Why NTDC Boss Folorunsho Coker Is Eagerly Looking Forward To November

Folorunsho Folarin-Coker, the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) is eagerly looking forward to November.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that he wants to replicate one of his most famous wins as an administrator in the nation’s tourism industry on a larger and grander scale.

The first-class thoroughbred named Baba Eto of Yorubaland by the Oni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi in September 2021 was the Lagos Commissioner for Tourism Arts & Culture between October 19, 2015, and October 19, 2016, and led a team that changed the face of tourism in the state with prudent spending right from the word go.

He came up with “One Lagos”, the concept that made everybody a stakeholder in the spirit of “Lagos Agenda” and opened up the economy of the state like never before.

Societynow.Ng gathered that the initial budget of N2bilion for One Lagos was frugally pruned to N500m by Coker and his team and they went on to execute a performance that created a structured platform to support the unstructured and unamplified creativity abound in the state in less than a year.

Statistics showed that it was so huge in its engagement of all stakeholders, including residents, that Lagos state experienced a sharp drop in crime rate amid other major gains when it held sway.

Coker who was reappointed as the nation’s tourism boss on Friday, April 30, 2021 – based on reposed confidence by President Muhammadu Buhari– is now neck-deep in organizing a far bigger project with further-reaching value at a global level.

The mega project that is scheduled for November 2022 is the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) global conference on linking tourism, culture, and creatives.

SocietyNow.Ng gathered that it is earmarked for Monday, November 14 to Thursday, November 17, 2022, at a very familiar terrain to the NTDC boss – the National Theatre, Lagos.

“The conference would have a multiplier effect on the nation’s creative and cultural sector. It would also dispel a lot of tourism-related inertia that people think about Nigeria negatively.

I look forward to everyone coming to Lagos in November to enjoy the fare, the film, the food, theatre, dance and so many other things that form the flavour of Nigeria” – Baba Eto Folorunsho Coker gave an insight into what to expect.

The added information available revealed that Coker is not resting on his oars and working hand in glove with the Minister for Culture, Lai Muhammed galvanizing national and continental collaborations across different spheres for the success of the event.

“Though the specifics of the plans for the global conference are still guarded, the goal is clear to stakeholders. It will be an industry reference point at an international scale for years to come” SocietyNow.Ng learned.