Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Anieti Udofia, speaks to Charles Ajunwa about deliberate plans to reposition the state as a tourism hub, among other issues. Excerpts
What’s your ministry’s strategic master plan to stimulate growth in the tourism sector in Akwa Ibom?
First, I have to say that I am in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, where Governor Umo Eno, is passionate about. The Governor is interested in whatever happens in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. That’s why sometimes I say that the Governor is making my job less cumbersome. The master plan for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is embedded in the A.R.I.S.E. Agenda of the Governor. The A.R.I.S.E. Agenda as you know, is the development plan of Governor Umo Eno’s administration in Akwa Ibom State. The acronym stands for Agriculture, Roads, Infrastructure, Society, and Education, which focuses on grassroots development.
If you have the A.R.I.S.E pamphlet, you will discover that a section has been devoted to whatever the Governor intends or plans for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which has to do with making Akwa Ibom a destination of choice, which he has put up some structures. Two weeks ago, we flagged off the International Convention Centre, which has a capacity of 5,000. The hotel is also flagged off, which is a 200-bed space hotel, to complement the Ibom Hotel that is under renovation.
If you now want to look at the sector specifics because our ministry, you can say, cuts across virtually all that other ministries do. You talk about what we share in common with the Ministry of Agriculture. There is currently the construction of the Ibom Model Farm at Nsit-Ubium, which will take care of the food security of our state in particular and country at large.
You talk of the health sector. The Governor is so passionate about the health and well-being of Akwa Ibom people. That is why currently, virtually all the local governments have at least one primary health care facility that is of international standard. The Governor, at the last meeting we had with him, promised to resuscitate Ikot Abasi Tourism Hub to complement the ARISE Park that is under construction.
On the ARISE Park, I think you should visit the park, if you have not, you need to see the wonder of Umo Eno, what the Governor has done. A once-forgotten site, an erosion-prone area, an area that was a den of thieves, has now been turned into a world-class resort. So, the Governor has done a lot that cuts across virtually all sectors of the economy.
And the end product is what? Employment, development, and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the state.
Shortly after the Governor came on board, he embarked on a tour of some tourist sites. After that particular visit, he set up a special committee headed by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism to assess, identify and harness the state of tourism potential and make Akwa Ibom the desired tourism destination. What was the outcome of your committee?
I know that governance is a continuum. But I can tell you that when I was appointed as a commissioner, Ministry of Culture and Tourism within the first one week, we decided to go round virtually all the tourism sites that we have in the state. It took us about two weeks to do about 10 of them. And we still have some others to touch. Aside from that, there was a kind of pseudo-committee that the Governor set up. Myself, the Delivery Advisor, and the HSA on tourism to go and give to him on-the-spot assessment report on the current state of those facilities so that he can take action. I can tell you that we did a robust report to him. And the last delivery meeting we had some weeks ago, he promised that he will visit Ikot Abasi. After the visit, I believe something will be done to bring that place back to life in order to give the state the necessary resources and employment that will come out after that place has been put to proper use.
Akwa Ibom has a lot of potential in terms of domestic tourism, how have you been able to harness the opportunities in Ibom Air so that it can translate to job creation and bring in desired domestic and international tourists to the state?
First, as a government, we want to make these tourism sites in the state attractive. Because it’s only when you appreciate what you have, make what you have sellable, that people can come in. That is why we are embarking on the digital marketing campaign, to let people know about the things that we have in Akwa Ibom. This morning, I returned from Abuja, where we had a UN regional conference for Africa. At that conference, it was a kind of a cultural reawakening and an opportunity to connect nationally and internationally. At the conference, states, nations within Africa came together to brainstorm on the way forward because tourism, culture are gold mines. It’s something that people in other climes such as Rwanda, South Africa, USA, others are making so much money from.
So Nigeria is also trying to key in, in order to gain a lot from tourism, aside from oil. What we are doing as a state, in order to drive domestic tourism, is to sell what we have to the world. Thank God we have Ibom Air, which can take you from Lagos to Akwa Ibom, Akwa Ibom to Abuja, and other locations, and can still take you back that same day if you desire. If you want to spend more time in Akwa Ibom, you’re welcome. You see, Akwa Ibom is peaceful, Akwa Ibom is welcoming, and Akwa Ibom is one of the safest places to stay. And I can tell you that, aside from Lagos, Akwa Ibom is the next destination for tourism in Nigeria. Going by the Governor’s vision which my ministry is pursuing vigorously, we will soon overtake tourism.
You talked about destinations. What are those tourism sites that can attract tourists to Akwa Ibom?
First of all, when you have an airline that is so reliable, people will be interested to visit because they will be comfortable when they arrive, that they can go back anytime. The ARISE Park is one of such tourist destinations that we have, which is under construction. We have Ikot Abasi, which has a slave trade route, the popular Bridge of No Return. We have the Oron Museum. We have the Mary Slessor Cairns at the Itu/Ibiono where Mary Slessor lived. It will interest you to know that Mary Slessor lived in Akwa Ibom, died in Akwa Ibom, and was buried in Scotland.
We are trying to promote these places. Maybe, if you return here next time, or when we are done with a documentary we are trying to put together, a compilation of all the tourism sites in Akwa Ibom, so that we can let the world know what we have. The government of His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno, is interested in investing in these places, and also interested in having partnerships with private sector, like the PPP arrangement. The government will not be able to do all these things alone. We need partnership and collaboration.
Then, one of the most important places, I nearly forgot to mention to you, is Ibiono Beach – The longest beachfront in Africa. The government is interested in it and investors are already coming. One of them is the Landmark. Many others have shown interest to come and develop the beachfront.
In Akwa Ibom, we also have the Green and the Blue Rivers. The Green River is located at Ukanafun, and the Green River at Ibesikpo Asutan LGA.
Are you in partnership with the federal government or other entities to promote tourism in Akwa Ibom?
Recently, FTAN (Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria) came to the state and we took them around the tourism sites. The most important aspect of that journey was to show to them what we have so that they can sell the destination to the federal government, to the private sector. Such partnership is a healthy one. Also, when RAMFAC, that is the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, came for their yearly seminar and retreat, they visited the ARISE Park. And one of the requests the governor made on them was that there’s what we call ecological funds. That place was an erosion site that would have led to the destruction of property and lives.
So, the governor made a request to them that there’s a need for the federal government to come and intervene and support the government of the state to put resources along with what the state has done to make the ARISE Park what it is. In fact, it was a kind of a request for a refund from what the state government has spent so far because money was spent to reclaim that erosion site.
Governor is so passionate about enhancing the hospitality sector in the state. What is your ministry doing in this direction?
As a ministry, let me say from the last two years of Governor Umo Eno’s administration, he has done a lot with regards to the hospitality sector. We have chains of hotels in Akwa Ibom that are of international standards. I believe that this ministry is a ministry with a lot of activities. The activities happen regularly in order to create the awareness of people and also begin to draw people from other states and other parts of the world to Akwa Ibom. So Akwa Ibom is very open. Akwa Ibom is peaceful. Akwa Ibom is welcoming. The people are very welcoming. We have the best kind of foods – Afang soup, Banga soup, Edikankong soup, Ekpang Nkukwo, Anyan Ekpang, Asa Iwa, Otor Mboro, Afia efere, Fisher Man’s soup and others. We have the best airline. So, Akwa Ibom is a place to be. Akwa Ibom welcomes investors, we welcome partners, we welcome leisure seekers who want to come and have fun in Akwa Ibom State
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