Two years ago, on 23 October 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria took a decision that, in my considered professional judgment, represented a serious institutional setback for the development of the country’s tourism industry.
The standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism, established barely fourteen months earlier, was abolished. Its pioneer Minister, Mrs Lola Ade-John, was relieved of her appointment, while tourism was absorbed into the enlarged Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
To some, it was an ordinary administrative restructuring. To others, particularly those who had opposed Lola Ade-John’s appointment and questioned her stewardship, it was an occasion for celebration.
I did not celebrate.
I wrote an article defending the former minister, acknowledging the enormous difficulties she encountered while attempting to establish a new ministry without the institutional structures, financial resources and administrative support necessary for effective operation.
But my concern extended beyond Lola Ade-John.
It was about the future of an industry that had struggled for decades to secure the institutional recognition required to transform Nigeria’s abundant tourism resources into a productive economic sector.
Today, exactly two years after that decision, I return to the subject with an even greater concern.
Nigerian tourism is groping in the dark.
Not because the country lacks attractions. Not because Nigerians are incapable of developing tourism. And certainly not because there are no individuals, state governments or private investors making commendable efforts.
Rather, the industry continues to operate without a sufficiently coherent, adequately funded and demonstrably implemented national tourism development framework.
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There is no clearly established, operational National Tourism Policy directing the industry. There is no visibly implemented National Tourism Development Master Plan guiding investment and destination development on a sustained national scale.
Strategic funding remains inadequate, while federal tourism interventions have yet to demonstrate the scale of destination development that Nigeria requires.
What remains conspicuous is the familiar cycle of conferences, seminars, workshops, stakeholder engagements, committee inaugurations and declarations of intentions.
These activities have their place.
But they cannot substitute for tourism development.
A country cannot develop its tourism industry through seminars alone.
The Mistake of Abolishing the Standalone Tourism Ministry
The creation of a standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism in August 2023 was an important institutional recognition of tourism as an economic sector deserving specialised government attention.
For the first time under that arrangement, tourism possessed a distinct ministerial platform through which national policy, destination development, investment mobilisation, marketing and intergovernmental coordination could be pursued.
The decision to abolish that structure in October 2024 interrupted an opportunity to build an enduring institution.
I recognise that governments have legitimate reasons for restructuring ministries. Administrative efficiency, coordination and expenditure management are important considerations.
However, administrative convenience should never override the developmental requirements of a major economic sector.
Tourism and culture are related, but they are not synonymous.
Culture is an important component of tourism, just as music, film, festivals and other creative expressions contribute to visitor experiences.
But tourism is considerably broader.
It encompasses aviation, transportation, hospitality, medical travel, religious journeys, educational travel, business events, sports, agro-tourism, nature-based recreation, heritage conservation, destination infrastructure and investment development.
It requires coordination among numerous federal ministries, state governments, local authorities, private enterprises and host communities.
Reducing tourism to a component of an enlarged cultural and creative-economy portfolio risks obscuring its wider economic responsibilities.
Tourism is not merely an expression of culture. It is an economic development industry that requires its own institutional identity, specialised leadership and dedicated investment framework.
I therefore maintain that Nigeria cannot achieve the level of tourism development it requires without restoring a standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism.
This is not an argument for creating another political office.
It is an argument for establishing a properly structured, professionally managed and adequately funded national institution with direct responsibility for tourism development.
A ministry alone will not guarantee success. But a dedicated ministry, supported by enforceable policy, capital funding and measurable targets, would provide the institutional foundation that the industry presently lacks.
Where Is Nigeria’s Operational National Tourism Policy?
A major weakness of Nigeria’s tourism administration remains the uncertainty surrounding the practical implementation of a contemporary national tourism policy.
In April 2024, Lola Ade-John inaugurated a committee to review the National Tourism and Hospitality Policy and the Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan.
It was a significant initiative.
The existing policy framework required updating to reflect developments in sustainable tourism, technology, destination management, investment, public-private partnerships and international competitiveness.
Following the merger of the ministries, the policy review process continued, including stakeholder validation activities.
But where is the result?
Where is the formally adopted, publicly accessible and operational National Tourism Policy?
What implementation framework has been established?
Which institutions are responsible for delivering its objectives?
What financial provisions support its execution?
What measurable outcomes have emerged?
These are not questions intended to disparage government officials.
They are fundamental questions of public accountability.
A policy that exists only as a committee report, a validated draft or a conference document cannot effectively direct national development.
Nigeria requires an operational tourism policy that defines responsibilities, establishes priorities, attracts investment and coordinates tourism activities across the federation.
Until such a framework is demonstrably implemented, the industry will continue to suffer from fragmented initiatives and inconsistent direction.
