Nigeria safe for tourism says Minister - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the successful, two-week tour of cultural heritage and historic sites across the country by local and foreign bikers, under the auspices of the Latin America Motorcycles Association (LAMA), has confirmed that Nigeria is now safe for tourism and business, reports ITREALMS.

The Minister made the remarks in Abuja on Monday while bidding farewell to the foreign bikers at the end of the tour that took them to eight states covering four geo-political zones and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT).

“From the report that I have received, this tour is a great success. It is also an attestation to the fact that Nigeria is indeed a safe destination for tourists and business people alike. Yes, there are security challenges here and there - and this is not peculiar to Nigeria. But our country is safer today than it was before the advent of this Administration in 2015, thanks to the political will shown by the Administration and the commitment of our security agencies,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the bikers who crisscrossed Nigeria by road all returned to Abuja, the starting point of the tour, safe and sound and will be in a better position to tell the world the situation in the country.

“They are not armchair analysts or critics. They are practical men and women who zoomed across the country on their power bikes. No one can tell the story better than them. And the feedback we have received is overwhelmingly positive,” he said.

The Minister said the tour, which he flagged off in Abuja on 23rd of October 2018, took the bikers to Niger, Kogi, Enugu, Cross River, Rivers, Edo, Oyo and Lagos as well as the FCT.

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Why private sector needs to support creative industry – Lai Mohammed

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given reasons why the support of the private sector is utmost needed for the ongoing efforts to re-position the creative industries in the country, reports ITRealms.

In a keynote address to the Creative Industries Conference and Expo, organised by the British Council in Abuja on Tuesday, the Minister reiterated the importance of supporting this industry for the sake of contributing more to national development.

''We are calling on the private sector to partner with us to sponsor, in a more holistic manner, our arts and festivals,'' he said, stressing that his office is to name some creative centres after corporate sponsors in these areas in order to make it a win-win situation.

Mohammed also said the Ministry of Information and Culture is partnering with the British Council and the Tony Elumelu Foundation to map out the nation's creative industries and build the capacity of practitioners.

''We will work with our partners to train festival managers in order to bring them at par with their counterparts elsewhere in the world, including those who organise the popular Brazil Carnivals in Rio and Copacabana as well as the Edinburgh festivals,'' he said.

He commended the British Council for organising the conference, and noted that the timing could not have been better, ''considering that it is coming just a day before we kick-start our own National Summit on Culture and Tourism''.

''This conference will not only enrich the summit, but will play a major role in our ongoing efforts to leverage on the Culture and Tourism Sectors to further the government's economic diversification agenda,'' he said, pointing out that the Arts, Culture and Tourism sectors are among those whose potentials are being harnessed ''as we move to diversify our economy away from oil.”

'The Creative Industries alone, he said, offers incredible opportunities in terms of job creation, stability in the polity, moving millions of people out of poverty, addressing the issue of crime, stopping rural-urban migration and creating a local economy.

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Pix: Lai Mohammed

UNWTO partners Nigeria to boost tourism

ITRealms:

The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is partnering with the government of Nigeria to boost tourism in the country, says the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ITRealms reports.

Special Assistant to the Minister, Segun Adeyemi quoted his principal as saying that he met with the UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai on the sidelines of the UNWTO Commission for Africa meeting in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire on Wednesday, said the global tourism agency agreed to design a two-year Plan of Action to promote tourism in Nigeria.

He said the Secretary-General, had invited the Minister to the organisation's headquarters in Spain, to explore further this partnership with UNWTO, private sector investors and Spanish government officials.

The visit, Alhaji Mohammed said, would be followed by that of the Secretary-General to Nigeria for on-the-spot assessment of the challenges mitigating against the development of tourism in Africa's largest economy.

He quoted Mr. Rifai as saying the UNWTO is delighted to have Nigeria fully back in the fold, following the attendance of the Commission for Africa meeting in Abidjan by the Minister of Information and Culture.

