CROSS RIVER STATE TOURISM: THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

The world over, tourism activities had dwindled due to inflation and failure in economies. This generally affected citizens’ engagement in recreational activities. Recreation and entertainment sector accounts for 24% of tourism jobs, and 24% of forecast new job openings.

A key component of the tourism industry is attractions, which offers visitors a chance to explore the sights, facilities and wonders of their destination, to learn more about the people and their culture. This has been the mainstay of the economy of Cross River State, Africa’s preferred tourism destination located in Nigeria.

I woke up to a lengthy video by travel and lifestyle Vlogger, Steven Ndukwu titled ‘Inside the Abandoned Nigeria Tourism City of Nigeria, Cross River State’.

In the video, which I prefer to refer to as ‘The Good, The Bad & The Ugly’, Steven made a crude effort to express his displeasure with the state of tourism infrastructure in Cross River State. The good.

The bad however, is that the video is filled with concurted lies with the intent of misinforming and misleading the public.To state the obvious, Steven’s video was out to rundown the state brand and I will use the following paragraphs to clarify and unravel his claims.

In as much as one will be insensitive not to acknowledge not-too-good status quo of tourism infrastructure in the state, it is also important to set the records straight for records and history sake and for the undecerning public, who may be left with no choice but to believe Steven’s story.

Yes. Things are not as good as it used to be, but they are not as bad as he sounded. Even his beautiful pictures show the serenity of the paradise, except for the dirt which littered and has been cleared.

Matters Arising: On Obudu Mountain Resort

The Obudu Mountain Resort is functional. Read again, functional. The question is, when did Steven visit the ranch, before the video which surfaced on YouTube on Sunday, May 22, 2022.

Whereas, investigation reveals that just last weekend (May 19 – 22, 2022) tourists from across Nigeria, led by Enugu based O2 Travels & Tours spent a weekend of fun at the Obudu Mountain Resort, with beautiful photos shared on their instagram page as testimonials.

As confirmed by the staff in Steven’s video, the cable car is working, but simply not put to use because many out of the few visitors are not interested in taking a ride. ‘It is cleaned when the governor visits’ means nothing more than preparation, incase the governor decides to take a cable car ride.

On Marina Resort

Tourism is not a sole responsibility of government, destinations around the world that have succeeded have been based on PPP (Public-Private Partnership).

The same formular the state employed sometime ago which had Mgus take over the management of the Cinema at Marina Resort. However, the partners have neglected their investment pre/post covid, leaving the state government with no option but to wait for the contract to elapse before taking further actions.

It will interest you to know that it will require events for destinations to pick up again and enjoy visits in Post-Covid, hence the need to host a world class concert ‘LOVE IS MADE IN CALABAR’ held at Calas Vegas Beach (across Marina Resort) during Valentine in February, the state government invited top Nigerian artistes to perform at a star studded event and made history with the unveiling of the first ever amphibious vehicle in purchased by a state government.

On Calabar Carnival

If there is any administration after Governor Donald Duke that has made innovative additions to the Calabar Carnival brand, it is that of  Senator Prof. Ben Ayade, those who know him know his penchant for quality entertainment. Also, Calabar Carnival has not been held for 2 consecutive years due to COVID-19, plans were already on ground for the 2020 edition before the announcement of Lockdown. Before that, Governor Ayade had spiced up the carnival with unique themes, introduction of the International Carnival, which attracts up to 40 countries to Calabar, the Bikers Parade, Miss Africa pageant and other elements to further enrich the concept and attract more participation.

On Tinapa Business Resort

Alot has been said about the multi-billion dollar Tinapa Business & Leisure Resort, the state government had through the Ministry of Culture & Tourism commenced the process of renovation of the edifice, before the outbreak of End Sars protest in 2020, which had citizens destroy and loot the facilities in the resort. End Sars story is not a good one to remember right now, as the country, precisely a state like Cross River is yet to fully recover from the damages done. A closer look at the Monorail shows the broken windshield which was probably hit by a stone.

The Ugly

All over the world, destinations and tourism as a whole have experienced a decline since COVID-19 ravaged the world in 2020. The case of Cross River is not different, just that Steven is only seeing the cup as half empty, instead of half full.

Take a second look at the video, you see a bias and in all, I think he and his sponsors have done well to put Cross River in the spot light. More of that is needed to torchlight the efforts made to reposition the state.

Sadly, the man at the helms of affairs at the Ministry of Culture & Tourism who has made visible impact is the one wrongly portrayed in the video. That is an uncalculated attempt to tarnish the hard earned reputation of the Nollywood actor and Cross River State Commissioner for Culture & Tourism, Mr Eric Anderson.

Name calling is very risky in reportage, research and investigation is necessary to avoid falling prey of litigation, that is why journalists use the word ‘alleged’. Contrary to what is alleged in the video, Eric Anderson is not Special Assistant to Governor on Tourism as misrepresented, he was until September 27, 2017. Steven has wrongly placed his name and photo in the ill conceived documentary ‘as the person who receives the proceeds from the Obudu Mountain Resort’. You know what that means…

I think that Steven owes Eric an unreserved apology, not only for the false accusation, but for not doing his investigation enough to highlight the strides of the state tourism organ and to confirm the facts stated above. On a lighter note, he may have to share the proceeds from the views the video will garner on YouTube, which of cause seems like Steven’s ulterior motive, to cash out from the state using the viewership of the innocent citizens and potential visitors.

 

Nelson NseAbasi is a Media Practitioner, Talent Manager & Tourism Enthusiast

 

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