The Chairman of Air Peace, Dr Allen Onyema, has called for deliberate public-private sector collaboration to reposition tourism as a key driver of Nigeria’s economy, saying the country is lagging in an area with vast, unexplored opportunities.

Speaking at the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) Annual General Meeting, Onyema said insecurity narratives are actively damaging the sector. 

He cited how foreign airlines now move cabin crew under security escort based on claims that Nigeria is unsafe and how private security firms profit from selling fear to foreign establishments.  

“It is business for some people,” he said. “When we bring in pilots, technicians and engineers, the first question is: ‘Where is our security?’ We are killing tourism by the things we say and do.”

He also decried human trafficking as another barrier to national image, recounting how Air Peace repatriated 67 Nigerian girls trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire free of charge after they were discovered by activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Verydarkman. 

To counter this, Onyema urged tour operators to look inward and champion domestic tourism. “Instead of going to Barbados and other places, let us promote our own destinations. 

“We also have our seas,” he said. He listed travel circuits from Nigeria to The Gambia, and within Nigeria to Calabar and Akwa Ibom as products waiting to be packaged.

The Air Peace boss said Nigeria’s cultural diversity is its strongest tourism asset. With 378 ethnic nationalities, he noted, the country has hundreds of festivals and traditions that remain largely undocumented.  

“In the North, we have the Durbar. That alone can be sold. As tour operators, all you need to do is pay attention to the season of Durbar,” he stated.

“How do we harness 378 different cultures so people can come and see? Let’s use our diversity for good instead of Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa divisions.”

The Air Peace boss threw his weight behind the federal government’s Coastal Highway project from Lagos to Calabar, describing it as one of the administration’s best initiatives.  

“All the Caribbean nations have is water and beaches, and that’s what they sell. Nigeria has a sprawling Atlantic coastline from Lagos to Akwa Ibom — bigger than all the Caribbean nations put together. 

“The opening of that highway will expand our tourism potential and create massive job opportunities,” Onyema said.

Concluding, he tasked NATOP to lead the charge by partnering with national heritage agencies and working with federal, state, and local governments.  

“Tourism is one area that is yet untapped,” Onyema said. “Let us get involved. Let the private sector, government at all levels, and tour operators drive this together.”