Opinion

Uko: Efficient Visa System Will Attract Investors, Tourists

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2024

Uko: Efficient Visa System Will Attract Investors, Tourists

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, spoke about how Nigeria could take advantage of its huge population and natural endowments to develop tourism and attract investors, like other countries in Africa. He spoke to Chinedu Eze during a recent trip to Kenya. Excerpts

In those days, the West Coast used to be lucrative for Nigerian airlines, during the era of Belview and Virgin Nigeria, but this time it seems Nigerians are losing the market. What do you think could be responsible for this?

Okay, I would not agree that Nigerians are losing the market. Nigerians still travel, maybe not in large numbers like before. Years back, we were the major entrepreneurs in West Africa, we supplied almost all the wealth that were distributed in West Africa. Now other people are also rich, and they can travel, but I don’t think we are losing the market. The only thing we have lost is that we have lost control of the aviation business in West Africa. There are dominant connectors of West Africa, Air Senegal, Air Cote d’lvoire, and ASKY, cover more of West Africa than any Nigerian airline. So aviation in West Africa now is not in the hands of Nigerians anymore.

But when you look at the market generally, because of our population, in terms of economic activities, we still play a major role in the market. But in aviation, we seem to be losing.

Do you see Nigerian airlines dominating the West Africa region in the future?

I don’t see any Nigerian airline that has a vision to dominate West Africa. I don’t see a plan by any Nigerian airline to be the major player in West Africa. I have not been told, I have not seen any. The ones that are already flying, the way they have aligned their business is beyond West Africa. So, until one comes that plans to be the king of West Africa, then we can start having discussions. We can’t be the hub, we are not the hub, there is no plan by any Nigerian airliner that I know to fly to every capital in West Africa. What I knew Ethiopian

What airlines do is that when any African country became independent, they try to connect a flight to that destination. So, there was a long-term plan to be the masters of Africa by Ethiopian Airlines and now it has benefited them. There is no Nigerian airline I know that had a plan to dominate West Africa. Maybe some of them planned it internally, but it has never been communicated publicly for outsiders like me to know that there is a plan to be the masters of West Africa.

Okay, but from all indications, Asky Airlines seem to have a long term plan to dominate West and Central Africa from the way they started, and the way they were growing. So what do you think about Asky airline?

That was an airline that was set up from the beginning with such a plan to be a Pan-African airline. And ASKY means African sky. So the vision is there, is captured in the name, is captured in everything they do. They fly to 28 destinations in 26 countries with only 14 aircraft. So from the beginning, that vision is very clear that we want to be the king of West and Central Africa. We want to be the major airline in West and Central Africa. And within five years, they achieved that. Now they are connecting East Africa; they are connecting South Africa. They are now going to go to France. But they stayed, more than 10 years consolidating on West and Central Africa. Then they started South Africa maybe by the 10th year. Then they started Nairobi by the 10th year. And they are now saying, OK, France. Then after that, we will connect North Africa. So they have spent 10 years consolidating their operations in West and Central Africa. And today they connect almost every capital city in West Africa.

And what is surprising is that they are operating from a small country. They don’t have domestic markets. So they primed to go international from there but they started slowly, small, planned well.

Do you see any Nigerian airline following that kind of trend?

Okay, today we are here (in Kenya) because of Jambo Jets. Jambo Jets owns 52 per cent of the domestic market in Kenya. Jambo Jets is a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, actually doing better as it were than its big brother (Kenya Airways). So, a Nigerian airline could also have a spin-off that would dominate the local markets; just like Jambo Jet and now create an international flight service and have an international link with big airlines. So the small airline will mop up people fromvarious airports and bring them to Nairobi for the big airlines; especially Kenya Airways and other to take them to international designations. Jambo Jet do 10 flights a day between Nairobi and Mombasa, and do maybe 10 flights to Kisumu. So they mop up everything. So this is a proper hub and spoke operation that is working very well. So it’s also possible that a Nigerian airline, which I thought Air Peace was trying to do with the City Hopper. From my study of the data provided by NCAA, Air Peace international operations have less delay and less complaints and has actually done well compared to its local operation. So the City Hopper was a good idea, but it did not go beyond that. And for Jambo Jets, they have a different board. They run as an independent airline, and that is why they could actually go and do a partnership with ASKY when Kenya Airways also flies Nairobi to West Africa. So that shows you that though they are owned by Kenya Airways, they are also independent in what they do.

