Interview: How President Buhari's administration is killing tourism industry in Nigeria

Interview: How President Buhari's administration is killing tourism industry in Nigeria

Mr. Blessing Efurhieme is the Manager of Imperial Gamesville, a tourism centre situated in Asaba, the Delta state capital. In this interview with Austin Oyibode of Legit.ng, he speaks on tourism as a national revenue generator but is being neglected by the federal government of Nigeria. For him, the government of Nigeria has not done too well, especially the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Following the poor attitude of the federal government to the development of tourism in the country, he said Imperial Gamesville was developed to boost tourism and help Nigerians relax and unwind at the end of the hustle and bustle of the day’s work. He said Imperial gamesville will take-over the tourism industry in Nigeria, beating games centres in Lagos and Abuja, the two major centres in Nigeria.

Excerpts:

Looking at the Nigerian tourism industry, how do you see it, is there any hope for it in this present dispensation?

As it is right now, the government is not actually doing anything about it. Nigeria is not there yet. Nigeria is still way backward on that. If you look at Dubai right now, that city has taken only about 17 years to get to the level it is. It’s not up to 20 nor 30 years. Nigeria is almost 60 years as a nation but it has not gone anywhere.

That city has achieved so much in a short time. Aside the oil they have, they make their money from tourism. Tourism is the main thing that gives them money. People from all parts of the world who really want to relax, they go to Dubai. So, they have so much promoted tourism over there but here in Nigeria, it’s not so. We are hoping that the government will learn from what is happening there and replicate such in Nigeria.

How President Buhari's administration is killing tourism industry in Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari and Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture. Lai Mohammed's ministry is responsible for initiating programs on tourism development in Nigeria

Are you saying that tourism is a big business?

Yes, tourism is a big business. Dubai was built through tourism, so what are we talking about. It is a very big business. Do you know how much Obudu cattle ranch is generating? They are generating a lot of money from it. People from different parts of the country go there to relax, Nigerians go there for holidays. Foreigners go there for holidays. The place is fantastic. Places like that in Nigeria will take the country far. It will go way beyond the level it is now.

Now, what do you think are the obstacles against the development of tourism in Nigeria?

Well, we know the problem we have in this country, it is nothing other than the leaders we have in this country. They have not actually seen it as an area of revenue generation. If they have, they will invest more in that area.

But only very people have spoken about it. And in one way or the other, they have shut them down. If the government can actually look at that area, put in the best, Nigeria will be a hub for tourism.

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If I get you clear, are you saying Nigerian leaders are killing tourism through their actions?

Yes, they are. They are not doing anything in that direction. They are not looking at it at all. In fact the present administration is not even concern about it. I have not read any paper where the federal government is saying anything about tourism. You may have seen but me, I haven’t seen.

The only thing we hear about is fight against corruption, that is the only thing we hear of. It is either they arrest this today or that one brought money tomorrow. I have not heard anything about tourism since this government came on board. That industry is gradually dying and nobody is talking about it.

So, how do you advise government on how to strengthen tourism in Nigeria?

Well, the government has to first all see the light in it. If they don’t see it as something that will generate revenue for the nation, they won’t go into it. So, they have to see the revenue generating potentials in it before going into it.

My advice is that they should look at other countries that have invested in tourism and see if it actually helped their economy to grow or if it killed their economy. Because if it is encouraged in Nigeria, we will have more investors come into the country. The government should look into it, it will help Nigeria to grow.

Interview: How President Buhari's administration is killing tourism industry in Nigeria
Minister of Information Lai Mohammed under whose office lies culture and tourism development and Manager of Imperial Gamesville, Blessing Efurhieme

Now, in what way will this Imperial Gamesville contribute to the national economy?

Imperial Gamesville is a centre of tourism and being as such, it will contribute to building the national tourism industry. There are people who will come to Asaba for business, they will want to relax and have fun. Instead of going back to their destinations, they may decide to stay longer than the period they had planned to stay. We believe that if you have this type of place in different parts of the country, it will help in boosting tourism and by so doing add to the national economy.

