Creative Industry

Afe Babalola calls for a legal framework for tourism in Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

May 28, 2021

Joel Ajayi

A legal legend and founder, Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has called for the drafting of a robust and strong legal framework for the enhancement of the tourism sector in Nigeria.

Aare Afe Babalola made this call while receiving the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Ekiti _ State on Tourism Development, Mr Wale Ojo – Lanre and Team Ekiti Tourism Development, in his White Rock Office, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti , after a tour of the Afe Babalola University campus, the Multi-System Hospital, the Planetarium and ABUAD Farms all within the ambit of Afe Babalola University, Ado – Ekiti.

Aare Afe Babalola who commended Dr Kayode Fayemi ‘s tourism vision exposed why Nigeria has not been reaping bountifully from tourism.

“We have a country which is overwhelmingly blessed with viable and humongous tourism wonders most in their pristine form. We have intelligent, resourceful and vibrant tourism practitioners and stakeholders who are frenetically strengthening themselves out to eke something from the tourism offerings.

“We have a world that is ready to explore Nigeria. But regrettably, we have a set of weak legislation and laws which were crafted when the tourism sector was in an analogue era”

He disclosed that “ One of the impediments truncating the phenomenal transition of Nigeria into a viable tourism economy is the lack of a robust and strong legal framework which is the necessary jelly for the lubrication of a vibrant tourism economy and business in Nigeria”

He called on the public and private sectors tourism practitioners in Nigeria to synergize efforts at ensuring the enactment of a purposeful and vision-driven legal framework pointing out that the tourism sector is at present an unregulated and uncoordinated sector that revels in archaic and obsolete legal contents which bear no relevance of appropriateness in the face of contemporary developments.

Ambassador Ojo –Lanre in his remark disclosed that his mission to ABUAD was in furtherance of Dr John Kayode Fayemi’s tourism policy of enhancement of tourism potentialities of Ekiti State.

He described Aare Afe Babalola as an asset of inestimable value to Ekiti State not just only because he planted an international trans-generational academic enclave in Ado Ekiti but has also created it in Ado – Ekiti a global tourism destination capable of attracting millions of tourists to Ekiti State.

Ambassador Ojo – Lanre pointed out that “Here within the canopy of Afe Babalola University one can enjoy the luxury of an Educ-tour by feeding one’s eyes with the beauty of a truly conducive academic environment, embarking on agro-tourism sightseeing of a large expanse of well-mechanized farmland of varieties of crops, poultry and animal husbandry with allied industries processing them to finish products, take an expedition on medical tourism to one of the most equipped medical complexes in Africa and finally take a trip from the Earth and explore the space at the biggest and largest Planetarium in West – Africa.

He pointed out that the totality of Aare Afe Babalola as a person and accomplishments is tourism itself for those who want to take a tour of a life that survived in the middle of hopeless deprivation and rose from grass to grace of fortune and opulence.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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