The Federal Government on Thursday debunked recent negative reports by the U.S.government about the safety of citizens in at least 20 of the 36 states of the federation.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said in Abuja when he received a delegation from the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria that contrary to recent statements by the U.S. government, every state in the country was safe.
The minister said that the advisory published by the U.S. Embassy declaring 20 Nigerian states โunsafe and complete no go areaโ as incorrect.
Urging the media to desist from propagating negative reports about the country, Mr. Mohammed said such practice would discourage investors and counter-productive to the countryโs tourism growth.
โWe are in Nigeria. How can we believe the claim that 20 states in Nigeria are not safe? That is not correct. There is no state in Nigeria that is not safe todayโ, the minister said.
โIs there any week they are not killing people in the U.S., by either shooting in schools or driveways or people committing suicide or mass bombing? How many of these stories do their media celebrate? If they want to tell their people not to come to Nigeria, it is not for us to help them propagate itโ, he said.
The minister urged the media and members of the association to complement efforts of government to reposition the tourism sector, pointing out that tourism was driven by perception, rather than reality, while every Nigerian must invest in perception management for the country.
The minister also urged leaders in the public and private sectors to help promote local tourism by spending their vacations and holidays at tourist sites within the country.
He said that the ministry would soon embark on visitation of major tourism sites in the country to assess their potentials for development.
The National President of the association, Kabir Malan, who led the delegation, commended the minister for his efforts at repositioning the tourism sector.
He called for the review and implementation of the Tourism National Plan as well as the enactment of laws that would guide the operation of tourism practitioners.
Mr. Malan also urged the government to encourage investors to set up tourist camps across the country and make loans accessible to them. (NAN)
