Travelogue: The Man from Zimbabwe, Tourism And Ethiopian Coffee.

He wanted to jump the queue at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport but I told him outright to stay on the queue. He turned to me and laughed, "It doesn't mean anything". I was a bit annoyed.

I saw that he carried a pack clearly labelled 'IPPC' (International Pastors and Partners Conference) with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome's pictures splashed on it. That was actually the source of my irritation.

"How come he's coming from a Christian conference and he can't stay on a simple queue?", I thought to myself.

But then I saw that more than 90% of those waiting for boarding formalities carried the IPPC pack.

Some of them even carried trophies- I counted not less than four of those. I guess those were awards won maybe by certain partners or churches. The nationalities were diverse. I saw people who came from Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia and other countries.

I could clearly decipher their nationalities by their international passports. I also saw a few wearing SCOAN jackets. By the time we got on the Ethiopian Airlines flight, I discovered almost everyone was coming from either Christ Embassy or Synagogue and it was a full flight.

By the way, as I sauntered down the departure gate, I saw someone waiting for me. It was the same man that wanted to jump the queue and I had challenged him. "I deliberately waited for you. You know we are brothers", he said. I laughed and we started a chit chat.

He is Zimbabwean and that was his fifth time in Nigeria in five years. He has been coming for the IPPC conference for the past five years. He is well travelled and had lived in the United States and United Kingdom at various times.

“Are you a member of Christ Embassy?", I asked him. "No. I'm a Methodist but I'm a partner with Christ Embassy", he responded.

My mind wandered to how little attention we have paid to tourism- especially religious tourism. What other spin-offs could have happened to our economy if the Government had partnered with Christ Embassy or SCOAN to leverage on the buzz they generate in our country?

I'm trying to remember but I'm not sure there's even a Minister for Tourism. If Nigerians spend so much to go to Jerusalem and Mecca each year on religious pilgrimage or tourism and we use that to bolster the economy of Israel and Saudi Arabia, can't we do likewise?

Osun State, my home State is one place where the tourism potential has not been harnessed. We can make Osun Osogbo an all-round-the-year affair instead of a seasonal event. Osun State has the mausoleum of Apostle Ayo Babalola, one of the first indigenous revivalists in Africa.

There is a stream at Ikeji-Arakeji where Ayo Babalola was reputed to pray and people who take water from there still get healed till today. Osun State also has the mausoleum for Apostle Timothy Obadare.

There are several well known prayer mountains in Osun State like 'Oke Erinmo' and several others. At Erinmo, you will marvel at steps hewn on the rocks and how houses were built to accommodate those going to pray. You are even asked to confess your sins as you climb those steps.

Can we build cable cars to take people to Oke Erinmo? People can take the refreshing palm wine of Ile-Ife. Nobody does palm wine like Ife people. Ile-Ife also has the Opa Oranmiyan. Ilesha has the mausoleum for Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, a war time general.

Why can't we have a war museum in Yorubaland that depicts the Ijaiye War, the Ife-Modakeke battles, the Kiriji War, the Afonja and Alimi debacle and several others?

But religious tourism is only a small aspect of tourism. A state like Oyo seems not to be concerned about how to diversify her revenue base through tourism. Apart from the new Agodi Gardens, there are several places that can be developed into very serious tourist attractions.

By now, the family house of late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister at Ayeye should be a tourist site just like Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Nothing stops us from having a 'Fuji Museum' where the story of Fuji music is properly told.

"Ile Adebisi", the first palatial residence in Ibadan having over 50 rooms located at Idikan should be a tourist attraction. There is a museum at the pent house of Cocoa House that shows a lot of the cultural heritage of the Yorubas but I'm sure most people don't know about it.

There can be daily tours to Cocoa House and it will be a revenue spinner. Bower's Tower is a thing of the past and no one talks of Igbo Agala (Agala Forest) again. The view from the pent house at Cocoa House is indescribable.

Ibadan is a city built on seven hills just like Rome but most people don't know. I had told an Italian who came to Ibadan many years ago this fact and he was fascinated.

He asked me to take him round Ibadan which I did. The seven hills are Oke Padre, Oke Ado, Oke Bola, Oke Mapo, Oke Are, Oke Sapati and Oke Mokola. Mapo Hall remains an architectural masterpiece. The government just needs to make that place conducive for tourism

From Oke Mapo, you can see anywhere in Ibadan. How about providing telescopes for people so they can look far and wide? Ibadan should have a museum that depicts it's history from the times of Balogun Ibikunle till date.

Ogun State has not scratched the surface on tourism. Tourism in Ogun State should not be limited to Olumo Rocks. How about the family home of the Rev Ransome Kuti? How about turning Wole Soyinka's home into a tourist centre? I'm sure he will oblige. He is a living legend.

How about making Ikenne Mausoleum of Obafemi Awolowo open to the public? How about the famed Ososa home of the late Hubert Ogunde? What of the aquatic Splendour of Lagos State? How about having a boat tour of the waterside?

This is just talking about the South West but there is no state in this country that does not have significant tourist potentials.

From the Bridge of No Return at Akwa Ibom to the first pre-fabricated house in Nigeria at Calabar, Nigeria needs to consciously partner with private entities to make money from tourism. I'm imagining the country partnering with Wakanow or even Travel Wonderland.

We don't even have a single document that puts together all the tourist attractions in Nigeria- for the benefit of any inquisitive soul.

And back to the man from Zimbabwe. We met at breakfast again this morning in this Addis Ababa hotel where we had a layover. He told me he will be in Nigeria next year and he also invited me to Zimbabwe.

While he took some potato and omelette, I tried the Ethiopian coffee as advised by Sister Bolatito Braithwaite. Now, if you have never taken the Ethiopian coffee before, trust me, you don't know coffee. It was so strong my body shook as I took a second cup.

I felt as if my spirit was about to leave my body. Now, I know a bit about where those Rastafarians get their energy and inspiration from.

PS: I wrote this travelogue on November 24, 2015 when I had a layover at Addis-Ababa during a trip)

Bayo Adeyinka
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