''We are happy Nigeria is here. Nigeria is too significant to disconnect from UNWTO. Happily, the new government in Nigeria has a good reputation,'' the Secretary-General said.

The Minister also briefed the Secretary-General and his team on the efforts being made by the Nigerian government to ensure the security of lives and property, especially the successes recorded against Boko Haram, as well as the upgrading of infrastructure.

The UNWTO is the leading international organization in the field of tourism, promoting tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability, while providing leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies globally.

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Lai Mohammed leads delegation to IPI congress, seeks collaboration with Al Jazeera

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed is leading a Nigerian delegation to the 2016 International Press Institute (IPI) annual congress in Qatar, the United Arab Emirate (UAE), just as he makes case for special collaboration with Al Jazeera on capacity building for journalists, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at Doha, Qatar, Mohammed sought collaboration between his ministry and the Doha-based international broadcaster, Al Jazeera, in the area of capacity building for journalists in the government-owned media organizations, especially the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

This followed a request made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to Al Jazeera to collaborate with the Ministry of Information and Culture in its efforts to restructure the NTA and other publicly-funded media establishments to enhance their performance.

He said the collaboration could be in the areas of capacity building as well as exchange of programmes and personnel.

''Our plan is to reposition the public media organizations to make them effective and competitive, irrespective of which government is in power,'' Alhaji Mohammed said during a meeting with the Acting Director General of Al Jazeera, Dr. Mostafa Souag, in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday.

''For a long time, government media organizations have lost their independence and credibility. I want to restore the glory and credibility of the publicly-owned media organizations,'' he said.

The Minister also called for a 'special relationship' between Al Jazeera and the Nigerian Government in the coverage of the key policy areas of this Administration - the fight against corruption and terrorism as well as the efforts to revamp the economy.

He assured Al Jazeera that the present Administration in Nigeria ''is an extremely open government'' and that the organization would not have any problem doing its work in the country.

Responding, the Acting Director General of Al Jazeera hailed Nigeria for providing a conducive environment for the media to carry out its duties.

''Despite a lot of conflict and tension, you have managed to create a conducive environment for the media. This is very important for us in the media and we hope to see more freedom and more protection for the media,'' he said.

Dr. Souag said Al Jazeera is willing to cooperate with the ministry in the area of training, asserting, ''Our training centre is one of the most professional in every aspect of the media, We are more than happy to work with you.''

 

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Government-owned media to be globally competitive - Minister

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the present administration will do whatever it takes to ensure that government-owned media are globally competitive, reports ITRealms.

The Minister gave this assurance while receiving the laurels won by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) at the Nigerian Media Merit Award 2015, saying the situation whereby the private media is preferred to the public media is unacceptable.

“We believe that in terms of human resources, talent and equipment, even in terms of exposure, there is no reason why the publicly-funded media should not do better than any media houses in Nigeria and I am happy that you have blazed the trail by coming out to win these awards,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said despite the fact that the competition was also open to the private media, FRCN still won these four awards, describing that as an eloquent testimony that the public media could do much better.

“We are determined to improve the quality, both in terms of engineering and content of the publicly-owned media houses in a manner that they will be able to perform much better than any media houses anywhere in Africa,” he said.

While advising FRCN to consider the award as a tonic that would spur it to greater achievements, the Minister urged the organization to continue to invest in the development of compelling contents that will improve the quality of life of its audience and expand its reach.

“I think you should seize the opportunity and especially since you are a Federal Government- owned organization, you can work very harmoniously with the Meteorological Agency and you should be able to have a programme on weather, and again another area that I think you should improve your content is on climate change...which is another topical issue that will interest Nigerians.

“All I am saying is that you need to go beyond your routine programmes and open new frontiers,” he advised.

According to Alhaji Mohammed, other areas that will enrich the content of the FRCN are dedicated programmes on the youths, women, children and family affairs.

