‘We’re repackaging Plateau as home of tourism’

Weekly Trust: How would you describe the fate of tourism in this ‘Home of Tourism and Peace’ as Plateau State is otherwise called? James Yakubu: Sadly, it has not been really well in the past few years as a result of the crises that bedevilled the state although it has not been just the crisis. […]

Weekly Trust: How would you describe the fate of tourism in this ‘Home of Tourism and Peace’ as Plateau State is otherwise called?

James Yakubu: Sadly, it has not been really well in the past few years as a result of the crises that bedevilled the state although it has not been just the crisis. What this government has done to improve tourism include opening up all parts of the state. Roads are being tarred and every local government area is benefiting because in Plateau State tourism is not just about Jos the state capital. Plateau people remain very receptive and our comfortable weather remains constant. With the calm that we have now and the efforts government is making to provide roads and other infrastructure, there is hope that the state will return to fitting its garb as a state of tourism and investors will come in to help develop tourism.

What specifically is the government doing to restore the confidence of tourists and attract them to the state?

The first major thing is image building. The way the media portray the state is unfortunate. The media makes Jos sound as if Jos is so bad that if you come in you will not see a single human being walking on the street. Such an image is not helping our cause. As government we have been working to let it be known that Plateau remains a peaceful state despite the unfortunate incidents that we have experienced over the past decade. The people remain accommodating to their neighbours and receptive to visitors. One of the most significant things the government has been doing is getting the people to work out ways to peace by themselves. You must know of the inter-religious committee which comprises stakeholders from a wide spectrum of interests. Government is also striving to carry diverse people along through the allocation of projects in all parts of the state. It tells people that government is ready to embrace them and to welcome anybody wanting to come to the state from any part of the country. In security, to complement Federal Government agencies, Plateau State initiated Operation Rainbow to help check the incessant attacks.

This project allocation you mentioned, how do you react to complaints by the Hausa-Muslim community of Jos North that the Plateau government starves them of projects, especially road construction and repair?

There is no such intention. I know of several efforts to reach those places and provide them infrastructure. I remember when government wanted to do the street from Bauchi Road through Anguwan Rogo to Farin Gada. A meeting was held with leaders of the community who agreed that some houses would be demolished to make way for a wider road. Then, about water, I know well too that my colleague, the Commissioner for Water Resources, tried very much. There was this incident of cholera in the community, caused by refusal of the inhabitants for government to get in there and evacuate refuse dumps. Eventually, government was able to go into action and evacuate  the hazardous wastes. When the governor visited the people affected by flood (camped in Rikkos, Jos North LGA) in July, he made it clear that he didn’t hate Hausa Muslims and that in particular he was going to open up drainage lines in the flood-prone areas and rehabilitate the road networks there. He sent his team to those areas to determine aspects that need urgent attention and something is being done.

Were Rikkos, Gangere and other communities affected by the July flood part of the places that government wanted to serve with projects?

Yes

Are you having problem with removing some houses for roads to be constructed or expanded?

Yes, there have been instances when community leaders would agree that to construct roads, certain houses would be demolished and compensation paid only for us to be told after a while that people were saying that it was government’s ploy to displace some people. This is not to say that those projects will not be done. Efforts are still being made to convince those people that government is merely trying to spread projects.

It has frequently been said that tourism is a potential high revenue earner. How far would you stretch this belief with specific reference to Plateau State?

Tourism is a large growing industry. Apart from job creation, tourism has prospects that if well developed could rival oil in revenue earning. What is expected is efforts by government and private individuals. We’ve seen countries like Kenya relying solely on tourism.

Are you as a government doing something significant to tap the tourism potentials that you have?

We are creating the right environment, the access, because without that you won’t get anywhere. Plateau has one of the largest numbers of tourism sites in Nigeria, but if you have no access to the sites so you could harness them, they will be meaningless. So, the first thing has been to make these sites accessible. Other infrastructure like water and electricity are also being worked on. Why are people rushing to Dubai? It’s because they have provided infrastructure and things that attract visitors. This is why the government of the day started by building roads all over the state. Then, especially within the Jos metropolitan capital, a lot has been done to get the dams in functional conditions and now efforts are on to fix the taps that will get the water to consumers. On electricity, moves are being made to develop NESCO, the private electricity company, to raise its capacity and supply electricity to a wider range of end users. Furthermore, government is developing a tourism policy. A tourism master plan is being drawn and very soon we will come up with a blueprint to guide development in tourism.

What specific aspects of the master plan would you discuss?

We want to dwell on eco-tourism. We are looking at areas that will generate lots of jobs. Take the case of Jos Wild Life Park. It’s one of the largest parks in the country. There is the Pandam Park in the southern zone of the state, meaning that it’s something which people of the neighbouring states of Taraba, Benue  and Nasarawa can avail themselves of. Even the Wase Rock. Wase is also in southern Plateau. This means you can travel round Plateau State and have no moment of boredom. There are lots to see. By visiting places such as I have mentioned you will know firsthand our diverse people and cultures.

Plateau is said to have the highest number of tribes and cultures in Nigeria. How true is it?

We have 52 tribes. In a local government area, there could be five and they speak entirely different dialects. I do not know of any other such state. With that number you can imagine how diverse our culture will be. Government means to spotlight them and a festival that will achieve that is being packaged. It is another effort to foster unity, because the festival will bring the different people and cultures together.

Are you going to be able to capture all the tribes?

Yes. Some tribes already have yearly festivals of their own. We have the Nzem Berom, the Tarok Day, Geomai Day, Pan Cultural Festival, and so on. We want them coordinated and have come up with a calendar of the festivals in the entire state. We want to package and present them to our visitors. We even want to post them in the internet so that you can see from everywhere what festival comes up from the beginning to the end of the year so that you can programme yourself to be where you wish at the different times of the year. We are making effort to project our culture to the outside world, promote our wealth in tourism, and unite our people.

Could you name some of your tourism sites that you may wish visitors to view?

If you look at the state entirely, if you travel round; from Jos to Qua’an Pan, to Shendam and so on, you will see that we are endowed with exciting scenic natural features: rock formations, water bodies, and all. Of note, we have the Wase Rock and Game Reserve, the Riyom Rock, the Shere Hills, Asop Falls, Jos Wild Life Park, and some others. These are beautiful places that people love to visit.