Communique of the National Summit on Culture and Tourism held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja from April 27 to 29
The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture organized a 3-day National Summit on Culture and Tourism with the theme: “Repositioning Culture and Tourism in a Diversified Economy”. The event was declared open, Thursday, 28th April, 2016, by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, represented by the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah.
It was attended by State Governors, Honourable Ministers, Members of the National Assembly, former Ministers of Culture and Tourism, State Commissioners of Culture and Tourism, Federal and State Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executive Officers of Culture and Tourism Parastatals, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Culture and Tourism Stakeholders, Media Professionals, the General Public, and Officials of the Ministry.
The first day of the Summit was dedicated to Registration of Participants, Opening of Exhibition by the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Gala Night, which featured a dance performance from the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), entitled, “Nigeriana,” written and choreographed by Arnold Udoka.
The Summit had two plenary sessions, breakout sessions for the culture and tourism sub-sectors, and presentation of reports from the respective breakout sessions. Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, represented by Dr. Wale Adediran, chaired the 1st Plenary Session.
Six papers were presented at the Summit, namely:
a) “Culture in a Diversified Economy”: Presented by Mr. Frank Aig-Imoukhuede;
b) “Tourism in a Diversified Economy”: Presented by H.E. Mr. Donald Duke, former Governor of Cross River State;
c) “Tourism in a Diversified Economy”: Presented by Chief Tomi Akingbogun, President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN);
d) “Culture in a Diversified Economy”: Presented by Professor Sule Bello, A.B.U., Zaria;
e) “Developing Data Bank in the Culture and Tourism Industry”: Presented by National Bureau of Statistics; and
f) “Private Sector Perspective of Nigerian Culture and Tourism”: Presented by Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture
At the end of very exhaustive deliberations, the following observations and recommendations were considered and adopted:
1. The Culture and Tourism sector is a big industry; it cuts across many sectors, namely, agriculture, business, transportation, health, sports, aviation, information, technology, architecture, etc. It is arguably the biggest means of economic growth. Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the sector while other Nations are reaping the immense socio-economic benefits derivable from this global vibrant sector.
2. Consistency and continuity in government policies at all levels are non-negotiable to develop the sector. To this end, Nigeria should muster the political will to accord the sector preferred status to effectively develop it.
3. To create positive image for our national buildings, corporate offices and edifices, there is need to adorn them with Nigerian artworks. The interior and exterior decorations of private and public corporate offices of our political leaders, chief executives, and Nigerian missions abroad should make strong cultural statements. The Presidency should lead the way by ensuring that the furniture in the President’s office, etc., are designed by our master carvers, painters and other artists.
4. There is the need for Nigerian cultural icons, both living and dead, to be celebrated so as to inspire the younger generations to strive hard for excellence.
5. The change mantra of the Federal Government can only succeed if the culture and tourism sector provides the fulcrum to drive it. Community theatre projects, musical concerts and visual designs are very effective tools for re-orientating the citizenry from bottom-up.
6. Stakeholders need to imbibe the culture of research and documentation to have records and statistical data readily available on the sector to aid planning. In this regard, it is necessary to make genuine, urgent and integrated efforts for the production of credible culture and tourism statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA).
7. Government should engage stakeholders in concluding the nationwide Mapping of Creative Industries whose pilot was conducted by the British Council, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA) in 2013. This is imperative because verifiable statistics on the performance of the sector will clearly demonstrate its viability and attract more investors.
8. The Motion Picture Council of Nigeria (MOPICON) and Theatre Arts Regulatory Council bills need to be harmonized into one bill, which government could present to the National Assembly for timely legislative action. This is in line with the need to urgently regulate the sector and maintain high ethical standards.
9. More stringent legislation need to be in place to protect national monuments from the growing cases of wilful destruction across the country. Measures should be put in place to protect the nation’s cultural sites during times of conflict by engendering communal ownership of such sites.
10. Museums and indigenous languages/cultural/crafts centres should be made part of requirements for building schools across the country in order to orientate our younger generations on our history and cultural values as part of their education.
11. A law should be promulgated to compel Local Government Councils to establish and maintain community museums and craft centres and fund at least one community festival yearly. This will facilitate the production of a reliable cultural calendar for the country to attract tourists.
12. In order to maximize the gains of digitization of broadcasting in Nigeria, proper framework needs to be worked out between players in the creative sector and broadcast organisations to produce adequate culturally relevant content for the broadcast media.
13. Implementation of the Private Copy Levy Scheme already passed into law (in the revised Nigerian Copyright Commission law) is imperative.
14. Libraries at all our embassies and high commissions should be stocked with books published by Nigeria writers. Government can acquire copies and give out as part of its traditional souvenirs to foreign visitors. Also, the presence of cultural experts in our embassies and high commissions as cultural attaches is strategic and can fast-track the repositioning of Nigeria’s image abroad.
