Personality in Focus
Opinion: Reaction to NTDA Bill and Board Composition
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By Martins Osagie
There are serious exceptions to many aspects of the new NTDA Bill recently signed into law by the President. One singular character that is absolutely perverse about the Bill is that it is devoid of any sense of ownership or inclusion of the Private Sector Tourism Stakeholders’ interests. It purely emanates from the selfish interest of bureaucrats or tourism administrators, along with parliamentarians, whose penchant are forever fixated with creating Establishments for growing the bureaucracy for appointing cronies; then harvesting the inevitably padded budgets, and the clandestine thoughts of how to fleece the fledgling private sector tourism businesses.
From the thoughts of our ace travel writer, Frank Meke, the conversion of the acronym ‘’Tourism Corporation’’ to ‘’Tourism Authority’’, might as well be a clever ploy to circumvent the Supreme Court judgement that expressly puts tourism under the concurrent legislative schedule of States. As if to seek tacit cooperation of the States in this subterfuge, there is an offer of an alliance for a common purpose as to create fresh inroads into the seeming fertile turfs of State Governments. To even choose the acronym: ‘’Authority’’, is an irony, because as against the common use of that word, our Tourism Administrators hardly dispense any real value to the private sector, in spite of the humongous budgets they arrogate to themselves. The recent Covid19 palliatives that was dangled before distraught tourism practitioners, without eventual succour, is a case in point. The State Governments could easily fall for this scam as willing allies in a bid to form an easy cartel for emasculating the struggling private sector practitioners. We should expect that the Constitutional Courts will be engaged sooner for the needed legal fireworks.
In the case of the NIHOTORS Bill, it has been reasoned that if the NBA of legal practitioners, the ICAN/ANAN of accounting practitioners, the NMA of medical practitioners, the NIM of Management practitioners and many other such professional bodies can register and regulate their members as regards their own practice, why should the Federal Government continue to maintain budget guzzling agencies to regulate Tourism practitioners – a profession in which they have never proven themselves to be well grounded. Even the Hospitality and Tourism Institutes run by NIHOTORS can be outsourced more efficiently to the Private Sector if the debt ridden federal government is ready to reduce the cost of governance.
In conclusion, if the aim of these Bills is to create optimal synergy between the Public and Private Sectors in tourism, they should take full cognisance of the interests of the Private Sector practitioners who are the investors navigating the rough professional terrain, rather than the way these Bills were passed through Hearings without noting or accommodating the private practitioners’ interests. In which case, such Bills ought to be jointly sponsored by both Sectors, if they are not to be designed as one-sided, or exploitative of one party.
Core tourism stakeholders, especially the legacy associations (ATPN, NANTA and NHA), have been anxious alb initio about the composition of the NTDC Board in the Draft Bill, as it did not consist of a balanced representation of tourism experts and core stakeholders. It is more of those performing purely ancillary services like Immigration, Customs, Finance, etc, that are favoured in the Bill. It was opined that when politicians are added to this equation of intended statutory public service members, what will be left for tourism representation is of such marginal consequence as to render the Board technically a lame duck.
Most of those being proposed for this supposed “Tourism Development” Board properly belong to a Tourism Facilitation Committee. A truly tourism development Board should have a preponderance of the Tourism Legacy Associations (ATPN, NANTA and NHA) who have been recognized since the onset of the development of the industry in Nigeria and as reflected in the previous Act. From the new composition of the Board, the majority of its members will be mere bench warmers and invariably end up with the effect of jumping from the frying pan to fire, by being worse than the Act it came to supplant.
A Tourism Board that cannot decode the knowledge gaps that account for the long stagnation of the Tourism industry in Nigeria can only be considered dead on arrival, and, like many others, be invariably consigned to irrelevance. In conclusion, the Board of NTDA, as a developmental agency, should rightly be composed of more professional industry stakeholders in the Real Sector (as represented by the legacy associations) and the technical experts who can decode the accumulated issues of performance deficits that bestride the industry, rather than swarming it with representatives of ancillary Public Service Agencies and politicians. The former NTDC Act should not be substituted with any discretionary Board composition except to further co-opt those with the technical skills to salvage the Sector from the unmitigated inertia occasioned by subsuming Tourism under a non-business oriented Department.
Martins Osagie, a tourism practitioner, writes
from ATPN Benin, Edo state
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has announced the passing of his immediate elder brother, Prince Adetunji Ogunwusi.
The monarch made the announcement in a statement released on Sunday through the Director of Media and Public Affairs at the Ooni’s Palace, Sodiq Lawal.
Describing the late prince as a respected businessman and compassionate leader, the Ooni said Prince Adetunji lived a life dedicated to service, humility and the wellbeing of others.
According to the statement, the death of Prince Adetunji has left a deep void in the Ogunwusi family, the Ojaja Royal Dynasty and the entire Ile-Ife Kingdom.
