The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has explained why the Federal Government is making security its fundamental principle.
He gave the explanation on Tuesday when he received the Secretary-General of the D-8, Mr Dato’ Ku Jafafar Ku Shaari, on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
According to the minister, the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s efforts at improving security and upgrading infrastructure is a deliberate policy to promote tourism in Nigeria.
“Without peace and security, the best tourist attractions will be inaccessible to anybody,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi.
“As a matter of fact, without peace and security and stability, travel advisories will actually discourage or even prohibit tourists from coming into those areas and the people don’t invest really in the areas where there is instability or insecurity.
“That is why the government has made it a cardinal principle to address the issue of insecurity in the country,” the minister added.
He insisted that despite the recent setbacks in the fight against insurgency in the country, the government has succeeded in banishing Boko Haram terrorists to the fringes of Lake Chad.
Mr Mohammed noted that before the inception of the Buhari administration, 20 out of the 27 Local Government Areas in Borno State were under the control of the insurgents.
He also claimed that the insurgents could stroll into the Federal Capital Territory to carry out deadly attacks before the present administration, stressing that the case was not like before.
“Today after three years, we have had no single incident of any insurgency in Abuja or its environs,” the minister told Mr Shaari.
He added that President Buhari has succeeded in mobilising regional support to ensure the comprehensive defeat of the insurgents in the Sahel region.
On the provision of infrastructure, Mr Mohammed disclosed that the present administration has invested N2.7 trillion in infrastructure within two years.
He said “Your Excellency, you cannot have tourism without infrastructure. There must be roads, airports, power.
“Without these things, you can’t even access the tourist attractions and it’s on record that this government has in the last two years – 2016-2017 – invested massively in infrastructure.”
The minister, thereafter, assured his guest that Nigeria was committed to taking advantage of its membership of the D-8 to advance its tourism sector.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General of D-8 said he and his team were at the ministry to secure the input of the government towards the development of a strategic vision on how member countries can share experiences and knowledge on tourism.
He said, “The purpose of our visit today to the ministry is to learn from the government and the ministry in all the activities in respect of culture and tourism and where we can connect as an organization.
Shaari commended the Nigerian government for its efforts towards the development of tourism, especially the introduction of visa on arrival for tourists among others.
