News

Steve Ayorinde at 50: Stakeholders Host Virtual Conference on Post-Covid-19 African Tourism

Published

6 years ago

July 6, 2020

Eric

A rich array of stakeholders in African Tourism and Creative Industry will on Thursday, July 9 converge to deliberate on how best to revive tourism on the continent and how creative and entertainment contents can serve as catalysts for the needed revival after four months of covid-19 pandemic.

The new coronavirus pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis in the tourism economy in Africa, but finding immediate recovery and sustenance will be the task of the stakeholders assembled across Africa in a Zoom Webinar designed in Honour of Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the former Commissioner for Tourism Arts & Culture in Lagos State, Nigeria’s sprawling commercial capital.
A journalist, author and culture aficionado, Ayorinde clocks 50 on the day of the conference, Thursday July 9, 2020.

According to a statement issued on Monday by PRM Africa, the Lead Organiser, the virtual conference is designed as a Pan-African event tagged “Close the Gap Conference” with the theme: “Post-COVID-19: For African Tourism to Revive, Reboot & Refocus.” The Zoom webinar with Zoom ID: 93542315938 will run between 12noon and 2pm (WAT).
Participation is FREE but registeration is required on this link: https://bit.ly/CTGwebinar.

The 2-hour conference’ will be moderated by South African Brand and Communication expert, Matlou Tsotetsi together with her Nigerian counterpart, Media Personality and Creative Industry Executive, Olisa Adibua.

Goodwill messages are expected from the Head of Culture, Social Affairs Commission, African Union Commission, (AUC), Angela Martins; and Nigerian Minister of Information, Culture, Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Leading the pack of a well-curated Pan-African panel to drive a sustainable path that will encourage intra-African tourism in-flow in the expected ‘new normal’ are President, Ecoplannet Sarl, Morocco who is also the President of Tourism Leadership Forum, Mr. James MacGregor; Regional Head-West Africa, South African Tourism, Mr. Thekiso Rakolojane; Founder, Villa Sands Hotel Group, Ilha de, Mozambique, Ms. Gisela Antman; Head of International Jury Department, Cairo International Film Festival, Egypt, Ms. Nayera Soliman; and President, West Africa Tourism Organisation (WATO) Ms. Ola Wright.

Other panelists include the Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr. Akwasi Agyeman; Regional Marketing Manager, Kenya Tourism Board, Ms. Fiona Ngesa; Head Tourism, Brand Malawi Campaign, Ms. Janet Kathewera; A&R Manager, Africa for Sony ATV Music Publishing, South Africa, Munya Chanetsa; Founder, Akwaaba African Travel Market, Amb. Ikechi Uko; Chief Executive Officer, W-hospitality Group, Nigeria and Ms. Belinda Nwosu.

As part of the conference, two case studies will be examined as relevant examples of pan-African creative showpiece that tick the tourism and creative content boxes.
For this, insights will be shared by the President and Executive Producer, All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) Mr. Mike Dada; and President, Africa Movie Academy Awards, (AMAA) Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe.

According to the organisers, this virtual conference celebrates a gentleman, Ayorinde, whose contributions to the development of tourism and creative industry in Lagos, Nigeria are noteworthy.
But more importantly, it also seeks to examine the need to close the gap for renewal and refocus on two levels:

“The need to close the gap among African countries and all the regions of the Continent for better inter-African flow of tourists
as well as the need to close the gap between tourism promoters and creative industry producers so that creative content can serve as catalysts for driving tourism within the Continent post-Covid19 when international inflow of tourists may take a while to pick up.”

The programme will be hosted by PRM Africa Marketing & Communications Ltd in collaboration with The Culture Newspaper (TCN).

Born 9 July 1970, Ayorinde is a renowned Nigerian journalist, media consultant, author and publisher who has devoted close to three decades to promoting the arts, creative enterprise and tourism across the continent.

For enquiries and participation, Please contact Olusola Dada on +234 8063 706 809 or Oluyinka Akanbi on +234 812 426 6662

News

Gunmen Kill Driver, Abduct Passengers on Benin-Ore Expressway

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have attacked a commercial bus operated by GUO Transport along the Benn-Ore expressway, killing the driver and abducting several passengers in what underscores Nigeria’s deepening insecurity on major highways.

Reports indicate that the assailants ambushed the South East-bound vehicle, opened fire on the driver, who died at the scene, and subsequently whisked away passengers to an unknown destination.

The incident is believed to have occurred along a notorious stretch of the highway linking the South-West to the South-South, long plagued by banditry and abductions.

While official confirmation from security agencies is expected, local sources and a circulating video showed that passengers might have forcefully been taken into nearby forests, a tactic commonly employed by kidnapping syndicates operating along the corridor. Similar attacks in the past have involved mass abductions, with victims later released after ransom payments.