How do you see the partnership between Jambo Jet and ASKY in terms of connection between West and East Africa?

It is like two masters coming together. ASKY has mastered West and Central Africa. Jambo Jet has mastered the whole of Kenya and is also extending it to East Africa. So ASKY brings the network. Asky brings the whole of their 28 destinations. And Jambo Jet brings 11 of their destinations. That is 39 destinations. So Asky can reach more destinations in Kenya. Jambo Jet passengers can reach more destinations in West Africa. So it is a partnership that benefits both sides. No one loses.

Do you see a possibility where Nigerians will begin to take advantage of Asky connection to come to East Africa and enjoy the benefits of wildlife in Kenya and the East Africans visiting West Africa for holidays and in terms of tourism?

Yes. About 35,000 Nigerians travelled to Kenya in 2023. The Kenyan tourism board wants to double that number. And to double that number, Nigerians go to Kenya for two things: MICE, which is meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, and the second is for leisure. And the leisure capital of Kenya is Mombasa. So now, ASKY brings you from West Africa the Jambo Jet can take you anywhere you want to go in Kenya. Now we are doing Mombasa, we are doing Nairobi.

Do you envision a future high load factor on the West Africa, East Africa route via Lome?

I am seeing more Africans, remember I am Pan-African first of all; I am seeing more Africans travel within Africa. So the combination of more African destinations opens up Africa for Africans. The same way someone in Mombasa wants to go to Bangui, wants to go to Conakry, wants to go to a destination that has Asky covers. So, instead of flying just from here, Mombasa, it takes Jambo Jet to Nairobi and he is there. So, it helps in the vision of opening up Africa for more Africans.

Africans no longer travel to African countries unlike in the past. Today everybody wants to visit the West, the United States and Europe. How do you see the market now?

More Africans are discovering Africa. But we still have that colonial mentality that the best things are outside Africa. However, there is a new generation who do hiking, who do beach-hogging, who are into all this adventure and the best adventures are in Africa. The generation that is coming and moving into the travel space and looking for adventures and experience, and that is not what you get outside Africa. So for someone who has worked for the past 30 years to promote Africa as a destination for Africa, I would say I am happy with the way the young Africans are seeing Africa. They are seeing Africa as a continent. And thanks to the football competitions, AFCON and the rest of them, more of them are getting to know other countries in Africa. My generation grew up only knowing our country and Europe. But there is a whole lot of changes that have happened in Africa with the Internet, with all these fights on Twitter and the rest of them. Those things are positive. Nigeria has attacked Kenya, Kenya has attacked Uganda. We get to know each other’s countries. Because the problem in Africa is that you fear what you don’t know. And what you don’t know is usually what you have never experienced.

Kenya, Egypt, South Africa and others have developed their tourism industry. How can Nigeria develop her tourism industry and what are the barriers?

The first barrier with Nigeria is Visa. Our government has not figured out how to make Nigeria a destination. They have never asked people like us, so that we could tell them that visa on arrival is the easiest way to open up for all Africans. The government issued a statement in 2018-2019, saying Nigeria would issue visa on arrival. That was done badly, I can tell you. It was not done very well. Even at that, as we are now mastering it and improving on it, government has just added first $90 biometric charge.

