The National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies’ (NANTA) Public Relations Officers (PRO) for Northern Zone and contestant for the  post of the association’s First Deputy President in the forthcoming elective AGM in Ibadan, Alhaji Mustapha Mohammed, has promised, if elected, to double the membership of the association and also wage war against quack travel agents.

Mohammed made this vow while speaking with press men on the coming 50^th anniversary AGM and on his ambition to be the First Deputy President of the body.

He commended the current NANTA leadership’s efforts to boost membership and promised to improve on it: “You will see that among NANTA members, the number is growing.

“I want make sure that by the next AGM, the number of recognized financial members, using the directory, not even asking for new members, is doubled, because I intend to take it door-to-door, region-to-region, to make sure that most of our members who are already feeling that NANTA is not doing much for them, we want to talk to them and bring them back to the fold. That way, we will create an identity which this administration has done a great job by launching the NANTA platform and making sure that you can now pay for your subscription and even request for your  ID card and your staff ID card on the platform. It is giving NANTA the opportunity to vet, access and create a kind of identity that is not there before. But our journey has been magnificent, we have seen how these quacks have dealt a blow to our prestige and to our image. We are ready to fight them. They have nowhere to hide.”

On the issue of gender sensitivity and balance he said: “NANTA leadership has never been, and will never be by gender. We respect each other because before we become NANTA leaders, or even NANTA members, we are business people. And when we carry our business out, we don’t go there as male or female. We go as people that want to improve our business. We want to succeed. You will first of all improve your business before you will start saying whether you want to do this or that, to be a NANTA member or a leader. I believe NANTA has never been, and will never be gender bias. Two grown up adults are out to prove what they can do. The least thing they can do is to say what they can offer. But NANTA has never been, and will never be about gender bias.”

Speaking on his professional background in the sector, Mohammed said: “I am the present Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NANTA Northern Zone. I have been in this industry for two decades. I started by attending the IATAA Foundation course, IATAA Management Course, and also I was privileged  to attend the IATAA Course in London-Hammersmith for corporate programme, and another IATAA programme at Turkish Academy in Istanbul.

“I like that to say that I am well-grounded when it comes to the issue of travel agency both in management, ticketing and marketing. I am vying for the post of the First Deputy President to bring my wealth of experience and my networking into play, to move the association forward to align with the vision of the present administration.   

“I belong to the PRO group. Most of the communications are routed through us. I saw so many good things and I felt  I have the capacity to make my own mark. I saw different committees the president has established and I saw that they are not fully integrated, partially because the president is doing a hell of a job trying to do advocacy and project NANTA in good light. My own aim is to help my fellow travel agents in trying to maximize the business travel agency. You know travel agency business is predominantly like a family business which later evolves into big time business. It is my business, it is my life and I believe that with the kind of network I have built in government, airline, and administration, I can bring better days for my colleagues in the travel business. This is why I decided to contest, of course with the encouragement of my zone, having seen the kind of efforts I put in trying to project the Northern Zone. I believe I am equipped and capable to carry out this responsibility.”

The NANTA 50^th anniversary elective annual general meeting is expected to hold in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital from Tuesday, April 14 to Saturday, April 18.