Lagos Wants to Be Entertainment Capital of Africa, Organises Tour to Show Beauty

Justina Uzo

No fewer than 12 entertainment centres and tourism sites, as well as tourism-reliant organisations, including bars and hotels across Lagos State were visited by lawmakers and tourism promoters earlier this week as the Lagos State Government organised a FAM (familiarisation) tour that focused on wealth creation in the leisure industry.                                   

Lagos State Ministry of  Tourism, Arts and Culture has continued its marketing campaign  which is aimed at  positioning Lagos as a preferred destination for business and for pleasure in Africa. There has been lots of investment on hotels and on beaches in Lagos. For the tourism chieftains, it was a great opportunity for lawmakers and government officials, as well as major tour operators and travel agent partners to get to know the new level.            

Tagged “bestoflagosfamtour’22”, the effort is hinged  on  promotion and marketing of tourist products/offerings in the state for wealth creation. There were interactions between public officials and private operators of the art constituency and tourism industry.  

Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Art and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf maintained that there is need to harness the various tourism potential domiciled in the various divisions for economic growth and for the benefits of the local communities.  The tour obviously presented a chance for the private operators to tell the industry regulators the problems they are having. Generally, they said “public-private partnership is a good option to explore, if Lagos must be positioned as the entertainment capital of Africa.”

Small and medium-size  tour companies said getting tour buses remains a big problem. Music promoter, Edi Lawani, wants “the government to re-engineer cultural activities in the state for economic benefits.”          

Participants had arrived early for  the 3-day programme which kicked-off at Ndubuisi Kanu Park in Ikeja on Wednesday March 30, 2022. The tour, said to be the  response to the call by different tourism stakeholders to further expose the tourism assets of the state to both local and international tourists, started from Ikeja Division and ended at Ikorodu Division. There were visits to the New Afrika Shrine, Oshodi Bus Terminal and John Randle Yoruba Museum Centre (the museum is still under construction and the first phase will be ready in August). The team also visited Freedom Park at Onikan and Glover Memorial Hall before departing for Badagry via Falomo Jetty, exploring the waterways to spend a night in Badagry. The visit  to the Slave Market, Point-of-No-Return and other tourism sites within Badagry on Thursday was inspiring. The facility has been given a face-lift and it was heartwarming that both local and international visitors were enjoying themselves during the visit. 

At  Eti-Osa Local Council, the popular Nike Art Gallery was a major stop. Needless to say, Epe Fish Market and Sungbo Eredo also made the participants’ day. Tourism development is huge. 

Presentations were made by industry operators, including entertainer Edi Lawani who spoke on ‘Reinforcing Lagos as the Entertainment Capital of Africa and Mr. Theo Lawson who gave a talk on ‘The Positioning of Lagos as the Arts and Culture Centre of Africa’  while at Freedom Park.

In the same vein, a highly rated tour guide, Anago Osho, said opportunities abound in Lagos during his presentation on  ‘Reinventing Lagos as the Prime Destination for the African Diaspora.’

It is perhaps this reason the commissioner urged the youths to take up the youth tourism market and engage in the promotion of tourism sites, assuring them that the state government would continue to create the enabling environment for tourism businesses to thrive.

”I want to appreciate everyone that has  been on this journey, the main reason we embarked on these journeys was to enable you to market Lagos as a choice destination for tourists.

“For the youths, I want you to come onboard and join this beautiful dream of promoting Lagos tourism potential, considering the beautiful coastal areas, beaches, historical sites, art galleries, museums, recreational parks and others.”

She said, ”We have our Masterplan to guide you and the community-based tourism development is ongoing, you have a whole lot of tourism sites to take visitors to. I believe this tour has improved your knowledge of the tourism potential in the state.”

According to her, “Exploring these potential and marketing methods will generate huge revenue for you and the state so it will be a win-win situation. We will continue to engage you in training, we take it seriously, as at today, we have trained over 200 tour guides to ensure tourists have the best. One tour operator, Louis Ibe said the beauty of the tour is, members of the House committee on Tourism and Culture were involved and I think they were able to have first-hand experience of the tourism business.” At least, they will budget more money for tourism promotion and marketing,” he noted.                     

A lawmaker and actor who participated in the tour, Desmond Eliot, declined to give a press interview. He said they were just observing things. A hotel manager of a popular hotel in Epe who gave his name simply as Seun said the tour “is a good initiative.”  He continued, “we have been reassured by the government which promised to create an enabling environment for tourism business to thrive. It will be a win-win situation.” Hotel room occupancy level, he said, “will improve and, of course, we will pay our taxes without foot-dragging.”