Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle); Secretary General of the D-8, Mr. Dato’ Ku Jafafar Ku Shaari (second right); Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Deaconess Grace Isu-Gekpe (extreme right) and other members of the D-8 when the Secretary General paid a courtesy visit to the minister in Abuja on Tuesday.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, has said the present administration's efforts at improving
security and upgrading infrastructure is a deliberate policy to
promote tourism in Nigeria.
The Minister, who stated this when he received the
Secretary-General of the D-8, Mr. Dato’ Ku Jafafar Ku Shaari, on a
courtesy visit to his office in Abuja on Tuesday, noted that without
the provision of security and critical infrastructure, tourism
development will remain a mirage.
“Without
peace and security, the best tourist attractions will be inaccessible
to anybody. As a matter of fact, without peace and security and
stability, travel advisories will actually discourage or even
prohibit tourists from coming into those areas and the people don’t
invest really in the areas where there is instability or insecurity.
That is why the government has made it a cardinal principle to
address the issue of insecurity in the country,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said in spite of the recent setbacks in
the fight against insurgency in the country, the government has
succeeded in banishing Boko Haram to the fringes of Lake Chad, from
where they carry out cowardly attacks.
He said before the advent of the Buhari Administration,
a large chunk of Nigeria’s territory, including 20 out of the 27
Local Government Areas in Borno State, was under the effective
control of Boko Haram.
The Minister also said before the Administration assumed
office, Boko Haram could stroll into the Federal Capital Territory to
carry out deadly attacks, but that the reverse is the case now.
“Today
after three years, we have had no single incident of any insurgency
in Abuja or its environs,'' he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said President Buhari has succeeded in
mobilizing regional support to ensure the comprehensive defeat of
Boko Haram in the Sahel Region.
On the provision of infrastructure, he said the
Administration has invested N2.7 trillion in infrastructure within
two years.
“Your
Excellency, you cannot have tourism without infrastructure. There
must be roads, airports, power. Without these things, you can’t
even access the tourist attractions and it’s on record that this
government has in the last two years - 2016-2017 - invested massively
in infrastructure,” he said.
He assured that Nigeria is poised to take advantage of
its membership of the D-8 to advance its tourism sector.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General of D-8 said he and
his team were in the ministry to secure the input of the government
towards the development of a strategic vision on how member countries
can share experiences and knowledge on tourism.
“The
purpose of our visit today to the ministry is to learn from the
government and the ministry in all the activities in respect of
culture and tourism and where we can connect as an organisation,”
he said.
He commended the Nigerian government for its efforts
towards the development of tourism, especially the provision of
security and critical infrastructure as well as the introduction of
Visa On Arrival for tourists.
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