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Malaysia is a country of 25 million people only. In 2013, 27 million tourists visited the country!
Malaysia is an oil producing country like Nigeria. The country is also blessed with other mineral resources and wonderful people like Nigeria.
In the early 70s and 80s, Nigeria and Malaysia relied solely on oil as the main source of revenue. They basked in the euphoria of slush fund from oil trade and international recognition and respect.
However, this momentum of bliss was cut short by the oil gloom which dealt a bloody blow on the economy and development of the two countries which had placed their budgetary and developmental advancement on the trade of oil.
This blow was so devastating to these two countries.
Each of these countries reacted in their own way to the effects of the oil gloom and sliding revenue.
Malaysian leaders went back into their cocoon, had a deep economic analysis of the reasons why the country suffered so much as a result of oil glut, swore never to allow such market dictation to truncate their development plan, came out with a strategy –There must be alternative sources of revenue.
They found out that the country had two fall back options: to invest heavily in tourism and also lubricate and rev the manufacturing sector.
Malaysian government commenced rigorous planning leaving no stone unturned until it evolved a comprehensive strategy and tactics of turning the country to a first class tourism and manufacturing country in the world.
On the Nigeria’s side, the leaders did not make any serious move or think out of the box than to adjust or bend down, bend the budget within the dictate of the oil price and wait for Godot until the market rises again.
And within a space of months, the god of crude oil smiled again, prices rose up almost double the pre glut era.
Malaysia having sworn not to be lured into suffering by the price of oil cleverly expended major portion of its oil revenue in developing its tourism potentialities and revving the manufacturing sector to life.
But for Nigeria, the rise in price was a smile from Godot and it relapsed again into the era of profligacy without thinking that oil prices is not stable.
And what did Malaysia do? The country among others turned all craters, gorges and caves created by years of intense mining of iron and tin into tourism sites. The above mentioned places also abound in Jos, Plateau State which do not constitute environmental hazards in Nigeria!
Today, unlike Nigeria, Malaysia’s budget is not controlled or determined by the fall or rise of oil price in the global market.
Jordan is a country in the Middle East. Probably the only country in that part of the world which Allah in his benevolence decided not to bless with oil. Yet other countries reeking in stupendous oil money respect and hold it in high esteem.
Jordan’s major source of revenue is tourism. The government of Jordan must have thanked Allah for this oversight as it allowed it to utilize His given mental capability at discovering the hidden treasure of tourism in its land.
Jordan was visited by only 3.9million tourists in year 2013 with a total of about one billion dollar receipt.
Jordan is an Islamic country with no fanatic rules and regulation except the fear of Allah and respect of other cultures.
Jordan Government does not rely on classical tourism of visit to religious and historical sites, but embraces and develops education tourism.
Out of the countries in the Middle East, Jordan seems to enjoy relative peace and stability probably because it has no oil. The country is focused.
Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, Senegal and South Africa are countries which have seen the tourism vision and tapping it profitably as revenue source.
Nigeria is not serious about developing an alternate revenue source like Malaysia and other countries that were badly affected by oil glut.
The flash in the pan tourism policies and schemes are not fully propelled because tourism has never been an issue of political discussion and economic engagement.
Nigeria is overwhelmingly blessed with tourism potentialities more than any of these countries which make fortunes from tourism.
For instance, Ghana has not more than 10 major tourism sites, but because her government focussed on tourism as a veritable revenue earner, the government of Ghana packaged these few sites so well that they attract deluge of visitors who inject huge sums into Ghana’s economy.
The number of natural tourism sites in Osun or Plateau states alone is enough to draw the needed tourism traffic to Nigeria.
Except some few state governors, who are putting on a show of understanding of what tourism could bring, no other serious political discussion of it as a major economic concern.
The presidential gladiators are at each other’s throats, castigating and personalising issues, none of them has come up with any idea of getting another viable alternative to oil.
And here we have tourism begging to be developed.
I just hope and think that rather than abuse themselves without telling Nigerians what they will do, they can think of tourism and let us free ourselves and the nation’s economy from the stranglehold of rising and falling of oil price in the world market.
