Lagos — The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, has promised to use the country's culture to power tourism, just as he said that lack of infrastructure is not an impedi-ment to tourism promotion.

Speaking to Travel & Tourism at the just concluded Abuja Carnival, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode noted that the Argungun Fishing Festival, Osun Osogbo and other festivals, which we ought to have developed as a tourism project, are not developed.

"Argungun Fishing Festival, Osun Osogbo and other festivals, which we ought to have developed as a tourism project, we have not been able to do so. I am not aware of any serious concept for the development of these areas. And this is what the government saw and had to put in place the master plan so that we can identify specific programmes like this and develop it as a tourism project, not as a government project."

"It is not the place where the governor comes in with siren and everybody says oh! the festival has taken place. No! We must take and develop them as projects, so that we can do our culture thing and they also do their tourism thing. We will use our culture to power tourism."

He said this is the whole essence of the master plan, which has been put in place by the government and which they are about to start implementing.

"We will implement this plan especially as it hinges on public/private partnership, that is, the government working assiduously with the people."

While re-emphasizing the idea of making Osun Osogbo and some other festivals national festivals, the minister, however, exonerated the federal government from funding them.

"My plans are to ensure that most of these festivals are handled in a way that it will spread across the board. Federal government will not be carrying the economic or the financial burden on its shoulder, we will be working together with the local communities that own these festivals in the first place because most of the festivals are already in existence, only that they are being done at the local level. What we are doing is lifting up the spirit, widening and deepening the scope as well as giving our support.

"In this regard, local communities are the stake-holders. Also, the private sector will be working with us and I want to urge all of you to be part of it and I assure you, we will make it. We may not get it right or perfect but the whole idea is that nobody should have any doubt about our commitment and passion to move it forward. Ultimately, with time, the festivals will take lives of their own."

Considering the security level in the country as well as the poor state of the nation's roads, the Minister said they are not impediment to the development of tourism in the country. According to him, the problem with tourism develop-ment was that of neglect.

"The problem of infrastructure is universal but let me make this very clear now, tourism has not been active, not because of the poor state of the roads but because there has never been tourism in any case, nobody has promoted it, nobody has encouraged it.

Yes, infrastructure is a challenge, road, power, telecoms and other means of communication, but if we look at the seven-point agenda, infrastructure development, communication and transpor-tation, among others, are key aspects of it. So, the government knows that these problems exist and something is being done about them."

Kayode also opted for the development of eco-tourism which, he says, does not require tarred but motorable and assessable roads. "Eco tourism, for instance, does not require tarred roads but motorable roads.

The Drill Monkey Ranch in Cross Rivers State is about 40 kilometres off the road, it is all untarred road, yet, assessable. Continuing: "Even foreign tourists don't need tarred roads because they have better roads, we don't have to give them huge buildings because they have bigger ones."

"Instead, they want to see us in our nature. They want to see what they don't see in their countries."

The Minister, however, pledged his commitment to promote tourism during his administration, with or without tarred roads in Nigeria. "My stake is this: I will not wait for the roads to be tarred before I begin to promote tourism in Nigeria."