The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has requested President Bola Tinubu, urging him to establish a stand-alone ministry of tourism and culture in Nigeria.
Olusegun Runsewe, the Director-General of NCAC, emphasized that creating this ministry would help bridge the communication gap between the private and public sectors in the tourism industry.
Runsewe highlighted that establishing a separate ministry would greatly contribute to the advancement of both the tourism and culture sectors. He expressed his belief that the current structure of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is too extensive.
According to Runsewe, managing public information in a large nation like Nigeria is an immense task, and combining it with the responsibility of providing leadership for the culture and tourism sector is overwhelming.
He stated, “The federal government should therefore see the possibility of creating a stand-alone ministry of culture and tourism.” Runsewe further emphasized the time for Nigeria to adopt this idea.
Runsewe pointed out that countries such as Spain, France, the USA, and South Africa, where tourism is a serious and lucrative business, have dedicated professionals with global technical expertise. These professionals are adept at adapting their knowledge to meet the unique realities of their respective environments.
“In Nigeria, the tourism business appears to be an all-comers affair. If anybody with the means can wake up overnight to set up a tourism business, how do we expect the sector to move forward?”
“No matter what you communicate, as long as it is not profit maximization, such people will never understand or flow with it.”
He called on the media to set the agenda of national discourse in line with global best practices.
“The media should take it upon themselves to inform and mobilize all stakeholders in the industry to take the required step in adopting the right approach toward building a dynamic tourism sector for Nigeria,” he said.
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