A first glance at the headline "Notre Dame de Nigeria" caused immediate worry, fear, concern, alarm, sorrow. Maybe, all unwarranted, but at the very beginning, it was a thought (just one) this one: After that last barrage of critical fire-power coming from their barrels – the verbal machine-guns of his usual clutch of erudite interlocutors headed by one Professor Moses Ochonu, why does Professor Jibrin Ibrahim want to make things difficult for himself, putting himself in the line of direct fire by once again igniting the wrath of the erstwhile disenchanted, disenchanted and verily annoyed by his cardinal sin of deliberately omitting or forgetting to mention the unavoidable name at the top of the long list of their own gallery of rogues, political demons & wanton sinners – their notorious Who's Who in the Nigerian godfatherism business, Dear Bola Tinubu, in the political arena, Nigeria's purported Don Corleone and in that write-up about the villains of the piece about the said Naija godfatherism business not even doing him justice by giving him an honorary mention?
As the bard sang, "Now there's spiritual warfare, it's flesh and blood breaking down, ya either got faith or ya got unbelief and there ain't no neutral ground "
In the context of the never-ending Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen carnage, taken jointly, the cumulative effects of their relentless church arsons, butcherings, non-halal slaughter and Christian persecution, wanton destruction, their setting so many souls on unholy fire, please correct me if I'm wrong, but with so many holy Nigerian Christian edifices being burned down to the ground by the heathen, "Notre Dame de Nigeria" surely implied that some mischief had just happened - some new church-burning – and with "church on fire" as a theme, even granted that the more than 80 million strong Nigerian Christians have no" Notre Dame" of their own to boast about, and if they do, certainly not of the stature of the Ivory Coasts' The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, so, more likely than not, (so thought I) what Prof Jibrin Ibrahim has in mind must be the Great Cathedral of Lagos or Abuja now being baptised by him in the French mother tongue as "Notre Dame de Nigeria" or perhaps (no joking matter) Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah's holy temple in Sokoto had just received a baptism of fire by the terror Brethren – the fellow Nigerians de Boko Haram…
See how just one line can set the imagination ablaze? Four words can set the imagination running to all kinds of far away places. Excuse me Sirs. As you di buk pipul dem sey, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop"
But this time Professor Jibrin Ibrahim was not being controversial or confrontational; if anything this is a conciliatory talking point and rallying cry about which we all agree.
If Nigeria does not have any UNESCO World Heritage site or religious or national monuments as a tourist attraction with which to entice tourists, it's still not too late to start erecting one. Reminds me of this joke:
"An American Jew and an Israeli met in Paris in the Cafe de la Paix. The American asked, "´Do you know the United States?"
"I've never been there", answered the Israeli
"Have you ever heard of the Empire State Building?"
"Of course!"
The American said proudly, "My father built that. And have you heard of the Brooklyn Bridge? My father built that too. And who do you think built the White House in Washington? My father!"
This was too much for the Israeli, who said, "And you, I'm sure, have heard of the Dead Sea?"
"But of course! What about it?"
"Well, let me tell you - my father killed it !"
A most poignant Yellow Vests protest just now is about the billionaire donations being made towards the renovation/restoration/ reconstruction/repair of Notre Dame, all in the spirit of philanthropic patriotism - Yellow Vests say that kind of money could be pledged or plunged into alleviating the miserable lives of the poverty-stricken, could be spent on improving social services for the needier
The most heart-breaking sentence in the piece is this one: "Any discussion about tourism in Nigeria is, therefore, more about dreams than reality." Evened given all the obstacles that have been enumerated – such as kidnappings and rural banditry, not to mention Boko Haram continually giving the country a bad name. Terrorism could never be good for tourism, but as we all know, "where there is a will there's a way." - so the gauntlet has been thrown by Professor Jibrin Ibrahim: it's time for brain-storming. It's all about the benefits of "rolling in the dollars". Nigeria which is the richest and most culturally diverse country in Africa has so much to offer - Nigeria who/which hosted the FESTAC 77. in the USA Nigerian Afrobeat and jungle rap is reigning – just as Jeru the Damaja put it,
"Melodies, that flow like the breeze through the trees,
Like my forefathers, command the wind and seas
With my jungle music.."
