The Lagos State government says plans are underway to organise a mega Arts and Craft exhibition that will empower and boost youth employment in the coming year.
This is according to the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf during a chat with Journalists at her Secretariat Office, Alausa, Ikeja.
Akinbile-Yusuf said that the mandate of the Ministry encapsulate Tourism, Art and Culture and the State has been rigorous to achieve the tripartite responsibility assigned to it with numerous activities that run through the year.
She explained that numbers of Arts and Cultural events have been executed by the Ministry as well as in partnership with private stakeholders which has raised the bar of the State’s rich heritage.
“The Arts and Culture exhibition, that we are planning in the next quarter, is going to be a very big one, this is where we will be promoting people in Art and Craft sector to ensure that we expose them to business and market.
“On cultural and traditional activities we have been supportive as well and we have partnered with private sector to activate different traditional festivals, and we will continue in that direction in the coming year,” she said.
CBT
Speaking on the effort by the State to enhance the local tourism, the Commissioner mentioned that it has already started implementing the Community Based Tourism, CBT, an aspect of the State’s revised Tourism Masterplan which it’s first phase had trained about one hundred and fifty youths to serve as tour guards.
She said “the six pilot LGAs for the CBT, namely Ikorodu, Epe, Oshodi Isolo, Surulere, Eti-Osa and Badagry cut across the division of the State and findings conducted by the State government show that identified points of tourism in these areas can be economically viable for the residents in particular and the State in general.”
The Commissioner therefore urged residents of the affected communities and residents of the State to be more receptive to tourists because the aim was to develop domestic tourism for the people and to the rest of the world.
According to her “With this effort, we have been able to identify different tourism potentials in this location and we are going to be collaborating with the Local governments administrators and Community Development Associations, as well as ensure that other relevant individuals and groups in the area key into the vision.
“With this, we can interact and know the tourism items in thier vicinities that can be tapped and promoted and to see how the State Government can leverage on all these to develop it’s Tourism base”
More Engagement
The Commissioner stated that her Ministry had been engaging community leaders in selected local government areas on the need to curb identified challenges, such as harassment by area boys and ways of harnessing the gains of domestic tourism.
On the tour guard, the Commissioner said “We have been able to train our tour guards, about one hundred and fifty of them, because when I travel to Israel, I realized that they used the pilgrimage to create job opportunities and we believe we can replicate same here as long as we are promoting the culture, heritage and tradition.”
She however encouraged unemployed youths in Lagos to take advantage of opportunities available in the sector, noting that arts and crafts, especially the production of items of cultural and aesthetics values, can be purchased as souvenirs by continental and international tourists coming into Lagos.
Peace in Lagos
The Commissioner mentioned that there was relative peace in Lagos State which could attract more people to visit, create job opportunities, but people need to present the country in a good image, welcome visitors with open arm, as this would boost individuals and state economic income and allow for interchanging of ideologies among other countries.
Greater Lagos Fiesta
Though, the flagship program of the Ministry; Greater Lagos Fiesta has been suspended due to the resurgence of Covid-19 and to guard against the Fourth wave of the scourge, she assured that necessary arrangements have been in place to ensure proper regulations of public events during yuletide season.
She also promised that going forward, the Ministry would spread it’s tentacles to explore and advocate more on water tourism, which according to her is the safest and cheapest to tour around the city of Lagos with necessary security arrangements for the potential tourists.
Confidence Okwuchi
