Time is so ephemeral, so flitting. Now we think we have it; now it’s gone. One begins to wonder what one did with time. Time is relentless, never grinding to a halt. The four-year tenure of the current Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa would end beginning of August if he were to proceed on terminal leave, if not, then end of August. We can effectively say, the first term tenure has ended.  

Kangiwa (Turakin Argungu) has no more time as the Director General of the parastatal. It is now left for posterity and the industry to judge his four years in office.  Has he done enough to secure a second term? The presidency has this call.  

In the second week of September 2020 when the outgoing NIHOTOUR boss resumed duties, he pledged to reposition the institute through capacity building, and work for  Nigerian tourism and hospitality sector to achieve  better growth.

Industry practitioners from both public and private sectors had high hopes when Kangiwa took over. It was like a Daniel has come to judgment. He  has seen life in both the public and private sectors and had hitherto been the Vice President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN North West). At the end of his tenure, for many, it is like another missed opportunity.

Kangiwa, on his own part, gave hope to the sector in his inaugural visit to the institute to assume duty. He promised that NIHOTOUR, under his watch, will achieve the desired growth in the tourism industry where skilled and professional manpower base is needed. He promised to deliver on the institute’s primary mandate on manpower training in the areas of hospitality and tourism skill acquisition.

Four years down the line, with more than 30 billion Naira in budgetary allocations, it is safe to say that with the huge amount of money the country has expended on the institute, the achievements are not commensurate, if anything, the institute under Kangiwa has underachieved.  

The outgoing NIHOTOUR boss could point his fingers to list his ‘achievements’. Among these include the amendment of the NIHOTOUR Act. The act signed into law by ex-president Mohammed Buhari expanded the scope and influence of the institute, giving it more powers including registration and regulation of the tourism industry. However, there is little or no difference between the state of the tourism industry before and after the act was signed into law. NIHOTOUR under the new act is not different from what it was before the act.

Kangiwa increased the number of the NIHOTOUR campuses from eight to 13 through partnership with state governments and convincing them to donate spaces to be turned into NIHOTOUR campuses. Through this, campuses in places like Makurdi, Calabar and others were added.

Kangiwa’s tenure also saw greater interface between the institute and the private sector through programmes such the annual Gastronomy Festival.  In addition to that, the institute coupled together a mobile kitchen which it promised to use for training.

However, many in the industry believe that there is a huge gap between the amount annually earmarked for the institute and what it has been able to deliver.  Four years down the line,what does the industry have to show for it?

Many believe that the biggest achievement or distraction of NIHOTOUR under the current leadership is the institute being used as a channel for other projects that has little to with tourism.

Few years ago, the institute budgeted about N250 million naira to refurbish the Lagos and Kaduna campuses of the institute. While this has given these campuses better optics, key facilities like the equipment for practical demonstrations in places like the demonstration kitchens  are non-existent despite this outward intervention.

Under Kangiwa’s leadership, huge amount of money was used to purchase the NIHOTOUR Mobile Kitchen, refurbished and configured it for use. Since it was unveiled at two different occasions, nothing  has been heard about the mobile kitchen. How many times has it been put to use? How many have been trained using the kitchen? What has happened to the mobile kitchen after its unveiling?

While through his vision, the number of campuses of the NIHOTOUR has increased, what is quality of facilities at the campuses? Many of these campuses are hollow shells with little in terms of tuition facilities and human resource.

Outside hospitality, NIHOTOUR in the last four years has contributed nothing in terms of depth and meaningful seminal interventions to advance the course of tourism and improve the fortune of the country. Tourism goes beyond throwing cookery parties and feeding thousands of hungry Nigerians.  It is almost like hijacking the responsibilities of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.

We see the institute getting entangled with pedestrian ideas like the Eco-Genesis interventions where individuals in locations with non-developed tourist sites, and with no history of tourist traffic are curated to sit for half-hearted programme, they are then given tokens as take-off grants for hand crafts. Like most programmes under the current leadership of NIHOTOUR, the programme ends there. So what has become of these individuals that collected the bazaar at Benue, Ekiti and Makurdi?

The biggest failure of the current leadership of the NIHOTOUR is turning the parastatal into a special vehicle to warehouse funds for so many projects outside tourism.  The kind of money passing through NIHOTOUR for projects outside tourism, if channeled into the sector, will transform the industry.

A look at the budget of NIHOTOUR for 2024 shows it has a total allocation of N10,969,127,695. The question is, how much of this budget is being spent in the industry?

NIHOTOUR  will be spending good part this budget on provision of street lights in different part of the country, provision of fertilizers to farmers , training youths and women on how to repair laptops and phones as well as renovation of a mosque among others. One wondered when these became tourism projects.

A  look at the approved budget for the institute in the current budget  shows that N500,000,000 will go into supply and installation of solar street lights in Kebbi North Senatorial District in Kebbi State, N300,000,000 will be for supply and installation of solar street lights in the six geo-political zones and another N100,000,000 for the provision of solar street light in Bungudu/Maru federal Constituency, Zamfara State.

Also this year, N50,000,000 is for the additional installation of solar street lights across Karaye/Rogo Federal Constituency, Kano State as well as N50,000,000 for the training and empowerment of youths and women in solar panel installation in Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency, Edo State.

The same constituency in Edo State will get another N50,000,000 for the purchase of equipment for youths and women for solar panel installation.

N50,000,000 is also budgeted for training of youths and women in the agriculture value chain in the same local government as well as another N50,000,000 for the supply of animal feeds for the empowerment of youths and women.

Under the NIHOTOUR budget, there is provision of N70,000,000 for training of youths on how to repair laptops and cell phones (software and hardware entrepreneurship) in Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency, Edo State.

Oshodi/Isolo 11 Federal Constituency, Lagos State is not left out as N100,000,000 was budgeted for the installation of street lights.

Kwara State was also a beneficiary of the budget of NIHOTOUR as solar-powered boreholes will be provided for some local governments. A town hall will be constructed in AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, FCT for N70,000,000.

N180,000,000 was budgeted for the installation of mini solar grids to boost power in communities in Zamfara West Senatorial district.

Farmers in Kebbi state were not left out in the budget of NIHOTOUR as N100,000,000 was set aside for the purchase of fertilizers for them.

N80,000,000 was budgeted for the completion of a modern abattoir in Suru local government Area, Kebbi state as well as N100,000,000 for the completion and upgrading of a JAMB centre in Argungu local government Area, Kebbi state.

For an agency, whose core mandate is to train manpower for the tourism industry, N25,000,000 was budgeted for the renovation of Aliero central Mosque. One wonders why tourist sites in the country do not such funds to develop them.

These are the area the outgoing NIHOTOUR Director General got it wrong. The Nigerian tourism industry needs individuals with full focus on the industry not those that would allow themselves to be beclouded by ego and distractions outside the industry. The worst is trying to create distractions and disharmony in the industry, to mask managerial ineptitude.

For now in NIHOTOUR, the beautiful ones are not yet born.