If you convert the whole of Africa into a domestic travel environment, it will boom – it will be like traveling from Lagos to Ibadan and come back the same day if you wish to; and the distance by air from Lagos to Abuja is even more than the distance to Ghana from Lagos, yet you pay two or three times the flight ticket because of these taxes and charges that came from our holdouts from our colonial past.

This is the response of Travel and Tourism Expert and Organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko to why there are still a lot of hiccups in Intra-Africa travel.

According to Uko in an Interview with The Guardian, the issues around Intra-Africa travel lingers because of the history of colonialism by diverse colonial masters whose exploitation conquest instilled prejudices amongst the people hereby constituting a divide in the region long after the barbaric imperial era was aborted.

These, Uko said, were all colonial holdouts that have seeped into the current consciousness of every African who now portrays his fellow African as bad.

“Intra Africa travel continues to pose a huge challenge because of our colonial history. We were divided, lines were drawn on the sand and on maps and we were told we are people from different countries.

“The supposed developmental journalism being done by foreign radio stations made Africans see other Africans in a negative light. You are being told Nigeria has corruption issues, Nigerians are these and that. You’re being told that some other Africans are drunks, lazy etc. So, we have negative narratives about every other African country that we got from colonial masters which are not exactly true.

“I have travelled a lot around Africa and I don’t see the difference, but the economies are different and people have perceptions and prejudices. These prejudices come into play when it comes to visas and intra-Africa travel; every African thinks he is better than his neighbour. You could see all the fights are between neighbours: Nigeria and Cameroon had the Bakassi Peninsula conflict; Togo and Ghana had issues, Senegal and Gambia had their conflict; Uganda and Tanzania; Rwanda and Burundi had diplomatic tension; South Africa and Zimbabwe etc.

“These colonial holdouts are the root cause of the challenges affecting intra-Africa travel, but the younger generations are seeing the world differently and our job is to help break down these barriers so Africa can extract real value from its huge population.”

The travel and tourism expert however urged all Africa’s to move past these prejudices and start mending fences starting within each country in the region, from flight cost, to visa hurdles, limited infrastructure and fixing all bottlenecks around travel and tourism.

Thus, as a follow to his diplomatic resolution, Uko was asked about the place of Nigeria tourism in the global sphere?

He responded: “Nigeria hasn’t played a very active role in global tourism but as the giant of Africa, a country naturally blessed by God; it is inevitable that people will take notice. However, we have not really been intentional about tourism in terms of organising, preparing, building facilities, creating access, market, distribution etc. We have not done any of those things well as a way of selling or promoting the country to the global space as a destination. However, regardless of this, people still find us and with the growth of Nollywood and Afrobeats, the world knows we exist, what we do with it is now where we are at.

States Investing In Destination Nigeria With Clear Results?
The industry expert said the level of tourism development in Nigeria now is quite impressive. “In a state like Taraba, the federal government is doing good roads of the scenic hills, the state is investing, and bringing in the private sector and they are resuscitating the festivals. Enugu is top of the pile; Akwa Ibom – massive investment; even Cross River is coming back with most things; Ekiti is playing fantastically well; Lagos upgrades; in Osun state, the Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11 and his group have sustained the festival and the activities going on; Plateau is also doing well with tourism – they are repositioning themselves and recalibrating. I know the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is also getting involved in some of those projects.

“Now if we have about 10 states playing at that level, then you will know that Nigeria can proudly go to the international market place and say here we are, come visit. So, some states have been intentional about investing in tourism. The biggest tourism investments I have seen on the ground in Nigeria presently are from Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Enugu states, they are doing extremely well – these are new developments that need to be commended. Get ready for Enugu – the tourism products are slowly being delivered. The Nsude Pyramids, the 700m canopy walkway and now the first zipline in Nigeria. By October/November, the testing and training would have been completed and the commissioning would begin. The Governor is doing new roads to Awhum, Okpatu, Ngwo and Nsude to link the first phase of the products. Tourism enriches,” Uko said.

Destination Nigeria As Global Tourism Consumption?
“Nigeria’s tourism strong point has always been in culture that was why the ministry was initially culture and tourism. I am not surprised that Detty December and all the homecoming things in November and December are hugely successful.

“So, you have the Carnival Calabar and the Detty December, those ones are global frontlines’ now, and it’s just because of who we are, our culture, our conviviality and our energy – that’s what the world will come to buy. This is the biggest gift we have to give to the world for now.”

Uko however noted that going forward, Ogbudu, Chappal Waddi Taraba Mambila, Plateau Jos, the Ikogosi, are world class products that Nigeria can position for global consumption based on the success of the cultural elements.
Akwaaba Travel Expo @22

As the organiser of the widely attended Akwaaba African Travel Market around the region, Uko was asked how he conceived the concept and what is the magic wand behind the consistency and growth of the travel expo for 22 years and counting?

He replies: “The idea emanated from the need to market Africa to Africans. I wanted to do an African version of the World Travel Market (WTM) – marketing Africa to Africans and getting Africans and the world to travel within Africa. I am happy that 22 years down the road, we have made a success of the journey.

“The consistency of Akwaaba African Travel Market is simply, each year, we stand up and go out and I continue the marketing I have done. Initially people didn’t want anybody to travel within Africa. As pioneers, part of what helped us stay long in the game is when the whole of Africa started understanding the vision. Africans started traveling to Africa. Today, almost all the top destinations in Africa get the highest number of travellers from their neighbouring countries. So, we are happy that Africa eventually caught up with our vision and that success has helped sustain the vision.”

He continued: “For this year, we are expecting delegates from so many places but the biggest gain is that we are having the Minister of Tourism from Gambia with a big delegation to Akwaaba African Travel Market.

“We are having quite a lot of tour operators from around the continent, we are bringing the tour operators from the different countries that are hosting Africa Cup of Nations 2027 (AFCON) to come and engage with our partner. We are doing something phenomenal that nobody has done before; we are creating the platform for sports to grow. This is the high point of getting the Akwaaba travel trade expos to this stage.”

Accra Weizo: Promoting Seamless Cross-Border Travel, Tourism Growth, Regional Integration Across The Sub-Region
Accra Weizo is the cross-border road travel trip across the region starting from Nigeria to Cotonou, Lome and Accra, organised by the Travel and Tourism Pro, Ikechi Uko between June and July yearly. However, for this year, the trip is yet to be held.

Responding to this, Uko said: “Accra Weizo 2026 has been rescheduled to hold in November. We didn’t do it as planned in June because the whole Ghanaian establishment was going for the world cup which was in June and our dates clashed with the world cup matches so in deference to our partners, we moved it to July. Unfortunately, we didn’t expect the flood that ravaged Accra and most cities in West Africa in July. The trip includes a road trip through Cotonou, Lome and Accra and the flood was not just in Accra, we had it in Lagos, Cotonou and Lome. So for the safety of our partners, we decided to cancel the July event and rescheduled to November because everybody wants that experience. It is still a road trip from Nigeria, a B2B in Cotonou, B2B in Lome then we end up in Accra. Quite a lot of people will be joining the road trip this year. People are coming from Accra to join us on the road trip from Lagos all the way down to Accra and we will also do the boat cruise.”