So, if your visa was $25 before, it is now $100 +. Then this year, government has now changed the biometric to $190. There is no visa you pay for coming to Nigeria that is less than $200. Why would you be charging fellow Africans $200 in this economy just for visa? That is terrible. That’s one. Two, Nigeria is secure in most of the places the tourists will go to. We have not had issues of tourists having problems in Lagos. We have not had issues of people having problems in Enugu, in Uyo, in Port Harcourt, in Abuja, right? Even in Kano. So for most people who are in tourism business, you must be guided. Don’t just pack your bag and say you are going to Kutuwenchi for tourism. Then you turn out and say Nigeria is not secure. No, you are not wise. There is a hiking epidemic happening in Nigeria now. Every weekend or there about, more than 10,000 hikers are moving around Nigeria. There is never a sad story. The only sad one we had was a guy who drowned in the waterfall in Nassarawa two years ago. But these hikers are moving because they do due diligence, they take local guides.

But for people who don’t know how tourism works, you say, oh, it’s unsafe. Why? You carried your bag without even talking to the local guide. No. We are in Mombasa now. There is a local guide, more than one, who knows the environment, who takes us around. So if you walk with a guide in Nigeria, you can go anywhere. As I am talking to you now, last week, some of my mentees went to Yobe to do the desert. You know what I mean? Went to all the places in North East. Once you have a local guide, the local guide will take you around. So, yes, there are seasons of insecurity. There are spots of banditry. But once a local is involved you are good to go. You have to have a local security. You go with the local guides. Do not go on a tourism adventure without a local guide. So when people say where would those people (tourists) go, is ignorance. And the problem is that the people who don’t know insist they want to talk. That is the unfortunate thing in our business. The ignorant people are the loudest and insist they want to talk. But tourism is going on in Nigeria. Domestic tourism is having its best time in Nigeria.

What do you make of the presentation that the Kenya Tourism Board did the other day?

East Africa has done a paradigm shift, which is the best thing that is happening to Africa. In the past they never had a budget to market Kenya in Africa. They were targeting non-African tourists, the same for Uganda. But now, like the lady said, there is an effort by Kenya to bring more Africans to visit Kenya. And that to me is one of the greatest news I have heard. So, South Africa has an African office marketing South Africa to Africans. Kenya has an African office marketing Kenya to Africans. Uganda now markets Uganda to Africans. So there is a missing gap, when will Nigeria start marketing Nigeria to Africans? So the Kenya tourism board is intentional. From 17,000 Nigerians the year before, they had 35,000. Now they want to double it. And hopefully they can get 100,000. And that is the future of Africa.

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Entertainment

Reel Momentum: Nollywood Releases That Defined Q3

Published

6 days ago

October 21, 2026

Mariam Balogun

By Olayinka Akanbi

The third quarter of 2026 offered a clear picture of where Nollywood stands today. Across July, August and September, filmmakers told stories centred on family, culture, history, identity and everyday life.

Some films looked inward at personal struggles, while others drew from folklore, real-life events and Nigeria’s past.

Also read: Orlando Owoh Music Festival Set for November 7 in Lagos

There were also signs of change in how films are distributed, with streaming platforms increasing their investment in original content.

July was defined by personal, character-driven stories.

One of the standout releases was Alechenu, directed by Biodun Stephen, which followed the journey of an autistic teenager travelling from Oyo State to Lagos in search of the mother he had never met.

The film explored themes of family, identity and perseverance through a simple yet emotional narrative.

Around the same period, Lami focused on the life of a retired soldier grappling with the emotional effects of war, examining trauma, healing and second chances through the experience of one man trying to rebuild his life.

Another notable release, The Return of Omotara Johnson, marked the return of veteran actress Bukky Wright in a crime drama centred on family secrets and unresolved past conflicts.

Later in the month, films such as Wire Wire and Njem: The Journey continued the trend of storytelling rooted in real-life experiences and social issues.

In August, attention shifted towards history, tradition and culture.

The month opened with Sweet 16, a coming-of-age family drama that also drew attention as one of the final completed performances by the late actor Alexx Ekubo.

