Group advocates tourism as unifying force

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Tourism has been identified as a unifying force that will unite the country and help in combating crime, the Chief Executive Officer of Treasures of the Universe Resort (TUR), a tourism consultancy firm, Mr. Gabriel Tukur made this assertion while addressing journalists in Kaduna at the weekend.
Mr. Tukur stressed that in war-torn countries, Tourism has reunited the warring factions in other and Nigeria, should learn from this and organize a platform to bring together young Nigerians who are key players in all l unrest “As efforts to restore peace in all troubled areas in the country is in top gear, the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation and Kaduna state Ministry of Culture and Tourism are said to be planning a to collaborate with TUR, Kaduna on peace and unity, aimed at taking the youth off the streets for a purpose-driven lifestyle.
“The Federal and Kaduna state governments have endorsed the programme and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with Kaduna state government and same is expected with the federal government.
“We discovered that the mining activities in the northern region had brought about the discovery of the Terra Cotta at Nok village, in
Jaba local government area of Kaduna state. “We have a treasure called the Nok Terracotta, a monument which was discovered for a very long time about 500BC and the object have a global recognition, which we believed if a replica of it is produced and the participants are asked to hunt for it, which will give the event a cultural touch.
“The programme would further help to rebuild the damaged image of northern Nigeria and help in bringing youth of diverse cultural and religious beliefs together”, he said.
Mr. Tukur explained that the Season 1 of campaign, tagged: “Treasure Hunt”, was aimed at raising peace and unity ambassadors from northern Nigeria, adding that the event would feature peace campaign, image-building, education, empowerment and exposure.