News

Police Retirees Block Aso Rock Gate, Demand Action on Pension Scheme

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2026

Eric

Some retirees of the Nigeria Police Force under the aegis of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria (PROF) have staged a protest at the Presidential Villa in Abuja demanding President Bola Tinubu sign the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly in December 2025.

The bill seeks to withdraw the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme.

The protesters, under the scorching sun, walked from the Three Arms Zone in Abuja through the street in front of the Police Headquarters.

They carried placards with various inscriptions, in addition to the Nigerian flag and the flag of the Nigeria Police Force.

Led by its National Coordinator, CSP Raphael Irowainu, the protesters described the retention of the NPF in the Contributory Pension Scheme as fraudulent and illegal.

They also said the CPS is inhumane and obnoxious.

According to them, the protest seeks to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to give assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to the President on 16th March 2026.

They said that when signed into law, the Act will totally exempt the police from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

The protesters, accompanied by some of their spouses and children, also blocked Gate 8 leading into the Presidential Villa, causing obstruction to vehicular movement.

Efforts by Villa security personnel to dissuade them from the protest proved abortive as they insisted on seeing the President.

They laid their mats in front of the gate, singing songs of solidarity, while some of them lay on the floor.

As of the time of filing this report, no one from the Villa had addressed the protesters.

CSP Irowainu said that their main purpose is to prevail on President Tinubu to sign the bill exiting the Nigeria Police Force from the CPS, which he said has been passed and transmitted to him by the National Assembly.

He lamented that while other security agencies in the country such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, SSS and others have all been exited from the scheme, the police remain trapped in it.

“Our major aim here is to prevail on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sign our bill—the bill exiting the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme—passed by the National Assembly on 4th December 2025 and transmitted to him on 16th March, 2026, into law, nothing more than that.

“The soldiers have been exited, the SSS has been exited, the Air Force has been exited, the Navy has been exited, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has been exited. The police, who are the father of them all, are trapped in this obnoxious Contributory Pension Scheme,” CSP Irowainu said.

It is not the first time retired officers are staging a protest over the CPS. In July last year, they demonstrated at the National Assembly to demand their removal from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

The demonstrators, mostly elderly, stood in the rain holding placards and chanting anti-government songs.

Some of the retired police officers also besieged the Force Headquarters in Abuja to protest against the CPS.

Addressing the protesters at the time, the then Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, said the welfare of retired police officers was being addressed, but that the exit of the Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme was not something that could be implemented immediately.

He, however, advised the leaders of the protest to refrain from spreading misinformation, stressing that the Force could not abandon its own.

News

IGP Disu Orders Ban on Illegal Checkpoints Nationwide

Published

3 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

Eric

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has issued a sweeping directive to Commissioners of Police nationwide, ordering an immediate end to extortion, illegal checkpoints, harassment of citizens and other misconducts.

He declared that restoring public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force is now a top operational priority.

The order was contained in a signal to members of the police management team including Commissioners of Police (CP) and other operational commanders.

In the marching order, the IGP acknowledged the deep mistrust many Nigerians feel toward officers, describing it as “painful” and unacceptable.

He said citizens now fear encounters with the police as much as they fear criminals, warning that such a reputation cannot continue under his leadership.

According to him, the directive marks the beginning of a determined effort to rebuild discipline within the police and re-establish its legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

The order specifically outlawed the routine collection of money from motorists on highways, the operation of unauthorised checkpoints, and the practice of arresting citizens and forcing them to withdraw cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) or Point of Sale (PoS) devices.

The IGP also condemned the use of officers for private duties in homes and businesses, describing such deployments as abuse of authority and a violation of existing presidential directives on VIP protection.

Officers were further directed to comply strictly with approved dress codes, remain clean-shaven and adhere to established uniform regulations.

The police boss warned that harassment of citizens in any form would no longer be tolerated, stressing that the Nigerian public is not the enemy of the Force but the reason for its existence. At the same time, he assured officers that the institution would equally defend them against intimidation or disrespect from members of the public, noting that the dignity of the uniform must be protected on both sides.

Holding command leaders directly accountable, the IGP said Commissioners of Police would henceforth be responsible for misconduct within their jurisdictions.

He ordered them to demonstrate measurable improvements in discipline within seven days or face formal queries and possible transfers where lapses persist.

He emphasised that supervisory failure would no longer be ignored at any level of leadership. To ensure compliance, the directive introduced new oversight measures, including independent monitoring of field operations and public reporting channels through which citizens can lodge complaints directly with Force Headquarters.

A Citizens Commendation System will also be established to recognise officers who demonstrate professionalism, with monthly honours to be drawn from public nominations across commands.

Describing the directive as a decisive turning point, the police chief said Nigerians have grown weary of promises and now expect visible change. He ordered all commanders to brief personnel under their authority within 72 hours and confirm compliance in writing, declaring that the process of cleaning up the Force has begun and will be sustained until public trust is restored.