This was followed by Ikenga: The Last Festival, a story centred on tradition, power and destiny, featuring veteran actors Pete Edochie and Patience Ozokwor.

Released around the same period, Aláhùn (The Weaver) drew heavily from Yoruba mythology and folklore, highlighting a growing interest in indigenous narratives and local fantasy storytelling.

Towards the end of the month, King Kosoko revisited the life of one of Lagos’ most influential historical rulers, reflecting a broader shift by filmmakers towards exploring Nigeria’s history on screen.

By September, the conversation had expanded beyond storytelling to include audience engagement and distribution models.

One of the month’s notable releases was Mama Deola’s Wedding Story, which became the first original production from Nigerian streaming platform Kava. Its release underscored the increasing role of local streaming services in shaping the industry.

Other films focused on contemporary life and younger audiences.

Ordinary People examined the lives of everyday Nigerians, while 19 explored themes of identity, ambition and relationships from a youthful perspective.

One Gidi Night captured the rhythm and character of Lagos, using the city itself as a central narrative element.

The month also saw the release of Black Market, which generated widespread attention due to efforts to stage a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest film screening audience at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos.

Taken together, these releases reflect an industry in transition one that is expanding its storytelling range while experimenting with new platforms, audiences and formats.

Also read: Orlando Owoh Music Festival Set for November 7 in Lagos

Nollywood is not only telling more stories; it is also redefining how those stories are created, distributed and experienced.

Opinion

Rotary hails IPDG Lanre Adedoyin polio drive

Published

1 month ago

September 14, 2026

Mariam Balogun

By Victor Ojelabi,

The Rotary Foundation has recognised the polio eradication efforts of Rotary International District 9112 under Immediate Past District Governor Lanre Adedoyin, following the District’s transfer of District Designated Funds to the PolioPlus Fund during the 2025 to 2026 Rotary year, a contribution acknowledged recently, as part of the global funding effort to protect children from the disease.

Also read: Rotary Club of Lagos Strengthens Traders With Fresh ₦6m Business Grant

The recognition brings a fitting international dimension to a Rotary year in which Adedoyin, a lawyer and member of the Rotary Club of Surulere South, repeatedly placed polio eradication among District 9112’s major humanitarian priorities across Lagos and Ogun states.

In a message addressed to District 9112, The Rotary Foundation thanked the District for committing its District Designated Funds to the campaign, saying the collective support from Rotary districts helped the organisation reach its fundraising target and secure matching funds that translate into US$150 million for polio eradication.

“Your support helped Rotary reach our goal and secure the matching funds that translate into US$150 million toward eradicating polio,” the Foundation said.

The money has consequences far beyond the balance sheet.

According to the Foundation, polio funding supports frontline workers taking vaccines into remote communities, environmental surveillance capable of detecting the virus in wastewater and programmes designed to interrupt transmission in affected areas.

The Foundation said the continuing effort was particularly important in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only two countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.

That assessment is consistent with Rotary International’s latest account of the global campaign.

Rotary says its partnership with the Gates Foundation generates up to US$150 million annually for polio eradication, with Rotary raising US$50 million and the Foundation providing a two-to-one match.

The money supports vaccine procurement, social mobilisation, outbreak response, surveillance and other operational requirements.

Rotary’s involvement stretches back decades. Its first polio vaccination project began in the Philippines in 1979, and the organisation became a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Since then, global polio cases have fallen by 99.9 per cent.

For Nigeria, the story carries particular resonance.

The country recorded its last case of wild poliovirus in Borno State in August 2016.

Four years later, the World Health Organisation African Region was formally certified free of wild poliovirus, leaving Afghanistan and Pakistan as the remaining countries with endemic transmission.

That historic achievement, however, did not mean the end of the polio challenge in Nigeria.

Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus can still emerge in communities with low immunisation coverage, making vaccination and surveillance essential even in countries that have eliminated wild poliovirus.

