My vision is to shift attention from oil to tourism –Sally Mbanefo, NTDC boss

Just back from the UK

Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo, the new Director General of  Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC)  is someone you would not want to ignore and it’s not just because of her position but her charming personality and warmth. She was sighted at the Nigerian stand during the  World Travel Market Forum held  at  Excel, London between  November 4th and November 7th.

The University of Lagos trained lawyer in her long ankara skirt and fitted blouse, neatly wrapped  on her neck,  Nigeria’s green-white-green muffler to match. Sunday Sun seized the opportunity to ask her some questions and she opened up on her plans for the tourism industry. Excerpts:

 What’s Nigeria’s objective at this forum? 

This is a global travel market  which a lot of travel and tourism stakeholders attend and it gives Nigeria the opportunity to showcase its  tourism potentials. It’s also  an opportunity to tell people why they  should link-up with Nigeria, an opportunity to say “I know you heard so many stories about Nigeria that are not complimentary but here we are in person to show you just a tip of the ice berg of the beauty of Nigeria, the fascinating culture  and  the beautiful and  very warm people that we are”.

 What’s your vision for Nigeria’s tourism sector?

I think the most important thing is for us to be able to pass a message through to Nigerians that tourism is a very serious business. There are many things that are quite good and tangible  happening for Nigeria that we need to talk about.  Nigerians want to be appreciated  for what we are, who we are  and what we stand for. We are warm and positive people. Our culture is quite rich and diverse. There are beautiful world heritage sites in Nigeria which include  the Osun Oshogbo grooves.  I’m totally brand new in this industry and I have come with fresh ideas, I have come with a reflective attitude to tourism.  I want to look at tourism in a holistic manner. We have tourist attractions  that people don’t know about and one of the things I have been working on  is domestic tourism.  With a population of 170 million, who can  best  sell Nigeria than us? Don’t forget, one of our big assets is oil but the vision is to steer Nigerians away from  oil to focus on tourism. We’re exploring how  tourism can be embraced by the  private sector because tourism is a private sector activity. It’s driven by the private sector, so it requires somebody with experience in the private sector to drive tourism in  Nigeria. Nigerians are educated people, we have also traveled far and wide and that is why I’m focusing on domestic tourism, because we want to encourage Nigerians to travel within Nigeria and those that traveled out should speak well about our  country and invite foreigners to visit Nigeria. Nigeria is a compelling story  that must be told. Every Nigerian must take advantage of  what we have. The beauty, the  sights and sounds of  beautiful people. We have a very friendly weather all year round. Among Nigeria’s success stories of tourism is  Nollywood and  we are partnering Nollywood in selling Nigeria’s tourism potentials. Nigeria’s success  story also features business tourism which has been the most powerful one, but we do not want outsiders to come to Nigeria only for business tourism. You come in,  spend and  enjoy. Subsequently,  you go out and speak well of Nigeria.

 What’s the impact ‘Fascinating Nigeria’ theme  has made?

‘Fascinating Nigeria’ means  we are fascinating people. The country’s diverse cultures, multiple festivals  make it very rich and we are very warm people. It’s an attempt to persuade Nigerians to key into that understanding of tourism in Nigeria and how they will share their experiences with non Nigerians.We just launched it in June and it’s interesting  to know that people are aware  something is going on. Nigeria’s tourism sector  has something to offer, but tourists generally  need to give us time, so that we can put our infrastructure in place. When we talk about it, they will come and see that what we say matches  what we are showing them. We need to put some certain things in place, so that we can deliver , because  we are promising tourists that when they come to Nigeria, they will have a fascinating experience. Obtaining their visas,  meeting people at the airport(including  taxi drivers that take them to the hotels), the tourist attractions they visit,  all make  the difference.

 You have a good dress sense. What’s  it like changing  from English  to traditional attire?

It’s been very interesting to me. It’s quite nice, I feel more Nigerian than I really am. I’m really Nigerian.  I speak Nigerian languages and  I did  all my schooling here. All my children are in Nigeria. It’s exciting that I dress in native these days. I try to encourage  youths and budding  designers to make my dresses.

 What were you doing before you became NTDC boss?

I was in the private sector. I was a banker and  I spent about 20 years in banking. Before NTDC , I was an executive director in a bank. Then I had a three-year stint  in manufacturing. I was also a director at The  Coca-cola Company and a cement company. Furthermore, I  worked  in the oil and gas sector as an executive director as well.

 How have you been coping at NTDC?

It’s not been easy, but everything depends on my mindset. I was prepared to work for my country and I am determined to make it  a success no matter what. I’m committed and dedicated to the success of  Nigeria’s tourism sector. I want people to be curious about Nigeria and be  interested in coming to Nigeria. I’m  focused  on people’s development and job creation too.  Countries like Gambia, Kenya and South Africa are willing to partner  us.  We  want  all Nigerians to be part of the change.

 Could you tell us about your first day in office?

It was very interesting. I think one of the nicest things about  NTDC is the fact that more than 50% are women. That makes it very nice for me,because I relate very well with women. Women are very flexible and they can  multi-task. That helps a lot  when you are new in a place. You’re motivated  to create change in an environment like that and people  respond positively to you. That has been my experience.

How do you relax?

I visit our tourist attractions. I also  draw and paint. I’m an artist. I draw my outfits too and  designers work on them. They are young entrepreneurs.

 You have a nice physique. Are  you dieting?

I eat carbohydrates and  anything except unhealthy food. I’m most concerned about the nutritional value of what I eat. If you eat three square meals, then you don’t snack. A snack is supposed to be a snack not a meal. If you eat  cake when you are hungry it’s no longer a snack, but when you eat a proper meal then you see a cake, you find yourself taking  very little of it . If you are hungry and you jump on a cake as a meal, that is empty calories and you continue to be hungry because it’s empty calories. It’s just empty sugar and doesn’t add any  value to  your body. You need to eat in a way that is natural to your body. Eat everything that your body likes but  in moderation.