There's this other matter arising:" Meanwhile, can we have some governors that are mad enough to demolish the tens of thousands of shops that have blocked the spaces for walkways and gardens in our cities" - Well. Confronted with the same kind of logistical issues, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr the current Mayor/ Mayoress of Freetown is doing wonders for that city and perhaps we could learn a thing or two from her, about solving some of these big city civilizations problems and making such places more attractive for would-be tourists…
--Notre Dame de Nigeria
Jibrin Ibrahim, Friday column, Daily Trust, 26thApril 2019
Yesterday, I was at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, which was destroyed by a colossal fire last week. It had been cordoned off and even the roads around it were closed. Yet, there were thousands of people trying to catch a glimpse of the Gothic architecture that had made it so famous. The twin towers were still visible from a distance but not the stained-glass windows, statutes, gargoyles and flying buttresses - a colossal achievement that took more than a century to complete. Of course, the cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site and between 12 and 14 million visitors from all over the world come each year to see it. Meanwhile, billions of Euros have been contributed for its rebuilding and top architects
I lived in Paris 36 years ago and what strikes me about the city is that it still looks essentially the same. Looking more closely however, you notice that the houses that accommodated families have been converted into hotels to receive visitors, while the monuments are preserved to attract more people. What has also grown is the number of shops to make people spend their money. About 30 million tourists visit Paris each year contributing 77 billion Euros or 10% to the French GDP. One of the greatest fears of the French Government in relation to the yellow vest protestors in Paris every Saturday is that it is beginning to have a negative effect on the number of tourists visiting the city. Of course, the French ruling class has also been worried that the "Deep State" in France is beginning to shake as poor marginalized rural people challenge the very idea of France as a country with agreed values implemented by an efficient technocracy.
The people appear to be saying that after 30-years of stagnation in incomes, cuts to social services and closure of neighbourhood public services, it's not alright to allow massive accumulation by the rich and growing poverty among the people to coexist. In other words, the social contract is broken and real negotiations can only happen if the ruling class is genuinely threatened by the masses. It was ironic that it was the introduction of an ecology fuel tax that precipitated the revolt. President Macron has been very committed to fulfilling his climate change promises while at the same time determined to reduce taxes for the rich. The people read the policy correctly, the poor were being imposed additional burden so the rich could pay less and the revolt took off.
Coming back to the theme of tourism, I wondered what was Nigeria's Notre Dame that would have been attracting millions of visitors and rolling in the dollars. I remembered my visit years ago to the excellent Kainji Game reserve with its abundance of wild life and the Kainji Lake itself which could have been a centre for aquatic sports. For the three days we were at the reserve, my family members were the only tourists. Yankari Games Reserve attracts more visitors but the facilities have deteriorated and the possibility of terrorist attacks is growing. Obudu Cattle Ranch has the best facilities for tourism currently and of course the Calabar Carnival has been developing as a attractive site on the tourist agenda and we must continue to appreciate the good people of Cross Rivers for their advanced cultural work in addition to the great food they prepare but that is just one out of 36 States in the country.
Okay what of urban tourism. I remembered a discussion I had over three decades ago with Professor Sule Bello. He was then the Director of the Kano State History and Culture Bureau. His ambition was to rebuild Kano's famous city walls using traditional building techniques and revive the artistry that produced wall paintings and designs. Today, there are no city walls in Kano and the space that had the walls previously have been carved out and given as plots for building shops. The space between schools, cemeteries, hospitals etc and the road reserved for the future in colonial cadastral plans that were supposed to be developed into gardens and walkways in all urban spaces in Nigeria have been carved out and built-up as shops, most of them unoccupied because there are just too many of them. Today, you cannot walk on urban streets in Nigeria so by definition you cannot have tourists who want to walk around and see things. In Kano, even the famous Mallam Qato Square, the site of the unknown soldier protected and beautified by Governor Audu Bako has been carved into shops.
Just a decade ago, I used to drive with my family from Abuja to a tourist resort near Kaduna airport to spend the weekend. The resort had a nice swimming pool, a polo field and vast grounds for healthy walks. Today, I dare not drive to Kaduna because of fear of kidnappers. They have completely taken over the road for the past four years and security agencies have been unable to do anything about the situation. Their standard advice after a kidnap is reported to them is – pay up and shut up. Why do we claim in our Constitution that the State has a responsibility to provide for the security and welfare of Nigerians. Any discussion about tourism in Nigeria is therefore more about dreams than reality.
Okay let's be real and return to the theme of the development of tourism at some future date. For now, what about stopping the massive rural banditry that has made millions of people insecure in Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna States. Is it not high time that we stop the theft, mass killing and arson? Boko Haram terrorism has endured for a decade so can we say enough is enough. What of the series of killings between herdsmen and farmers in so many of our States, when would we seek for a peaceful resolution.
Meanwhile, can we have some governors that are mad enough to demolish the tens of thousands of shops that have blocked the spaces for walkways and gardens in our cities? Can we recover some green areas in our cities? Can we re-establish sports grounds and green spaces in our schools, which was the situation decades ago? As some uncultured governors develop plans to carve out golf courses, the last remaining open spaces in some of our cities, can we try and stop them?
Professor Jibrin IbrahimSenior FellowCentre for Democracy and Development, AbujaFollow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17
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