NTDC Director General, Mrs Sally Mbanefo and Ooni Extols Ife's Tourism Potentials

                In his remarks before officially declaring Ile-Ife “a Tourism Zone”, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has said that the historical assets of Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba, was enough to empower Nigeria and Africa at large and urged tourists across the world to thrill themselves with artifacts available in the town. Oba Ogunwusi who spoke at the weekend during the official declaration listed some of the already discovered tourist attractions in the town. Ooni Ogunwusi said: 

“Ark of Noah, which the entire world has been searching for is in Ile-Ife. The Ark of Noah has been in existence and it is in Ife land. “We want to bring out the mysteries for the whole world to see. God thrives on mystery and every inch of Ile Ife- the land of expansion-is full of mystery. “God has blessed us with some mysteries and we need to bless the world with those mysteries. For instance,

Destination of the Week: Farin Ruwa Water Falls

The name “Farin Ruwa” translates as “White waters” in Hausa language, which suggests the typical natural beauty exuded by the waterfalls. The clean, crystal clear showers, which is often regarded as sacred by the locals, can be seen hitting the foot rocks of towering granite hills, blowing a cloud of water vapour at its plunge pool.

This is undeniably one of the most irresistible sights in Nigeria. Standing on the polished brown-coloured rocks paving its foot-slopes and looking up to its crest about 150m high, its awe and grandeur engulfs one’s mind in thoughts of admiration and respect for a creative God.

Actor, Femi Adebayo Gets Political Appoinment in Kwara State

Popular Yoruba actor, Femi Adebayo has joined the league of Nollywood actors and

actresses who have ventured into politics. On monday 22nd of febuary, The Jelili star

took to his instagram page to announce that Kwara state governor Abdultafah Ahmed

has appointed him as his Special Adviser on Arts, Culture and Tourism.


He wrote:

9 Beautiful Beach Vacation Spots in Africa

Too often, wildlife activities have overshadowed tourism in Africa, however, that is not the only reason why people visit Africa during their holidays. Africa is blessed with stunning attractions, vibrant culture and amazing things to do but there are still lots of surprises and unique hidden gems such as beaches that truly provide a real tropical experience. Like many other coastal destinations, the continent is teeming with wonderful coastlines, island resorts and clandestine beaches.

If you are planning a laid-back weekend getaway or vacation, you should probably take a look at these vacation spots. We present to you 9 beautiful beach vacation spots in Africa. Guess what? Some of them are close to home than you can imagine. All you need to do is to grab your towel and your beach bag, book cheap flights and make your hotel reservation and get going.
1. Nungwi, Zanzibar



Photo Source: Kevin Harber on Flickr

Have your camera ready for your vacation here. On the north of the Zanzibar lies the Nungwi beach that is one of the laid back island beaches in Africa. Once upon an era, this place was a fishing village and over the years the dhow-building center became the pride of Zanzibar. It is a popular vacation spot where the palms are beautifully ambled on the beach.

1500 Year Old Bible Confirms that Jesus Was Not Crucified, Vatican In Awe

Much to the dismay of the Vatican , an approx. 1500-2000 year old bible was found in Turkey, in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara. Discovered and kept secret in the year 2000, the book contains the Gospel of Barnabas – a disciple of Christ – which shows that Jesus was not crucified, nor was he the son of God, But a Prophet. The book also calls Apostle Paul “The Impostor”. The book also claims that Jesus ascended to heaven alive, and that Judas Iscariot was crucified in his place. A report by The National Turk says that the Bible was seized from a gang of smugglers in a Mediterranean-area operation. The report states the gang was charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations, and the possession of explosives. The books itself is valued as high as 40 Million Turkish Liras (approx. 28 mil. Dollars). Man, where is the Thieves Guild, when you need them?

