.

Creating opportunities in Rural Destinations through innovation and digital transformation in tourism to:

  • Fighting poverty: 80% of all people living in ‘extreme poverty’ live in rural communities.
  • Curbing depopulation: By 2050 68% of the world population will live in urban areas and cities will produce 85% of global economic output.
  • Closing the Digital Divide – 87 per cent of people in developed countries used the Internet, compared with just 19 per cent in the least developed countries.
  • Supporting Women and Youth– More that 50% of global workforce employed in tourism are women and nearly 1 billion of the world’s 1.2 billion youth aged 15-24 reside in developing countries and 88% of youth in developing countries live in rural areas; 75 million of them are unemployed.

1. BENEFITS

  • Mentoring by UNWTO and top partners
  • Tailored support for your startup
  • Investment opportunities
  • Form part of the UNWTO Innovation Network
  • Form part of the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages of the World Pilot Initiative
  • Scholarship opportunities for the Tourism Online Academy
  • Opportunity to present your startup at the 14th UNWTO General Assembly in Marrakech Morocco

 

2. CALENDAR

Launch:

6 April

Deadline to submit candidatures:

1 July

Announcement of finalists:

15 August

Final pitch session and announcement of winners:

October

 

3. CATEGORIES:

people

People – Leaving no one behind

Projects that incentivize the creation of jobs and opportunities, promote gender and youth empowerment, build opportunities for vulnerable groups in rural areas.

 

planet

Planet – building back better

Projects related to the promotion and protection of natural resources, namely the mitigation of the impact of tourism on waste, energy and water in rural areas.

 

prosperity

Prosperity – opportunities for growth

Startups that provide innovative solutions through new business models, instruments that promote access to finance, markets and marketing for tourism in rural areas.

 

propulsion

Propulsion of Rural Tech – Implementation of new technologies

Deep Tech – startups implementing new technologies to advance tourism and development in rural areas.

 

4. THE CHALLENGE:

Closer

Closer

Domestic tourism has shown positive signs in many markets since people tend to travel closer. Travellers go for ‘staycations‘ or vacations close to home.

 

New concerns

New concerns

Health & Safety measures and cancellation policies are consumers’ main concerns.

 

Get away

Get away

Nature, Rural Tourism and Road Trips have emerged as popular travel choices due to travel limitations and the quest for open-air experiences.

 

Last minute

Last minute

Last-minute bookings have increased due to volatility of pandemic-related events and the travel restrictions.

 

Change in demographics
Younger travellers most resilient
Change in demographics:
travel recovery has been stronger among younger segments. ‘Mature’ travellers and retirees will be the most impacted segments.
More responsible
More responsible
Sustainability, authenticity and localhood:
travellers have been giving more importance to creating a positive impact on local communities, increasing looking for authenticity.

Tourism has proven to be a tool for economic diversification and a major employment engine with a multiplier effect on other sectors that contribute to rural development. Tourism in rural areas can particularly benefit traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women – who make up 54% of the workforce in the tourism sector compared to 39% for the overall economy.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered rising interest from tourists looking for new experiences based around natural and rural areas in the open air, far from congested settings. This, combined with the already rising demand for more authentic experiences that over stronger engagement with local communities, their culture and products, such as local OR traditional gastronomy, etc., as well as demand for a greener approach in all stages of the travel experience opens up immense opportunities for the economic, social and environmental revitalization of rural areas through tourism.

The current crisis has also emphasized the importance of building resilience among communities in those rural areas which rely on tourism. This implies better social protection and benefits-sharing among communities, as well as economic diversification and the broadening of tourism products and markets through added value experiences. To achieve this, investment, skills development and education, access to finance, infrastructure development, digital transformation, sustainable development, impact assessment, improved governance and women’s empowerment should be placed at the heart of the recovery plans for tourism in rural communities. This will help support them as they navigate the crisis and build back better for people and planet.

Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Expresses Shock Over Demise of FTAN’s President

Oyo State government has expressed shock over the death of the National President of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Saleh Kareem Rabo, who died over the weekend and has been buried according to Islamic rites.

The State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatubosun disclosed this on Monday in a Press release made available to newsmen, describing the late Rabo as a team player and a great contributor to the success of building the tourism sector in Nigeria.

Olatubosun hinted that the contributions of the deceased in making tourism and an alternative revenue generation option outside petroleum in the country would be sorely missed.

“Unto every human, there is death, but we pray the Lord Almighty to repose the spirit of late Alhaji Saleh Kareem Rabo, who has contributed so much towards uplifting the tourism industry.

“His life and death should be a big lesson to us all that we are all tourists in this world, whatever we do, wherever we go and whoever we meet will be the imprint or mark that we shall leave to history to judge us.”

Olatubosun called on FTAN members in Oyo State and Nigeria to uphold the lofty ideals that the late President of the association believed in and work aassiduosly towards achieving the goal of the positioning tourism as a viable industry and an alternative to oil and gas in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Tourism Industry loses a Great Icon as Alhaji Rabo Saleh takes a Bow


Nigeria’s Tourism Industry loses a Great Icon as Alhaji Rabo Saleh takes a bow

By Michael Oyetunji | 06:30pm

The Nigerian tourism industry mourns the death of one of its icon, Alhaji Rabo Saleh, who until his death was the President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN). He died in the early hours of Friday, 16th April, 2021 at his residence in Abuja. He has since been buried according to Islamic rites at Gudu Cemetery, Abuja.

As the news broke within the industry, many are still left in shock as to what could have happened to the man who was applauded as one of the finest that walked the streets of Nigeria’s tourism sphere. Friends and associates were left amazed at his sudden departure.

Members of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA – Abuja Zone), thronged the home of the late tourism icon, who was an erstwhile National Vice President of same association (2012-2016). His goodness and humility were the major points of applause given to the departed stalwart.

L-R: Amb. Kayode Adeshola, V.P NANTA Abuja, Alhaji Musali Dantata, Former NANTA & FTAN President, and Capt Emmanuel Great, Founder & CEO, TBS International ably represented NANTA & FTAN Family LIVE this morning onground from the house of Alhaji Saleh Rabo today!

Speaking at the burial site, the National President of NANTA, Mrs Susan Akporiaye, who handed over the baton to Late Alhaji Rabo at the zonal level could not control her tears while speaking with journalists; she expressed her shock as to how such a good man could die just at the peak of his career.

“Alhaji Rabo brought finesse and integrity to the travel and tourism industry, and I served with him as a Secretary of the association while he was the National Vice President. He was a father figure to me”, says Ambassador Kayode Adeshola, the current Vice President of NANTA – Abuja Zone.

The National President, NANTA, Madam Susan Akporiaye in mournful mood with other industry women onground at the burial!

Many dignitaries were present at the burial to pay their last respects to the departed tourism giant, who they believed had more to offer to the industry before death came calling. His death, as many agreed, has left an irreplaceable gap in the industry, due to his humility.

L-R: Capt Emmanuel Great, Founder & CEO, TBS International with Amb. Kayode Adeshola, V.P NANTA Abuja and other NANTA members on ground for the burial which held at Gudu Cemetery for Late Alhaji Saleh Rabo, National President, FTAN.

Alhaji Rabo was praised by many as a very humble and approachable man who does not flaunt his pedigree as a seasoned tourism professional from his university days. He was taunted as a potential minister of tourism due to his tourism-based educational profile. He will be sorely missed by all.

May his humble soul rest in perfect peace.

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Michael Oyetunji writes from Abuja as the Editor-in-Chief of The Winepress Station
info.winepress@gmail.com
080 9770 7844