Nigeria’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy Mrs. Hannatu Musawa has called on African countries to embrace tourism as a means of fighting insecurity in the continent. Musawa said this while making a remark on the second day of the recently concluded United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN TOURISM) Commission for Africa (CAF) meeting held in Abuja.

The Nigerian tourism minister noted that many African countries are battling with the challenge of insecurity and she believes that tourism can be a tool to counter the scourge.  Her words: “Again it is germane for most of the countries that are here, the issue of insecurity. A lot of us are grappling with the issue of insecurity.

“One of the key ways to handle the issue of insecurity is to push tourism. This is because when you develop a tourist destination, you are invariably employing people within that community. When you do that, you build that sense of ownership, and when they have that sense of ownership, they are inclined to protect it the more. So, when you talk about tourism, I know most of us here struggle in our country, trying to justify to our government that tourism is that important that we should have a bigger budget. I know most of us struggle with that, but once they understand that with tourism there is a plethora of benefits to come, I think with time we will be able to make something.”

Talking on the uniqueness of Nigeria as a tourist destination, she said the country having more than 240 ethnic groups and cultures is something could be harnessed both for tourism, and for the unity of the country. She explains that while many see Nigeria’s diverse culture and ethnicity as a fault line for the unity of the country, she sees it as something that could be harnessed to unify the country. She said: “Nigeria has about 240 diverse cultures, and when we say diverse, these cultures are as diverse as Chinese and Germany, and when we talk about the difference in ethnicity and cultures, it tends to divide us and some see it as something that bring dichotomy. I see it as a driver of unity; I see it as something that makes us very attractive. So, when we talk about tourism and we look at all these. Tourism is a way to push that unity. It is when people come our community, whether as international tourists or domestic, that would be in poon to appreciate this diversity..  Tourism is a platform that can be used to bring that unity and understanding.

“If I, as a Hausa Fulani northern woman from the furthest part of Nigeria, am  able to go the South West and  dress for Ojude Oba, for those who know the festival, or go to the east to experience what it is to be an Igbo woman, that brings  sense of unity. So, tourism is the driver for our country’s unity. Domestic tourism is a huge way that we can bring unity and understanding in our different communities.

“Again, at international level, you know our stories have always been written for us. We have always been told who we are. But we are a people of great value and traditions. One of my greatest treasures and joy in life is the fact that I was born a Nigerian, and that I am of Africa, that I have black skin. And I know who we are, and I know what we have to offer. So, we need the global community to understand us from our own perspective, from our own experience. We will no longer let anyone write our story as a primitive people. They must come to Africa to understand the spirit. That is why yesterday was important for us, to take you to culture village, to take you to the market place instead of putting flowers and beautiful chandeliers all over the place; we brought African arts and craft.”

Musawa enjoined delegates that the conference should not end with just exchange of ideas, but a call to action to the emerging tourism and the cultural connection, technological progress, and social transformation. She said: “We need to take our culture forward using innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and so on. We need to also look at ecotourism because when we talk about climate change, it is not us in Africa that are causing the destruction of the climate, but it is us in Africans that are being impacted by it.”