By Frank Meke

Experience is usually agreed to be the best teacher and looking back to about three decades ago, when opportunities came my way to be part of the story of this industry, it had been a bitter, sweet and cold experience.

If you have been around, I mean within the space mentioned, you would possibly agree that the Nigerian tourism journey is hasted by the media, and I must, in particular, credit uncle Sam Amuka’s newspaper, the vanguard newspapers for this presence.

The pictures of travel media we see today were the creative content put together by irrepressible ogbeni Tope Awe. Like Apostle Paul, I drank from that wisdom and am ready and willing to lay my life down for it.

There were also other colleagues’ apostles, not necessarily of the vanguard family but who also joined in the crusade to write and speak well about our country. Unsung heroes!

Indeed, and like some latter day saints, many of them couldn’t see beyond the glitz and luxury usually associated with the business and disappointingly lost steam due to lack of encouragement and support from government and even the private sector.

Certainly, the Anaemic nature of the sector, despite our sense of knowledge and permutations, is so benubbing that only a few of us could weather the storm, so to speak.

There are no chest beating here, and usually, I refrain from joining the noise makers and buccaneers who come to our space to prat invisibility. It’s nauseating, emetic!

Except we shut their mouths and seek for a sense modesty, it is becoming apparent that they want to deliberately rewrit the history of tourism development and including the use of poisonous carrots to lure the innocent pedestrian bystanders to join their hellinist coven.

Like I will always say and may history bear me witness, the Nigerian travel media has contributed immensely to where we are today, and no individual or organisation can hold absolute claim to that intervention. There are many journalists today who individually have contributed to keep the aneamic sector alive, while some selected leaders, particularly government officials, milk the sector dry and tell us all is well.

Between 1991 and 93, vanguard tourism bore developmental pains, paid the price, and led courageously the tourism advocacy. Late Pa Ebaboji Da silva stood with us, and may his tourism soul rest in peace. Then came champion newspapers, and I still remember my good friend Ayo Arowojolu. Then followed Daily Times with Tijjani Adebisi, a polygot of immense knowledge, and even the present Olota of ota is part of the evolution.

I won’t waste my space to join issues with ‘Buharidists’ or ‘ Jagabandists’ and/or motor garage sycophants who want to score themselves with marks for whatever fanciful achievements. I really do not blame them, though, because some people come to the marketplace to shout to attract attention to their babalawo incantations and not to sell their all curing medicinal herbs.

It could be irritating when an ostrich with its long neck thinks it could occupy the animal kingdom space where lions reign. I should think it’s suicidal and a disease of hormonal inbalance for anyone to think he is far better than others. It is just crazy and no wonder, Judas represents treachery and betrayal spirit.

We are not out of the woods,in the aneamic hangover in the sector, because the industry has been betrayed by the merchants of divide and rule. To these characters, their game is to hogwash whoever comes to the system with transactional self-worth, belittling and running down others who refused to join their solo herodian team.

No one is good except them, and as custodians of blemish and strife trajectory, they fly around like witches and wizards, intentional to lie against the truth and stab others in the back.

We have said it in the open and secret places that our new madam in tourism will just mark time and leave like others before her because the confusionists had lured her with their bait.

The propellers of industry set backs prants her space, cleverly using her “newness” and disposition to learn the tourism ropes to market themselves. Not Nigeria, not her people.

Nigeria tourism is not at the centre stage of this mission, and you ask me who is beating the drum? Last week, the madam minister gathered commissioners of culture and tourism in Abuja. Behind the game is hypocrisy .

Hypocrisy beats the drums, and the new commissioners and possibly new permanent secretaries just wondered why they must believe the deliverers at the centre who in seven years plus four couldn’t lift a finger to donate blood to the aneamic sector.

In 2006, when Otunba Segun Runsewe came to our tourism space, he informed our numerous tourism baggage carriers that talk shows are over and birthed practical verifiable tourism deliveries.

He killed fly by night portfolio operators and flew all the tourism and culture commissioners to South Africa for a week to practically see the transformation gains of the sector. Is seeing not believing?

Runsewe gave the tourism media eyes to the global tourism reportage ecosystem and helped blossom the positive escalation of travel and tourism reporting in Nigeria, even birthed the industry reportage on radio and television.

That’s deliberate collaboration with the media and not the latest divisive press releases in vogue and focal to killing tourism reportage and interpretation by government tourism agencies. Of course they can’t give what they don’t have!

It is sad that the drummers of new dance drama in tourism today have surrounded themselves with Croynists whose only usefulness is to massage the ego of their masters.

It’s difficult to owe any tourism obligation to our nation and people when the government, in its wisdom, will force down our throat ministers and agency heads whose mission and vision are at variance to the good of our cultural tourism advantages.

A minister or agency head who deliberately roll out its hosted buyers ecosystem to the media with intent to mute their suggestions or observations can only breed zombie reporters.

There’s nothing new in terms of culture and tourism policy collaboration and interpretation that Otunba Segun Runsewe has not done. Before he left the culture sector, hurried out by misfit minister of culture, Runsewe brought all the culture and tourism commissioners to Abuja to deliberate on a new path for sector. Is our madam minister apping him? Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria president Nkereweum Onung has been on the same ecosystem, almost on his knees, to bring the government and private sectors together. Did the white lions in ntda and nihotour listen?

Why is the industry still playing adversity games, or supposedly so beats the imagination. Unfortunately, the attempt to tarnish the image of travel and tourism media will fail flat.

Tourism reportage is a spiritual thing. You can’t put it down, not even with the Internet playing a huge role. Even the traditional media has upped its games, and except there is a strategic agenda to put the media first in national tourism marketing and promotion, just as Runsewe has shown, then Nigeria can only breed of the reportage of the worst in its underbelly. The people are what they read!

I won’t end without mentioning the capacity and presence that the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies has brought to the Nigerian tourism space in recent times. It’s unprecedented, from intra Africa to Africa Tourism market agenda, to a twice solo run at the World Travel Market( for Nigeria) and a practical guide to gains to centric African cultural tourism development in South Africa in collaboration with Ghana Tour Operators Association supported with open hands by South Africa government and its creative vibrant tourism agency, nanta sure cannot be ignored.

Nanta’s first strategic foray in an exclusive Air transportation and Sundry industry suppliers expo during its avant-garde Annual General Meeting is certainly futuristic to what a well organised private sector organisation can do to advance tourism in Nigeria and to the world. It’s futile to pretend to celebrate World Tourism Day in Nigeria when we know where shoes pinches.

Na which government dey bid to host WTD in Nigeria if not to milk the governors of the little resources which can be used to buy rice for their hungry poor. Bid koo, bid nii!