Meet The Man Who Spent 57 Years Counting The Bricks Of The Great Wall Of China

A 74-year old man has attracted a lot of attention from across China over the last few weeks, for his incredible dedication to his suprising lifelong mission: counting all the bricks of the Great Wall of China. Zhāng Ming-húa is the son of a melon farmer from the Gansu Province, who joined the Red Guards in 1966, when he was only sixteen years old. In December 1968, in the midst of all the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, he met Chairman Mao Zedong and was given a rather singular and unusual mission. He was asked to count the bricks of the Great Wall, in order to inspire greatness in modern-day Chinese by showing them the accomplishments of their ancestors.

Mr Zhāng has devoted his entire life to fulfilling his mission, and he has now almost completed his task. He has only 418.7 kilometers of wall left to count, out of a total of 21,196 km (13,171 miles), and hopes to finish in less than two and a half years. He says he was honored to receive such an important mission and says his main concern in life is to be able to finish before he dies. “This wall is my life” says the old man. “I have put so much time and effort in my job, that I can’t even think of anything else I would rather be doing. At this point, my only wish is to be able to make it to the end.”

12 INTERESTING Facts About Murtala Mohammed You Should Know

It has been 40 years since the assassination of General Muritala Mohammed. It is in remembering him that made us put together these 12 things you should know about him.

1. Muhammed was born Murtala Rufai Muhammed but he changed his name from Rufai to Ramat when he became Head of State

2. He was born on a Tuesday, the 8th of November, 1938 in the Kurawa Quarters of Kano State to Risqua Muhammed and Uwani Ramatu, he had 7 siblings (one girl and seven boys) and he was the second child.

3. He was a student of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1959 at the Regular Officers Special Training School , ROSTS (Teshie, Ghana), now Ghana Military Academy where he was taught as a 2nd Lieutenant infantry tactics and military laws

VALENTINE – THE AFRICAN WHO DIED FOR LOVE

By Yorubytes:

valentine, it is the celebration of love they say. Whenever sacrificial love is being talked about, they make it seem like Africans do not have the capacity to pay the ultimate price for love. They talk about how Jack died for the girl in Titanic, they talk about how Romeo died for Juliet, they talk about how St. Valentine died for a babe. You want to know the truth, they are all LIES! The Love story in Titanic was fabricated, Romeo was just a product of Shakespeare's imagination, and there was no St. Valentine death anywhere. Please confirm for yourself.

On the other hand, in Africa, we have some real genuine cases where guys died for the sake of their lovers. Guys who lived amongst us in flesh and blood, not some made up Jack Dawson, Romeo or St. valentine. Let me tell you the story of one of such people who gave his all for his love, here in Africa.

The Oyo empire was a very big empire in West Africa back in the days, it was situated largely in the country called Nigeria today. it formed one of the four major empires of Africa. To rise to become the king of the Oyo empire, a group of people called Oyo mesi (kingmakers) have to give their blessings. It so happened that at one time, the head of those King makers was a man named Gaa, his chieftancy title was "Bashorun", so he was called Bashorun Gaa!

Top 10 Places You Can Have Fun This Valentine

This year’s falls on a Sunday, and so the revels start today Friday to make this whole weekend a Lovers Weekend.

Wherever you are in Nigeria, the following are some of the places you can consider for a fascinating Valentine’s Day experience with your lover, spouse, and other loved ones:

1. Whispering Palms Resort in Badagry: If you are looking forward to a day out in a natural setting of beaches and palm trees, then the Whispering Palms Resort in Badagry is the place to be on or before Valentine’s Day. Here you can enjoy local cuisines made with natural ingredients and as well as explore the resort hand-in-hand with your lover and spouse.

2. Cinemas in Lekki, Yaba and Ikeja: Lovers can enjoy a different bite of Valentine’s Day by going to the cinemas if they are in Lagos, and the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas in Palms, Lekki, the Silverbird Cinemas in Victoria Island and Ikeja, and the Ozone Cinemas in Yaba, Lagos readily come to mind here. Here you enjoy quality cinema movies, film premieres and even shop in surrounding malls.

