The Federal Government has been charged to make available huge resources to boost investments in tourism by states, as is being done in the agricultural sector. Senior Special Assistant to Ekiti State governor on Tourism Development, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre gave the charge, disclosing that the Federal Government has lots of intervention funds made available to farmers in different fields.
He insisted that such should be extended to develop the vast potentials in the Nigerian tourism sector.
Speaking at ‘Oke Abanijorin’ during a tourism programme tagged ‘Hike Ekiti Mountain Safari’, a collaborative ecotourism event between his office and a private sector tourism promoting organisation, Discover Ekiti, Ojo-Lanre, called on the Federal government to place high premium on tourism, as being done to oil and agriculture, describing this as the best option for Nigeria which was rated as the tourism hub of Africa.
Ojo-Lanre said, “From time immemorial, the government has placed a high premium on oil and in the spirit of diversification, they are investing billions of naira in agriculture, through intervention funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
“I urge the Federal Government to do the same for tourism. For while oil is exhaustible, tourism is inexhaustible.”
Commending Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi for his unrelenting support for the growth of Ekiti State tourism sector, Ojo-Lanre said, “Though we understand that Ekiti is purely agrarian, our economy rests heavily on agriculture, but tourism has its priceless place and Governor Fayemi has given us the latitude to ensure that the numerous natural and cultural tourism potentialities in Ekiti are enhanced and developed for prosperity and economic empowerment.”
The SSA pointed out that “the rolling hills and mountains, waterfalls, the Ikogosi Warm Spring, some discovered caves, rivers, and others have the potentials to turn around our economy, if they are harnessed properly, but funding has always been the issue, and we believe that the Federal Government can fill this gap.”
Ojo-Lanre revealed that the annual tourism event was a public-private initiative, geared towards engaging the youth, assuring that the government of Governor Fayemi was committed to widening the scope of tourism for revenue generation.
He added, “This Hike Ekiti Mountain Safari was an initiative of our youth. We have asked the young people to be developing ideas, the government is ready to collaborate with them in any purposeful event that can empower them and enrich the state.”
Flagging off the programme, the Commissioner for Arts and Culture, Prof Razaq Ojo-Bakare, applauded the initiative, saying it would go a long way in engaging the youth and curb their criminal tendencies.
Ojo-Bakare added that Ekiti State is partnering with private organisations, international organisations and countries to expand the frontiers of tourism development.
Discover Ekiti Team Leader, Mr Michael Peculiar, revealed that the programme was conceptualised to redirect the youth to the path of sanity and turn them away from crime.
Peculiar said, “This is going to be a continuous exercise, not a one-off thing. We will explore all tourism opportunities available to Ekiti to empower our youth and make them relevant economically.”
