Name: Ifeanyi Odedo
Company: Sharon Group of Companies
Position: Managing Director
1) How would you describe the state of the hospitality industry in Nigeria today?
I believe that the hospitality industry is doing well today in the country. Let me emphasise that there are two dimensions when we talk about tourism. As much as tourism is related to hospitality, not all hospitality is related to tourism. Nigeria has a high volume of human traffic in the country moving between cities for business and personal reasons. Mass movement of people has increased drastically in the country because our information technology has not been developed into what it should be. The hospitality industry, like the hotels, is having good patronage but not necessarily from tourists but by internal mass movement of people to solve day to day needs.
2) What are the main challenges facing the
industry?
Some of the greatest challenges today are infrastructure, water supply, telephone lines, accessible roads, provision of electricity, security and multiple levies from government. To tackle these challenges we need to uncap and re-harness our potential as a nation. It will shock you to know that the neighbouring countries like Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, Senegal and Ivory Coast have developed coastlines with hotels and resorts but if you come to Nigeria you will notice that our sea shores are lying idle with nothing to attract tourists. We need to develop tourism so we can woo not only tourists but also investors from all over the world.
3) The security situation in Nigeria has been a great concern bearing in mind the militant activities in the Niger Delta; do you think this will have an adverse effect on the tourism industry?
The outside world looks at Nigeria as an entity. While we think of the Niger Delta issue as a very local aspect of this country, it is not so abroad. Most people believe that we are under the siege of militancy but they need to know that the geographical spread of the militancy is not even 2%. It is high time this issue is dealt with because it is giving us a bad image.
4) What do you think could be done to boost the confidence of both the regional and the international community of investors in the Nigerian tourism sector?
Let me start by commending government agencies like the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission for the job they are doing. They are doing a lot of good work but the unfortunate thing is the external and internal factors working against their efforts. African countries are seen as dead ends and the notion that many foreigners have is that Africa, not to mention Nigeria, is really bad. However, there are also some media outfits that are portraying African countries as prime tourist destinations thereby making people from the Western world see the truth about the African continent. We commend such media.
Instability in our economy is one major minus for the tourism and hospitality industries. Our democracy is not yet dependable and we need to stabilise our democratic process. The world is waiting to invest in Nigeria but they are not sure what is going to happen when the next government comes in. There must be continuity in government policies. These are some of the internal and external factors working against all these government councils.
5) What is your message to the world in terms of investment opportunities in the Nigerian hospitality sector?
What is happening in Nigeria today is tremendous and amazing. Look at the stability in our banking sector. There is something that nations like China, India and Japan have seen in Nigeria which many other nations have not yet seen. Nigeria is one of the most lucrative places for investment, whether it is in hospitality, tourism or any other sector. There is no country today that can give you a dividend on your investment as high as what you will receive in Nigeria.
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