No More Medical Tourism In Akwa Ibom – Akpabio

Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Obot Akpabio, on Thursday worked into the Ibom Multi Specialist Hospital for medical check up.

Former governor, who was attended to by the Chief Cardiologist, Dr Venkita Suresh, declared shortly after the checkup, that the era of going outside the country for medical solutions were over.

“The days of flying outside Nigeria to Europe, America, India and other places of the world for medical attention are over; those days are behind us now. Why would anyone think of flying abroad for medical treatment when the best is at his doorstep? I have confidence in this hospital and that is why I have come to do my routine checkup here, and with the quality of medical personnel here, our people and visitors are surely saved.”

According to the lawmaker,”Let others talk about it, not me. I am just here like many others for medical checkup. What I know is that this is the best hospital in Africa”.

On his part, Dr. Suresh said, “Akpabio has been properly attended to as it is the practice with ISH. We are not surprised that he is here for medical care. People now fly in from different parts of the world to Akwa Ibom for medical solutions, so why would he not be here for his checkup?, adding, you have got the best in Africa in the area of Medicine”.

The multi billion naira Ibom Multi Specialist Hospital described as the best in Sub Sahara Africa, with some of the very best in the medical business, was established by the Akpabio-led administration in 2015 and has since commenced full medical operations with over 15 major surgeries successfully completed.

How to Celebrate Valentine Without Money

It's three days before Valentine's day and your lover is patiently awaiting a your love offering but you know the Nigerian economy is not smiling.
See simple ways you can say 'i love you' on Valentine's day without spending anymore

Lagos – The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said on Tuesday that it received a total of 7,328 complaints from both domestic and international air passengers in 2015.
This is contained in a statement issued by the NCAA.
Adurogboye explained that complaints such as short landing (delay in arrival of passenger’s luggage), was a normal occurrence in civil aviation globally.

“Short landing is deliberate and it is for the safety of passengers. The airlines have put measures in place to ameliorate the discomfort of passengers.

“Passengers, who have such complaints, should go to the airline’s counter at the airport and report.

“In addition to that, they should demand for compensation because that is the law.

“If the airline refuses to compensate them, then they should report the matter to NCAA.

“The passengers should also realise that short landing is a common occurrence in civil aviation.

“That is why they should not go into the tarmac to protest like they did at the Abuja Airport recently because Turkish Airlines delayed their luggage,’’ he said.

Adurogboye, therefore, advised passengers to desist from taking the law into their hands, adding that it was a very wrong approach to redressing their complaints.

http://www.standardtelegraph.com/tag/nigerian-civil-aviation-authority/

NATOP AGM to refocus on marketing destination Nigeria

Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) has said that its 2016 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be used to awaken, rediscover and realign its members to the original objectives of the apex association which is to market destination Nigeria and stimulate increased influx of tourists in to the country. The theme for the meeting is, Nigeria Tourism: the missing link in a diversified economy, and it will hold in Calabar, Cross River State pn the 11th February 2016.

According to Mr. Nkereuwem Onung, President of NATOP, the apex association is laden with the ‘responsibility to market and attract influx of tourists to the country; but for a long time many of us has deviated from that purpose, choosing to market other destinations in Nigeria, taking our people to other countries while we leave our own country less marketed as a destination. This year’s AGM is set to change all that’.

The need for this change of focus, according to the president, is necessitated against the backdrop of dwindling numbers of tourists arriving Nigeria which has also reflects on falling fortunes in the earnings for both tour operators and Nigeria as a whole.

He noted that, ‘Nigerian tour operators are the biggest suppliers of tourists on the continent. In 2015 Africa suffered 3% loss on arrival, down from 4% annual growth in the past years. And despite a shrinking spending power due to the falling prices, a lot of Nigerians still travelled abroad. The interim figure from NCAA showed that more than $1.5 billion US dollars was spent on international flight tickets last year’.