Earlier, the Acting Director General of FRCN, Mr. Michael Oluwole, said the station had made history by winning four out of the five awards in contention at the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit.
           
The FRCN won the Station of the Year, Best Presenter of the Year, Best Producer of the Year and Best Reporter of the Year awards.
 
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Lai Mohammed advises varsity dons to join anti-corruption war

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has advised university dons in the country to join the ongoing war against corruption, reports ITRealms.

He gave this advice during a courtesy visit to the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Rahamon Bello, just before he delivered a paper at the Gani Fawehenmi Students Chambers Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Symposium held at the university last Friday.

“I implore you to join the current debate on the war against corruption. Corruption is the single most debilitating factor other than insecurity in Nigeria today.  We have lost lives, we have lost an economy because of corruption,” he said.
          
Alhaji Mohammed said that by virtue of their research work and academic prowess, the lecturers are better placed to enlighten the public on the economy, governance and the polity as part of conscious efforts to further enrich the nation’s democracy.

“I think the university lecturers, the professors are really keeping quiet.  You have almost insulated yourselves from politics and governance. Today we hear a cacophony of voices about the economy, governance and the polity from people who don’t have the kind of depth and scholarship that are available in the university.

“I will like to watch a television programme and see a professor of law with specialty in corruption or terrorism. I would rather listen to him and I know that many of these professors have done seminal work on these. There must be this town and gown relationship,” he said.

The Minister commended the University of Lagos for its achievements, especially for being the first university to operate a campus radio and also for its advanced plans to establish the first campus television station, as disclosed by the Vice-Chancellor.

Earlier, while welcoming the Minister, the Vice-Chancellor said that as an alumnus of the institution, Alhaji Mohammed remained one of the main drivers of positive change in the country.

“With your pedigree, we are sure your performance in that position will be to the dignity of the University of Lagos,” he said.

ITRealms recalls that Alhaji Mohammed read law, as a second degree, at the university between 1982 and 1985.

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Pix: R-l Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Rahamon Bello with Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Lai Mohammed advocates special funding for public media for anti-terror campaign

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has advocated a special funding arrangement for public media organizations to enable them to scale up their sensitization campaign against insurgency in the North-East. 

The Minister made the call on Wednesday at the National Assembly, during an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, preparatory to the 2016 budget defence.

While responding to the sentiment expressed by a member of the Committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, on the effective utilisation of the public media in the fight against insurgency in the North- East, Alhaji Mohammed said his ministry had already mounted a robust public sensitization campaign on the insurgency, with the active participation of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, but noted that the public media needed to be retooled to enhance its ability to drive the campaign.

“I must say that FRCN, NTA and VON, they have given me their schedules, at times we get as many as 16 slots within an hour to propagate these things. But I must admit that we have constraints. The FRCN in particular does not have the reach it used to have before and this is not surprising because for years, we have neglected the maintenance of the FRCN.

“VON is even worse because when the new station was built about two years ago, we were told that we need about N600 million annually to maintain it but what did we get? N120 million when they give us anything at all. So we have been cannibalizing and trying to make the best out of a bad situation,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed disclosed that the public media organs were directed to itemize the necessary requirements needed to prosecute the public sensitization campaign against the insurgency in order for the people to take ownership of the war and be security conscious.

“Let NTA, FRCN, VON, if only for the sake of the war in the North-East, tell us what they need to be able to prosecute this war.  It’s going to be huge no doubt, but there is no way NTA, FRCN or VON will be able to meet this obligation when we have broken down transmitters and antennas,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed also stressed the crucial role of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the campaign against insurgency and value re-reorientation.

“We see the NOA as a veritable vehicle not just in the war against insurgency but on all the wars against every ill including the war against corruption. We are working on this renewed campaign, which is going to be a much improved campaign on war against indiscipline, which we have tagged “Change Begins With Me”.

''This campaign will address all ills but this time around, we are not just targeting those at the top, they would have to lead by example but it’s going to be a bottom-up kind of campaign,” he said.

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