Prince Adetunji, who was born on December 8, 1967, was a member of the Ojaja lineage of the Giesi Ruling House in Ile-Ife. He was also the Group Chairman of Primewaterview Holdings, where he earned recognition for his contributions to business development and entrepreneurship.
The Ooni noted that his late brother built a reputation as an innovative entrepreneur and visionary leader. Through his business activities, he created opportunities for many people and contributed to economic growth in different sectors.
The monarch further stated that beyond his achievements in business, Prince Adetunji was known for his generosity, kindness and commitment to humanitarian causes. He was said to have quietly supported many individuals and families, offering assistance, guidance and encouragement whenever needed.
The statement added that Prince Adetunji’s influence extended beyond the corporate world, as he remained deeply connected to his roots and maintained a strong interest in the progress and development of Ile-Ife and its people.
The Ooni described his late brother as a dependable adviser, a loving family member and a man whose legacy would continue to inspire future generations.
Family members, friends, associates and well wishers have continued to pay tribute to the late prince, remembering him for his humility, wisdom and positive impact on society.
The palace said further details regarding funeral arrangements and other ceremonies would be announced by the family in due course.
Prince Adetunji’s death marks a significant loss to the royal family and the people of Ile-Ife, who will remember him for his service, leadership and dedication to humanity.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has elected Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), as its next president after she polled the most votes when voting officially ended Sunday morning.
Mrs Badejo-Okusanya, the only female among the three presidential candidates, polled 12,317 votes to emerge the winner of the election, which was held through electronic voting for 24 hours. from 7:35 a.m. on Saturday to 7:34 a.m. on Sunday
She defeated her two challengers, polling 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 ballots cast in the presidential election, based on the final tally…
Nearly a month after Keir Starmer’s resignation, former Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, one of the most popular politicians in Britain, will become the country’s seventh prime minister in 10 years.
The move was made possible after Burnham won a byelection in the Makerfield constituency by a wide margin. He was then appointed as the leader of the ruling Labour Party on Friday, confirming him as Starmer’s successor.
A long political career
“Everyone can feel the country isn’t where it should be,” 56-year-old Burnham said after his Makerfield election victory, in remarks that already sounded distinctly prime ministerial. “From here on I will give everything I have got to make it so. To ensure the name Makerfield is forever synonymous with bringing about the change this country needs, bringing back something we’ve lost ― hope ― hope for the future.”
Burnham is seen as a leading figure on Labour’s moderate-left wing and has decades of experience in both national and regional politics. He first entered Parliament in 2001. Under Prime Minister Tony Blair, he served as a junior minister at the Home Office before Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown, appointed him to roles at the Finance Ministry, the Department for Culture, and later as health secretary.
Burnham even ran for the Labour leadership twice, in 2010 and 2015. In 2017, he left Parliament to become mayor of Greater Manchester, a region of around 2.8 million people in northern England. He has since won reelection twice, most recently getting nearly two-thirds of the vote.
Among Burnham’s most notable achievements in Manchester is the expansion of affordable public transportation. Housing and health care have also been central priorities throughout his time as mayor. He is critical of Brexit, the UK’s exit from the European Union in 2020, and describes himself as an advocate of “pro-business socialism.”
During the COVID pandemic, Burnham locked horns with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, demanding greater financial support for businesses and workers affected by lockdown restrictions. The confrontation and his general success in Manchester earned him the nickname “King of the North.”
In the past few years, Burnham’s main criticism of his Labour Party colleague Keir Starmer has focused on the prime minister’s cuts to welfare spending. Which policies Burnham would pursue should he succeed as prime minister has so far largely remained undefined.
A working-class northerner
Burnham is deeply rooted in the former mining and industrial communities of northern England. Born in 1970 in Aintree, near Liverpool, he grew up in the village of Culcheth with his father working as a technician and his mother as a medical assistant.
While studying English at Cambridge University, Burnham later said he often felt like an outsider. Inspired by the miners’ strike of the mid-1980s, he joined the Labour Party at the age of 14.
He’s been a lifelong supporter of Everton Football Club. His wife is Dutch, and the couple has three children. Burnham also has a tattoo of the worker bee — a symbol of industry and solidarity — on his right upper arm.
Today, Burnham is among the most popular politicians in the United Kingdom, and many supporters see him as Labour’s best hope of countering the rise of the right-wing populist Reform UK party of Nigel Farage.
Yet since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the office of British prime minister has become somewhat precarious. Burnham would be the seventh person to hold the position since the referendum a decade ago. If he does succeed Starmer, he will inherit a country still grappling with deep political, economic, and social challenges.
This article was originally published in German on June 22 and updated on July 17 to reflect Andy Burnham being appointed Labour Party leader.
Culled from DW.com