15. There is need for Mr. President to showcase the country’s rich culture through the use of cultural troupes as part of his international engagements. Similarly, Nigerians in the Diaspora should be actively involved in our cultural promotion strategies.
16. Branding of the Nation is paramount. There is need to revisit the “Good People, Great Nation” project and engage in aggressive advocacy for “Visit Nigeria” on international and social media platforms.
17. The youth constitute the major creative work force driving Nigeria’s digital media economy; we need to encourage them by building technological start-ups and nurture e-platforms for promoting Nigerian narratives and creative products.
18. Religious tourism needs to be treated as a viable economic activity, which could contribute to the national economy through taxation. Government must take interest in tracking movements of funds by the Islamic, Christian and traditional religious groups.
19. Politicians should be made to go through compulsory reorientation programmes on Nigerian cultural values, ethics, etc., prior to assumption of office.
20. Government needs to ensure implementation of the 2010 FEC Memo on “Promoting Nigerian Dress Culture”, which requires civil servants and VIPs to adorn Nigerian dresses on Fridays.
21. Nigeria can borrow a leaf from China, which has been able to package its fashion and local cuisines. In this regard, Nigeria’s rich fashion industry and local cuisines could be packaged and marketed to attract international attention and patronage to enhance the country’s foreign exchange earnings and boost its economy.
22. The Federal Ministry of information and Culture should engage the Nigerian Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and SONTA on the ‘Triple I Project’ of ITI-Nigeria, so as to work out the framework for this volunteer scheme, which will stimulate growth and improve research and development in the sector.
23. The Federal Ministry of information and Culture should organize Quarterly or Annual Round Table, where industry players and the intelligentsia can engage each other on issues that are critical to the development of the sector.
24. Abuja, as the nation’s capital, is overdue for a befitting National Theatre and a National Museum. These are vital national monuments visitors and tourists visit on arrival at any capital city.
25. The development of sustainable culture and tourism is complex, intricate and varied. Consequently, there is the need to put in place workable Public Private Partnership (PPP) strategies. Government needs to create the enabling environment, e.g., critical infrastructure and appropriate legislation for private sector participation. Moreover, the incentives listed in the National Tourism Policy and the Cultural Policy for Nigeria should be implemented to serve as impetus to the sector.
26. In view of difficulties encountered by prospective tourists, businessmen, conference participants, pilgrims, travellers in acquiring Nigerian visa, there is need for a more friendly visa regime.
27. In recognition of the strategic role of security to sustainable tourism development, effort must be re-doubled to provide the much-needed confidence for tourists and travellers visiting Nigeria.
28. As the driver of culture and tourism the world over, the private sector should leverage on the government’s incentives and take full advantage to accelerate development in the sector. To do this, the private sector should be more involved in policy advocacy, campaign and sensitization programmes, even at international fora.
29. The reviewed National Policy on Culture, Tourism Master Plan, Tourism Development of Fund (TDF) and the National Endowment Fund for the Arts are long overdue. Action must therefore be taken to establish and make them functional for effective development of the sector.
30. The Presidential Council on Tourism (PCT), chaired by Mr. President with all the State Governors as members, should be resuscitated. This is to ginger accelerated development of culture and tourism in the country.
31. Effective tourism development requires rebranding, and a “National Carrier” to market the country’s cultural products and generate revenue. In this regard, government needs to put in place all the necessary machinery to ensure that Nigeria has a National Carrier to be managed under a “PPP” arrangement.
32. As it is the practice in notable tourism destinations in the world, man-made culture and tourism assets, such as, amusement parks and other creative wonders should be encouraged within the cities so that tourists can enjoy existing superstructures, such as, hotels and allied tourism-related facilities in the cities.
33. There is the need for Nigeria’s core values to be reintroduced into the school curriculum. In this regard, the teaching of history and the inclusion of relevant cultural components in the curricula of education in Nigeria at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels must be enforced. In addition, the teaching of Nigerian indigenous languages should be given priority and harmonized ‘Cultural Days’ should be introduced and made compulsory in our schools.
34. Nigeria has a rich cultural heritage; but over the years, the country seems to have lost the tenets of cultural values, integrity, sincerity and moral uprightness. In order to address the situation, there is need for cultural rebirth that will reposition Nigeria as a domain of moral sanctity and light not only for the African continent but for the global community.
35. The culture of ‘African Time’, which has pervaded our psyche should be done away with and replaced with a conscious time management attitude to promote national development.
36. For maximum efficiency, all relevant agencies in the sector must be aligned. In this regard, there is need to transfer the Nigerian Copyright Commission from the Federal Ministry of Justice to the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture.
37. The current name of the Ministry does not properly portray Nigeria, as a country where culture and tourism is at the front burner of development. The Ministry should be renamed, “Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism”, to adequately reflect its mandate.