It was against that backdrop that the IPDG’s polio drive developed during the 2025 to 2026 Rotary year.

Adedoyin, who became the second District Governor of District 9112 following the division of the former District 9110, had signalled early in his tenure that healthcare would remain a central part of the District’s service programme.

His installation in Lagos in July 2025 marked the beginning of a year that subsequently combined fundraising with grassroots advocacy and support for health workers.

By September 2025, the District had held a PolioPlus seminar at which Adedoyin warned against complacency simply because wild poliovirus had disappeared from Nigeria. District records show that the campaign remained prominent in its programme in the months that followed.

In October, Districts 9111 and 9112 took the End Polio Now message beyond conventional conference halls with a joint train journey from Lagos to Abeokuta.

Led by Adedoyin and then District 9111 Governor Henry Akinyele, alongside Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee Chairman Joshua Hassan and other Rotary leaders, the initiative turned the train journey into a public awareness campaign for polio eradication.

District 9112 also took the message to communities in Ogun State, including a roughly 10-kilometre Keep Polio @ Zero awareness walk in Sagamu aimed particularly at encouraging parents and guardians to ensure that children receive their vaccinations.

In Lagos, the campaign moved from advocacy to practical support.

District 9112 donated 100 pairs of rain boots and 200 raincoats to the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board in October 2025 to assist health personnel working on polio eradication during the rainy season. The intervention was valued at about ₦1.6 million.

Adedoyin made the District’s position clear at the presentation.

“Our commitment to ending polio is absolute,” Adedoyin said. “We will continue working with the Lagos State Government and our partners until polio is completely wiped out.”

Another significant moment came towards the end of his tenure.

In June 2026, District 9112 announced that it had raised US$13,000 through the World’s Greatest Meal initiative for The Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus Fund.

The contribution was described by World’s Greatest Meal Committee Chairman Tokunbo Opanubi as one of the highest recorded by the District through the initiative.

The US$13,000 contribution is separate from the District Designated Funds now acknowledged by The Rotary Foundation.

Together, however, the initiatives illustrate the different channels through which District 9112 supported the global eradication campaign during Adedoyin’s tenure.

District Designated Funds form part of The Rotary Foundation’s funding system and allow Rotary districts to direct portions of avail

IPDG Lanre Adedoyin with wife at a Rotary event recently

able Foundation resources towards eligible programmes.

PolioPlus is one of the avenues through which districts can deploy such resources in support of Rotary’s eradication objective.

The Foundation’s latest acknowledgement therefore adds another layer to District 9112’s polio record for the 2025 to 2026 year.

It also demonstrates the multiplier effect behind Rotary’s funding model.

A contribution originating from clubs and districts can ultimately support a much larger global pool used for vaccines, surveillance, community mobilisation and the difficult task of reaching children in areas affected by conflict, insecurity or geographical isolation.

The stakes remain considerable.

Polio is a potentially fatal infectious disease that primarily affects young children and can invade the nervous system, causing irreversible paralysis.

Although its global footprint has been reduced dramatically, Rotary cautions that eradication requires sustained vaccination and surveillance until transmission has been stopped everywhere.

The Foundation’s message to District 9112 captured that unfinished mission.

It thanked the District for supporting the PolioPlus Fund and helping move the world closer to the point where “no child is threatened by this disease ever again”.

For Adedoyin, who handed over the governorship of District 9112 at the end of the 2025 to 2026 Rotary year, the recognition offers a powerful postscript to a year in which the District’s contribution was measured not only in fundraising figures, but also in public advocacy, community mobilisation and support for those working closest to vulnerable children.

Also read: Rotary Club of Lagos Strengthens Traders With Fresh ₦6m Business Grant

And for District 9112, the acknowledgement connects a local Rotary story from Lagos and Ogun states to a much larger global ambition: ensuring that the final cases of polio become part of history rather than the beginning of another outbreak.

Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 months ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”