Chief Sam Alabi, Board of Trustee Chairman, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) on Friday lamented the under-utilisation of the Kainji National Park situated in New Bussa.
Alabi urged the Federal Government to wade into this as the nation’s national parks were capable of generating huge revenue for government and the masses generally.
Alabi made the call during the 10th edition of Naija Seven Wonders webinar session with the theme: ” Where to Visit in Nigeria: Issues of Access and Security”.
This was organised by Mr Ikechi Uko, organiser of AKWAABA Africa Travel and Tourism Market to expose the nation’s tourism potential to the public.
Alabi said that the road network to the Kainji National Park is in dilapidated state which is a huge discouraging factor for tourists to visit.
He said that the Kainji National park along with others in the country lacked basic infrastructures to keep it running to attract tourists and compete favourably with those in the other safari climes.
According to him, there ought to be tracking devises to trace animals, veterinary clinics, well furnished hotels within the parks, walking-talking gadgets for effective communication among staff and more.
He, however, suggested that Government give grants to private management companies to oversee the management of the parks who would be paid some commission based on the percentage of tourists they can generate annually.
He said FG should consider importation of wildlife into the parks due to the huge number of wildlife lost to poaching activities.
“Our National parks hold the key to future tourism development if properly managed and run like those in other safari countries, like Namibia, Kenya and all. ”
He said that recent animal census revealed that wildlife is decreasing by the day due to the activities of poachers, no good number of employees to run the parks as they are short staffed.
“There are whole lot of challenges accessing Kainji National Park, no befitting hotels in each of our parks, these are absurdities and solutions must be proffered to these problems to ameliorate those shortcomings in the interest of the nation.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Kainji National Park is a national park in between Niger and Kwara states, established in 1978 and covering an area of about 5,341km².
Also Uko urged the federal government to focus on proper management of the National parks and take advantage of other tourists’ attraction around the Kainji National Park to fully spur tourism activities within that environ.
He said that there was a study that revealed that the use of land for tourism investment had more returns on Investment than agriculture.
The national parks in South Africa generates more money than land use for agriculture, the same with other places in the world, we need to develop and manage this space,” he said.
Uko commended 10 states in the country which had taken tourism development seriously, these were: Oyo, Osun, Kebbi, Enugu, Plateau, Lagos, Cross River, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom and Rivers states.
He urged other states to take a cue from the states and ensure that they contribute to tourism development in Nigeria.
Mr Omololu Olumuyiwa, President, Association of Nigerian Journalists and Writers of Tourism (ANJET) urged Oyo State Government to build an ultra modern resort around the Eleyele River in Ibadan to further attract tourists.
He said that the river had been an amazing tourism site which is unknown to most fun seekers, including the Agodi garden where people can enjoy horse riding and all forms of fun. ”
The National Museum of Unity is also a place to be, it has four sessions named: Yoruba, Aso-Ofi, Masquerade and Pottery sessions.
This is a place where people can acquire education on the various masquerades in Oyo state, different Aso-Ofi and etc.
Activities going on at the Eleyele River like boat regatta, swimming, fishing and all that have changed the negative impression held by Ibadan residents about rivers.
“So Oyo state government must work on creating some other interesting activities around the river to attract more tourists there,” he said.
