With its vast tourism potentials tuck away in the different regions and a population of over 20 million people, Lagos State regarded as the commercial hub of Nigeria, is yet to fully exploit the human resources in the state and the country at large to drive its domestic tourism.
Travel and Tourism expert, Ikechi Uko said the state need to take advantage of its human capital and adopting strategies that would reinforce its existing tourist attractions and drive its domestic tourism.
Speaking during the 2-Day Tourism Summit held Lagos with the theme “The Best of Lagos” Uko said the state need to fully utilize its beaches which are located in the different parts to shore up its tourism numbers like neighbouring West African countries are doing.
Please read the full speech…
The Best of Lagos
Good afternoon your Excellences. The Honourable Commissioner of Tourism, Culture and the Creative Arts. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism and Culture. The Directors of the Ministry. My Chairman of BOT FTAN. My Tourism Colleagues and all Present today. I welcome you to this very important summit.
I will start today by repeating my 2 pet desires for Lagos.
1. Lagos needs a Marina or a Corniche. This is a Waterfront city with no Tourist Marina anywhere.
2. Pedestrianise Onikan Area on Weekends after the Opening of JK Randle Centre. Open only to BRT and special transport.
The Top 6 Tourism Destinations in Africa derive their income from Water. UNIDO once said that 60% of all Tourism income in Africa comes from water related activities. Only Zimbabwe that is in the Top Destination that is not by an ocean or sea but they have the Mighty Victoria Falls.
My name is Ikechi Uko, African Tourism Ambassador. I want to let everyone here know that I am a BOT member of the Federation of Tourism Associations in Nigeria (FTAN) and also a BOT member of The Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP). I was a Past President of Association of Journalists and Writer of Tourism (ANJET). I was present when FTAN, NATOP were formed. I have been playing around Lagos Tourism environment since 1991 when I left the University in my 20s.
I worked with HappyLand Happyworld, the first attempt to Build Disneyland in Nigeria. The Project was in partnership with Lagos State. It never did take off. So, I consider myself a Stakeholder in Tourism business in Lagos. My event, Akwaaba African Travel Market is the biggest Travel and Tourism Expo in West Africa and among the Top 5 in Africa. This year will be its 18th year in Lagos.
Now to my Presentation
“Getting to know and Open the Best of Lagos”
I start by building a Business Case. The Questions we need to answer today are the following:
.Where does Lagos stand in people’s mind?
.How do people living in here see Lagos?
.What does Lagos offer to tourists?
.Who needs to visit places in Lagos?
These and more are questions that we need to answer before we advance our argument about the beauty of Lagos.
The Beauty of Lagos is Hiding in Plain Sight
To understand the Best Lagos has to offer we have to look at the SCHEMA of a Lagosian.
What occupies his mind? What does he think and feel?
The Schema of the typical Lagosian is that there is nothing beautiful in Lagos. Even when you point it out to him, he will resist and counter with negative repartees. For example, I drove from the International Airport through 3rd Mainland Bridge, which is the Longest Bridge over Water in Africa, through Onikan, “the Coolest Neighbourhood in the World,” to Victoria Island Civic Towers, describing the Beauty on the Road. After I posted it on Facebook, I got attacked for painting Lagos in borrowed robes.People refused to accept the Beautiful Story I wrote.
So, we know those that ply the 3rd Mainland Bridge ignore the beauty of the bridge and dwell only on the traffic.
For Tourism to Work for Lagosians we need to do two (2) things.
1. Reinforce what the Lagosian already sees and what he does as Tourism. Utilise the Materia Medica of what already exists in his Schema and scale that up. E.g., Entertainment, weddings, Owambe of all kinds and night out. Beach activities and religious holiday activities.
2. Draw a new picture and open new vistas which before now were open only to Aficionados. We need to re-tell the story of Lagos. We need to reintroduce Lagosians to the real Lagos. We need to tell the stories of our life in a way that even the bad stories will sound appealing. The ‘Molue’ ride should be an adventure not a torture.
That is the job we need to do to convert 20 million Lagosians into tourists. We cannot be poor in the midst of 20 million prospects.
The job is laid out for us. So how do we harness this?
The audience is here in the Richest City or the second Richest City in Africa.
The products are here. All types of Products are here in Lagos.
How do we connect the dots? How do we tie together all the factors of production available in Lagos?
So, the failure so far is not the product or the people, but the packaging and organisational capacity necessary to make it work.
It has to be deliberate and painstaking and once we turn the corner, it takes off on its own.
We already have a success story: “Detty December.”