When our boss went to Dubai, he loved what they have there, that was what actually prompted imperial gamesville. He saw so many places for relaxation. When you have places to have fun, it helps you to relax your body and unwind. When you know there are places of relaxation after the day’s hustle and bustle, it will make you to travel to those places and have fun.

What are the tourism attractions in this Imperial Gamesville?

Like you have seen, it’s a place where you have variety of games which you can’t find in many parts of the country. Here, people come and enjoy themselves. Tourism is sight-seeing, going to places and seeing things that are unusual is tourism.

Places like Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross River state is a place people go for tourism, not just to sleep but for fun. After you’ve lodged in your hotel, you come out, climb trees, hills and enjoy the environment. Obudu might not be similar to what we have but in a way, all are geared towards building a fun loving environment.

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It’s the same thing here but just that here, you just come, relax and unwind. There are physical games that will help you from the stresses you’ve had during the day and feel relaxed.

In what way do you think this games village will help Delta state?

This gamesville is the first of its kind in Asaba. I believe it will help bring more people into the town. From time to time we are going to be doing competitions that will invite people from other parts of the country to participate. With that, people will not just come, enjoy the games and go back, they will lodge in a hotel, eat, they will patronize other business in Asaba. So, in a way, we are actually bringing Asaba to light.

Are you saying this your centre is going to overtake some in the cities like Abuja and Lagos?

For now, I think it has overtaken what we have in Abuja, I don’t think there is a place like this in Abuja. The only thing we don’t have here yet is balling. We are planning to do that. We have a space for it. We are just taking our time to put things in order. We are looking at bringing roller coasters, we are looking at replicating things in Lagos here in Asaba. And we believe it will help promote Asaba as the state capital.

Interview: How President Buhari's administration is killing tourism industry in Nigeria
Blessing Efurhieme, Manager of Imperial Gamesville and a section of the games in the centre

Let’s look at electricity, it is a big challenge to businesses in Nigeria. How do you hope to cope with power challenge because as I can see this place cannot be alive without constant power supply?

Yes, we looked at that before we decided to go into the business. The kind of games we have are not the regular type. Most places where you go and you see games like this especially in Lagos, they use coin. But we have implemented the latest technology which is card. You get the card, swipe on any of the card readers and it gives you access to the games.

That technology is not in Lagos, not in Abuja as big as those places are. Because of that, the games cannot go off. The sun has a lot of potentials that people are not harnessing, we decided to go for solar system. For the solar system, we have the battery, we have 10kV inverter that powers all these games, so if the light goes off, the games are still on, they won’t go off.

So, even at night, our games are still on, they don’t go off. We have steady power supply. We are independent of the general electricity supply. The challenge of power outside the city has no effect on us. We thought about it and we’ve dealt with. If the light goes off right now, everything will still be working fine.

In a nutshell, what is Imperial Gamesville all about?

Imperial Gamesville is a brand that is coming up in Nigeria and it’s one that will take over Nigeria in time to come. We have games that you won’t find in other places in Nigeria. The only place that can compete with us is may be Lagos. That is the only that I compare with what we have here in Asaba. But in every other part of the country, I have not seen where we have games like what we have here. I travel a lot but I have not seen any place like this.

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Imperial Gamesville is a gaming house where you come to relax. I see our games as games that can give you relaxation. That can help you free your mind from the various things that happen to you during the day time. You want to chill, unwind from the activities of the day, you can come to imperial gamesville and unwind.

We have games that can massage your body. There is a game we call after dark, it’s a shooting game. You play it as if you are trying to shoot dinosaurs, as you play the game, it vibrates, that vibration actually helps you to massage your body. We have customers come around and they have testified to this. We have the basketball game that will help you exercise your body and free your muscles.

When you are stressed up, we have games that can free you. When you want to have fun with your family, you are looking for a place, we have such things here. When you are tired of going to eateries, watching movies, and all that and you want something that will give you fun, away from what you’ve been getting before, you want to shake your body, we have things for such.

We have ballgames, we have dancing games, we have special dancing games, by the time you are done, fi your muscles in your legs are stiff, by the time you are done with the game, you will see yourself very free.

Source: Legit.ng

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