The Missing National Tourism Development Master Plan
Closely connected to the policy problem is the absence of a clearly implemented and adequately financed National Tourism Development Master Plan.
No serious tourism economy can be built through isolated projects and spontaneous activities.
Tourism development requires long-term planning.
A national master plan should identify priority tourism zones, assess destination potential, determine infrastructure requirements, establish investment opportunities and create linkages among attractions, transportation systems, accommodation facilities and local enterprises.
It should provide a realistic framework for developing tourism circuits across the six geopolitical zones.
It should also establish clear criteria for federal intervention and partnerships with states and private investors.
Nigeria has discussed tourism master planning for many years.
Yet the industry still lacks visible evidence of a sustained, nationwide implementation programme commensurate with the country’s tourism potential.
This is unacceptable for a country that consistently identifies tourism as an instrument of economic diversification.
Tourism attractions do not automatically become tourism destinations.
A waterfall without access infrastructure, safety arrangements, visitor facilities and professional management remains an undeveloped resource.
A historical monument without conservation, interpretation and visitor services cannot realise its full tourism value.
A festival without visitor packaging, accommodation linkages, transportation planning and expenditure measurement may generate excitement without producing substantial or lasting economic benefits.
These are basic principles of destination development.
Nigeria must move beyond identifying tourism assets to developing tourism products, creating visitor experiences, attracting tourist traffic and converting that traffic into expenditure, employment and revenue.
That transformation requires a master plan.
Not merely a document bearing that title, but an operational instrument supported by funding, implementation schedules and measurable targets.
Strategic Funding: The Foundation That Is Missing
Tourism development is capital-intensive.
It requires investment in destination infrastructure, access roads, visitor facilities, environmental management, security systems, hospitality standards, professional training, digital platforms and destination marketing.
Yet Nigeria has continued to discuss tourism’s economic potential without establishing a sufficiently visible and sustained financing architecture for its development.
Where is the national tourism development investment programme?
Where is the dedicated funding mechanism for priority destinations?
What proportion of federal tourism expenditure is directed towards capital development rather than recurrent administration and promotional activities?
How much private investment has been mobilised through structured tourism development partnerships?
What are the measurable returns?
These questions deserve clear answers.
A strategic tourism development fund, supported by transparent investment criteria and a multi-year capital programme, should form part of Nigeria’s tourism reform agenda.
Government cannot continue to expect meaningful tourism growth while treating destination development as an incidental expenditure.
Investment must be deliberate, predictable and tied to commercially viable projects.
Tourism cannot flourish on enthusiasm alone.
Two Years of Seminars, Conferences and Discussions: Where Are the Results?
I acknowledge that some activities have taken place within the federal tourism portfolio since October 2024.
There have been stakeholder consultations, policy engagements, investment discussions and initiatives intended to strengthen tourism planning and information systems.
These activities should not be dismissed simply because they have not yet produced all the desired outcomes.
However, they must be subjected to a more important test.
What have they delivered?
How many priority tourism destinations have been substantially developed through coordinated federal intervention?
How many investment-ready tourism products have been created?
How many tourism enterprises have received structured financial support?
How many sustainable jobs have emerged from federal tourism development programmes?
What measurable improvement has occurred in tourist arrivals, length of stay, visitor expenditure and tourism-generated revenue?
Where is the national performance report that provides these answers?
A serious tourism economy must be measured by results.
It cannot be assessed primarily through the number of conferences attended, speeches delivered, exhibitions organised or committees inaugurated.
There is nothing inherently wrong with seminars.
Indeed, professional dialogue, research and stakeholder engagement are necessary components of effective tourism planning.
But discussion is a means to an end.
It is not the end itself.
Nigeria cannot continue to substitute talk for development, ceremonies for implementation and promotional activities for economic results.
The country must begin measuring tourism by developed destinations, actual investment, visitor expenditure, employment generation and contributions to local and national prosperity.
Where Are the Developed Tourism Sites?
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of the need for a different national approach is the condition of many tourism attractions across the country.
Nigeria possesses extraordinary natural, historical and cultural resources.
From waterfalls and mountains to ancient settlements, sacred landscapes, museums, monuments, festivals and ecological reserves, the country has an impressive foundation for tourism development.
Yet many of these assets remain insufficiently developed, poorly connected to markets or inadequately supported by visitor infrastructure.
A national tourism development strategy should be visible in the destinations themselves.
It should produce accessible attractions, professionally managed visitor facilities, commercially viable tourism circuits, trained personnel and investment opportunities for surrounding communities.
It should create linkages between tourism and agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, technology, hospitality and other sectors.
This is how tourism generates economic value.