This concept was introduced to Nigeria in 2003/4 by Ambassador Ogbuewu, the former Minister of Tourism, when he launched his “Harmattan Season” Tourism Project. He wanted Nigeria to host its entire event between November and January. He initiated the Abuja Carnival in November and Cross River State launched the Carnival Calabar in December.
In 2015, Lagos started the Big Countdown that later became the Greater Lagos Festival and Countdown on December 31st. House on the Rock started the Experience Gospel Musical also in December. By 2018 December was one big party from 1st of December till the 2nd of January.
That is a Success Story that can be replicated in other areas.
Please do note the following points:
1. It was government driven at the initial stage through a policy thrust then private organisations ploughed in with events. There always have to be a plan.
2. There was a Cluster of events in the Victoria Island and Island Area. Hotels in Victoria Island became boom Centres. Before now only Hotels around the Airport Made Money in December.
3. The Economy of Lagos boomed. It was estimated to top N50b turnover in December 2018.
4. Traffic Jams almost killed the City. Violent Crime Levels came down on the Island (though cases of Rapes and attacks at Shows increased).
The Lessons Learned from Detty December is that it should be Anticipated planned and Exploited Positively to Benefit More of the State.
The State should control and scale the size and flow of the Whole Process.
We SHOULD PLAN NOW FOR EVERY PART OF THIS DETTY DECEMBER.
Lagos State has grown Badagry as the only Viable Leisure Destination in Lagos.
Is Badagry really Viable despite its Popularity? We have not seen the “Senegambia effect “in Badagry. Anyone who has spent a Night at Senegambia and Kololi Area of Gambia will tell you that Badagry is not yet an Attraction.
Badagry is the most popular destination for Tour Operators. It has Great Beaches, a wonderful waterfront and a Peninsula. Let us Unpack Its Current State. I will ignore the Bad Road for now.
What will a Tourist do in Badagry after the Slave Trade and Heritage Site Visits? Where are the Ecolodges? Where are the Luxury Beach Resorts? Where are the Water sports activities? If we rate Badagry alongside La Beach area in Accra, Ghana, Lumley beach in Sierra Leone, Bakau or Senegambia in Gambia, the Almadies, or Ngor Beach Areas of Dakar in Senegal. Badagry will rate Last Despite having more assets than all these Places I have Mentioned.
Lagos had a place that became a beach hub in the 70s, 80s and 90s. That was Bar Beach. The new Beach places are Alpha, Oniru, Landmarks, Eleko and Elegushi Beaches.
Tourism Grows as Clusters or Primate Locations. So we have to make Conscious and Deliberate Efforts to grow Clusters in Lagos.
Ikorodu has wonderful Waterfront and Beaches but does not rate on the Books of Tour Operators and Tourists.
Epe Area has Waterfronts and is Home to what My Friend Dayo Adedayo the Photographer ranks as one of the 7 wonders of Nigeria Bilikisu Sungbo and the Ramparts of great Ancient Earthworks. Epe Borders the only forest where elephants have been seen in Southwest Nigeria the Omo Forest Reserve.
What are we doing with Epe, Ikorodu and Badagry?
Lagos Island has the whole Colonial History of Modern Nigeria. There should be Daily Trekking Tours of the Island identifying the Houses of Hebert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ajasa after Visiting Freedom Park and the new Brazilian Museum.
CNN published Time out magazine Listed the Onikan Neighbourhood as one of the Coolest Neighbourhood in the World and in 2020 it listed Opebi as one of the Coolest. PlayBoy Magazine in 2016 Listed Lagos as the one of the Best Nightlife in the world actually called it “the most Authentic Party City in the World” where you can bump into 10 World class Artistes in a night. We do have our own Silicon Valley in Yaba. Can we make something out of it?
The Beach Houses are becoming great Tourism assets but how many and where are they?
What to do next:
1. We create clusters in each Zone
2. Identify the demographics that are suitable for each cluster
3. Package Daycations and Staycations for each cluster.
4. Market to all the 20 million people of Lagos.
What can you See in Lagos?
I usually take my South African Visitors on a Bridge tour of Lagos. Between Ikoyi Lekki Bridge, Falomo? Bonny Camp, Carter Bridge and 3rd Mainland Bridges we would have seen the whole of Lagos.
My Ghanaian Friends I take through Ikorodu road and Marina to Lekki. Admiralty way Lekki is the nearest we have in Lagos to a Cluster.
Kenyans and other Africans enjoy that Neighbourhood. I have Organised Market Tours for a lot of non-Nigerian Visitors. How many Lagosians have been to Ajegunle, Maracana Stadium where Ighalo and Co came from?
For Lagosians let us give them a Narrative that shows Lagos in a different light to them. We can build the Story that will make people move.
Let us Guide them to See Lagos with New Eyes.
