By Dipo Olowookere
Director General of Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Dr Sally Uwechue-Mbanefo, has stressed that security challenges in the country has not hindered tourism.
According to her, security issues have long been a global challenge and not peculiar to Nigeria.
Dr Mbanefo, while delivering a paper on the topic ‘Growing Nigeria’s Economy Beyond Oil and Gas’ at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference held recently in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, advised Nigerians to be a forward looking people with a zest and passion for conciliation, co-operation and co-habitation.
She said with such a large population of young Nigerians, this should be the wish, desire, and prayer of every Nigerian.
The NTDC boss said Nigeria should take advantage of her youthful population to help make the great by deploying their globally recognised creativity, intellectual prowess and entrepreneurship to solve their existential problems and create wealth for the benefit and happiness of all.
To her, these are the conditions under which tourism can flourish whilst also adding its quota.
She said, “Nigeria, for instance, presently has 80 million phone users, this constitutes 80 million markets if explore with each unit potentially yielding streams of income. This is a huge market.”
Dr Mbanefo said her agency will continue to champion programmes that seek to advance and empower the youth.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
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