The economic impact of tourism is not determined by the number of times an attraction is mentioned in a government speech.
It is determined by the visitors it attracts, the experiences it offers, the expenditure it generates and the enterprises it sustains.
A developed tourism destination provides opportunities for hotel operators, transporters, guides, farmers, artisans, food vendors, entertainment providers and other businesses.
That is the economic transformation Nigeria should be pursuing.
The Nigeria Tourism Development Authority and the Need for Institutional Coordination
The Nigeria Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) must also occupy a clearly defined position within any serious national tourism development framework.
The Authority should operate within a coherent institutional arrangement that connects national policy, destination promotion, investment facilitation, industry standards and tourism development priorities.
Its responsibilities must be properly coordinated with those of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), state tourism institutions and other relevant agencies.
Institutional duplication, unclear responsibilities and fragmented programmes should give way to professional coordination and measurable performance.
A restored standalone Ministry of Tourism should provide the policy leadership and intergovernmental coordination necessary to make these institutions more effective.
It should also establish a functional national tourism data and economic measurement system.
Without reliable statistics on arrivals, expenditure, accommodation performance, employment and investment, tourism planning will remain vulnerable to assumptions and exaggerated claims.
President Tinubu Must Reconsider the Institutional Arrangement
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has consistently presented economic diversification, investment attraction and employment generation as important objectives of his administration.
Tourism has the potential to contribute to these objectives.
However, that potential cannot be realised through administrative arrangements that leave the industry without sufficiently focused leadership and development financing.
I respectfully urge the President to reconsider the decision of October 2024.
Nigeria needs the restoration of a standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism, but the restoration must be accompanied by substantive institutional reform.
The ministry should have a clearly defined mandate, professional personnel, a dedicated capital budget and performance targets.
Its immediate responsibilities should include the adoption and implementation of a contemporary National Tourism Policy, the establishment of an operational Tourism Development Master Plan, strategic tourism financing and the commencement of a coordinated national destination development programme.
It should also institutionalise collaboration among the Federal Government, state governments, local communities and private investors.
The President should consider establishing a high-level tourism development coordination mechanism to address the infrastructure, aviation, transportation, security and investment requirements that extend beyond the jurisdiction of a single ministry.
Such reforms would give tourism the institutional attention required to function as a productive economic sector.
Beyond Lola Ade-John: The Future of Nigerian Tourism
Two years ago, I defended Lola Ade-John when she was removed as Minister of Tourism.
I acknowledged her determination to establish a new ministry under difficult circumstances and commended her efforts to initiate policy reform and stakeholder engagement.
Today, my concern is no longer about her removal.
It is about the institutional future of Nigerian tourism.
Ministers are temporary custodians of public responsibility.
Institutions must endure.
Policies must survive cabinet reshuffles.
Development programmes must continue beyond individual appointments.
And national economic priorities must not be repeatedly disrupted by changes in administrative structure.
The question before Nigeria is therefore larger than Lola Ade-John or any minister who may subsequently occupy the tourism portfolio.
It concerns the country’s willingness to give tourism the seriousness, funding, professional leadership and institutional continuity necessary for sustainable development.
Two years after the abolition of the standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism, Nigeria has yet to demonstrate the comprehensive national tourism development system that its enormous resources demand.
The country continues to celebrate its potential while the machinery required to convert that potential into measurable economic prosperity remains inadequate.
President Tinubu, Nigerian tourism is groping in the dark.
It needs a clearly defined institutional direction.
It needs a standalone Federal Ministry of Tourism.
It needs an operational National Tourism Policy.
It needs a funded and implementable National Tourism Development Master Plan.
It needs strategic investment in destination infrastructure.
It needs developed tourism sites, functional tourism circuits and professionally managed visitor experiences.
And above all, it needs measurable economic results.
Nigeria cannot continue to hold conferences about tourism while the destinations that should generate employment and revenue remain inadequately developed.
We cannot continue to discuss tourism’s potential without committing the resources required to realise it.
Tourism development is not a seminar.
It is not a communiqué.
It is not an exhibition.
It is the deliberate conversion of national assets into commercially viable destinations, visitor experiences, enterprises, employment and revenue.
That is the tourism economy Nigeria must build.
And that is why I remain convinced that, without a properly structured, adequately funded and operationally independent Federal Ministry of Tourism, the country’s tourism industry will continue to struggle for the national attention and coordinated development it deserves.
Two years are enough to recognise the institutional gaps.
The time has come to restore direction, rebuild the system and develop Nigerian tourism as a serious economic industry.
Wale Ojo-Lanre, Esq.
Lawyer | Tourism Destination Developer | Tourism Journalist | Cultural Ambassador | Former Director-General, Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development
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