The American government had in its
recent travel advisory, cautioned its citizens not to travel to any of
the 20 states, citing armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism, among
others, as reasons for the advice.
But Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who dismissed the US government’s claim when he
received a delegation from the Association of Tourism Practitioners of
Nigeria in Abuja, said every state in the country was safe. He said the
advisory published by the U.S. Embassy was incorrect, urging the media
to desist from propagating negative reports about the country.
Mohammed said such practice would
discourage investors and was counter-productive to the country’s tourism
growth. He said: “We are in Nigeria. How can we believe the claim that
20 states in Nigeria are not safe. That is not correct. There is no
state in Nigeria that is not safe today,” the minister said.
“Is there any week they are not killing
people in the U.S., by either shooting in schools or driveways or people
committing suicide or mass bombing? How many of these stories do their
media celebrate?
‘’If they want to tell their people not
to come to Nigeria, it is not for us to help them propagate it,” he
said. The minister urged the media and members of the association to
complement efforts of government to reposition the tourism sector,
pointing out that tourism was driven by perception, rather than reality,
while every Nigerian must invest in perception management for the
country.
Mohammed, who also urged leaders in the
public and private sectors to help promote local tourism by spending
their vacations and holidays at tourist sites within the country, said
the ministry would soon embark on visitation of major tourism sites in
the country to assess their potentialities for development.
National President of the association,
Kabir Malan, who led the delegation, commended the minister for his
efforts at repositioning the tourism sector. He called for the review
and implementation of the Tourism National Plan as well as the enactment
of laws that would guide the operation of tourism practitioners. Mr.
Malan also urged the government to encourage investors to set up tourist
camps across the country and make loans accessible to them.
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