Onung said that that tour operators have been at the fire front of supplying tourists other countries outside Nigeria, but that such trend has to change. But he equally noted that Nigeria has abundant tourism resources which are not being properly packaged by the States for proper marketing.

The Naija 7 Wonders, supported by NATOP, has documented 55 top tourism destinations in Nigeria, but

Zimbabwe tourism crippled by Ebola, Tax and Hunting ban

Not the best of times for Zimbabwe’s tourism industry. Tourist arrivals were down by 20% in 2015 in comparison to the previous year, according to the Employers’ Association of Tourism and Safari Operators, the reason was, quite predictably, the largely reported Ebola outbreak, which put the whole world in danger, but had its center in West Africa.

The industry isn’t backing down, though, and several actions have been put in place in order not only to improve on last year’s disappointing results, which saw companies suspending the payment of bonuses, but also beat 2009, a record-year for Zimbabwe.

Tourism stakeholders expect a 10% rise in demand, but insiders estimate that big marketing campaigns will be needed for companies to accomplish their goals.

2004’s Ebola outbreak cost Zimbabwe a whopping $6 million, as cancellations rained down and buyers withdrew from the important tourism expo, but the Zimbabwe tourism authority believes the industry is making its recovery.

Top 5 Travel Destinations to Visit in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Ekiti State is one of the six major Yoruba states in Nigeria. It is located in the south-west geopolitical zone of the country, and carved out of the old Ondo State in 1996. Ado-Ekiti is the capital town of the state. There are 16 local government areas in Ekiti State, and these are Ado-Ekiti, Aiyedire, Efon, Ekiti-East, Ekiti Southwest, Ekiti-West, Emure, Ido-Osi, Ijero, Ikere, Ikole, Ilejemeje, Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ise-Orun, Moba and Oye.

There are several travel destinations in Ekiti State and many places of interest to visit, but we shall only be examining a few of them here:

1. Ikogosi Warm Springs
 

The Ikogosi warm springs in Ikogosi, Ekiti West LGA is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state. Its popularity stems from the fact that it is a confluence of hot spring and cold spring meeting at a point and then flowing down as a single stream.

The Ikogosi warm springs is situated in a dense forest that extends over a hilly landscape, with tall trees around the confluence of warm and cold springs providing a tall canopy that can host tourists and other visitors to the springs. The state government recently renovated the springs and made it very suitable for international visitors to see, while maintaining its cultural and natural features.

2. Ewi of Ado’s Place, Ado-Ekiti

5 Top Most Travelled Roads in Nigeria

Road transportation is the most commonly used mode of transportation in Nigeria, and perhaps the world over. Road transport activities involve the conveyance of passengers in large or small numbers to various destinations, the transportation of animals, farm produce and merchandise, and mobile services such as mobile clinics and bullion vans for banks.

Millions of Nigerians use motor vehicles as the primary means of travel day by day, and this reliance on road transportation informs the need to categorize road-use into most-travelled roads in Nigeria and least-travelled roads in Nigeria. But our attention for this piece is on the former – based on the fact that the rate of road-use is dependent on the distribution of people and goods across a particular region or city.

1. Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

The federal highway between the most populated city (Lagos) and the largest city (Ibadan) in Nigeria is a distance of 120 kilometres – and constructed in 1974. It is more or less the most-travelled road in Nigeria given that Lagos is the commercial hub of Nigeria attracting people from all over the country on a daily basis. Lagos also has the largest number of companies and product factories in the countries, and it used to be the capital of Nigeria – with a direct road to Ibadan the largest city in West Africa and the most ancient.

2. Abuja-Lokoja-Okene Road

Don't Date a Girl Who Travels, Why you should not date a girl who travels

She's the one with the messy, unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It's burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.

Don't date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

Don't date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there's an airline seat sale. She won't party at Republiq. And she will never pay over $100 for Avicii because she knows that one weekend of clubbing is equivalent to one week somewhere far more exciting.

Chances are, she can't hold a steady job. Or she's probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn't want to keep working her ass off for someone else's dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or