Chike Ogeah, Managing Director of McFolly Hospitality Ltd, has spoken about the need for Nigeria to respect contractual agreements as a means of ensuring the smooth flow of foreign direct investment.
Ogeah, who spoke on this and other issues when he appeared on C-Suite Café, hosted by journalist and band strategist Ikem Okuhu, also highlighted the importance of security and infrastructure development to the growth of the Nigerian tourism sector.
McFolly Hospitality, a member of the SIFAX Group, is the owner of the Ikeja Marriott Hotel, the pioneer Marriott franchise in Nigeria.
He advised the government at both the state and federal levels to seek and hire knowledgeable people to staff the tourism development agencies, ensuring that the maximum benefits from the sector are derived.
“There are things that must be guaranteed for foreign direct investment to thrive. One of them is the sanctity of contracts. Investors do not want to be in situations where they make one law today, and they will face a change of rules soon after. It has to be deliberate; the country will have to be intentional about it.
“We have to get the right kind of technocrats who will drive tourism in Nigeria. Agencies of government, such as the Nigerian Tourism Development Commission (NTDC), have to be manned by people of sophisticated, forward-thinking tourism specialists because tourism is now a specialised field.
“Tourism and hospitality are big game changers in the world now. Once we can get those things done, which obviously means getting our democracy to work, we can have good and clean elections and not the kind of things we have now; these will help boost tourism. These are things that will attract people and attract capital to Nigeria,” he stated.
Nigeria, Ogeah noted, is not in want of big ideas, but lacks the continuity and vision to drive implementation and follow-through.
He observed that Nigeria has a strong brand potential, but needs only to harness the values reposed in it naturally to become great.
“We are a blessed country, and we should not ordinarily be struggling. By the time a country identifies its purpose and ethos as a country, then the sub-brands, such as the hospitality businesses, will just mirror what the national brand projects,” Ogeah stated.
He also advised Nigerians to avoid speaking ill of the country to ensure the world does not see the country from the negative perspectives pushed into the global space by Nigerians.
“We should all be speaking positively about Nigeria wherever we are. Badmouthing Nigeria will not enhance the country’s standing before the world. We need to get over this hump before we jointly decide what our purpose is, because if we fail to do that, everything we are doing now will be working at cross purposes with one another.
“Many elements should work to create a purpose for the Nigerian brand, but they are not being harnessed. The boys in the music industry are busy making their money, but to what extent have they been harvested to build the Nigerian brand purpose, he said.
“There must be deliberate efforts to find out the sellable proposition for the county. We are hospitable people, and we are industrious and hardworking. Somebody needs to put these together and create a proposition capable of working for this country.”
He lamented that the country’s founding fathers appear to have done better to grow the country, pointing out that countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea, which were at the same level as Nigeria, have moved far ahead.
“Nigeria was on the same level with countries like South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and even Dubai (United Arab Emirates was below us back then. The Queen of England back then used to come for her medicals at the UCH (University College Hospital), Ibadan.
“The first five universities in this country were rated as some of the best in the world at the time. Our earlier development in the 1960s, our founding fathers, made more of an impact. What have the governors of today done?
Ogeah identified two major things that have to be overcome to boost tourism in Nigeria. The two things, he said, include infrastructure and security.
“There are two major problems that, if we can overcome, will boost tourism in Nigeria. One is infrastructure, because you need to get to the tourist sites wherever they are. You have to make this infrastructure look attractive because perception is what you are selling. Then, of course, the people who visit those places must be secure. We have to get our security right. Once we can do those two major things, then we are on the way.
“There are other little things we should also do to create a comfortable atmosphere of peace that will make the country sustainably leverage tourism to attract foreign direct investment. Capital needs peace to settle, and security is important to create this environment for tourism to create the atmosphere for this to be possible,” he submitted.