Prince Salau Boboye Lawal is a Nigerian based in the United Kingdom. He is the president, Emancipation of Nigerians From ..Indigenous Slavery (ENFIS). In an exclusive interview with Wale Ojo–Lanre in his office located on Baker Street, London, he revealed the agenda of the  group in relation to tourism development in Nigeria. Excerpt.

People believe that ENFIS is just for political advancement?
That is a wrong perception. Our group, Emancipation of Nigerians from Indigenous Slavery (ENFIS), is all-encompassing. It is more economic than political. But, you see, one comes first, the cabal who enslaved our people in the post –modernism era are very intelligent people. They first entrenched themselves in the political pattern of the nation, either directly or indirectly. By so doing, they planted themselves in strategic positions and, in alliance with like–minds, to milk Nigerians and Nigeria dry. They are agents of the neo-colonialists who still operate on the basis of the partitioning decimal adopted by the Europeans after the Berlin Conference.

The post–colonial slavery is being ceaselessly and shamelessly  carried out on all fronts I mean, socially, we are being disoriented to discard our social values and formation, culturally, we are daily being assaulted by foreign cultures which tend to paint our culture inferior and unworthy, and economically, our economiy is not only being raped but being mercilessly exploited and under-developed.

Politically, we are being teleguided and our political development being truncated by their stooges which they planted  in all levels of governments. This, we at ENFIS believe is not right and we are going to emancipate Nigerians from this ignoble indigenous slavery.

If  It is not by political means, how will these happen?
I took time to explain why ENFIS looks like a political reformist organisation, but it is all encompassing. Honestly, our brand of agitation is not going to be on the kill and go system being adopted by other groups. We are more into economic emancipation and facilitation, which will benefit Nigerians more and wrench them from poverty and wretchedness. Politically, we are going to cause a revolution, not the one that employs modern war munitions and warfare, but we re adopting siege mentality by pricking the conscience and consciousness of the cabal to the tragedies which their evil activities have brought to the nation. But on the economic side, we are employing all positive means to facilitate investments and economic opportunities for Nigerians and Nigeria.

But there are many of these already?
To ordinary people who don’t understand the politics of world  economy  as being played by the world powers, what they will be seing, which you refer to as economic opportunities, are neo– colonialists investment of dependability, a situation where they keep the developing world under their economic slavery by adopting dumping of sub–standard goods and also tied whatever major investment on their expertise and technical know how. Even the so called economic aids are woven around their manufactured goods, like purchasing of their brand of vehicles, equipment and  machineries, manufactured in their countries.

You will agree this is not investment of emancipation but of perpetual dominance and slavery. We cannot tolerate this and this can not move us forward a little bit and that is why we are where we are economically in Nigeria. The Nigeria economy is still not only tied to the apron string of the colonial lords but it is being run and controlled by indigenous stooges and agents of theirs who exploit Nigerians and Nigeria to the brim. We must put a stop to this.

So, what is your modus operadi?
Very simple. We have made researches into the areas where Nigeria as a country can be self reliant economically and tap into the opulence of wealth and fortune without much efforts and energy. We ask where are the groundnut pyramids of old which made Kano not only a world commercial centre but a tourists’ destination in years gone past? We also asked, where are the millions tons of cocoa which made the South–West the envy of Western world? Where is the rubber and palm oil plantation that made Europeans to scramble to that region? If all these have been over taken by the impact of crude which is exhaustible, we have other tangible and intangible resources which can make the nation great and less dependent on Europe and their extortionists and mercantilists agents.

Hope you are not talking in parables?
I am not Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, who  conveyed his divine message in parables. Let me tell you this. In June  2011, I took a holiday trip to Malaysia and Indonesia. I was fascinated by the story and development history of these two great nations, their struggle to become world respected economies. I came back to England, convinced that if these countries could be what they are today, then Nigeria whose case could be likened to theirs could be great also. That means if we seriously desire to be so.

What is the point of reference?
Thanks. The point of reference is the similarities in the composition of what make these country entities in the comity of nations.

These countries are multi-lingua, multi-ethnicity, multi-cultural and blessed with similar resources like Nigeria, oil, tin, rubber, cocoa, palm oil and tourism. We and them had gone through the same economic tribulation and experience,while the economic doom of the 80s thought them a very great lessons forcing them to look inward and stop leaning on and depending on foreign economy, Nigeria retro fit  and oiled its dependence on the European economy.

How?
You see, these nations depended on crude oil and had money so well that they neglected the other sectors. But the economic recession of 1980s taught them a bitter lesson which forced them to develop tourism as another money spinning and foreign exchange earning sector for their countries. Today, it may interest you that Malaysia which is a country of 25 million last year alone played host to 20 million tourists! You can imagine the economic impact of the tourist in that country. Idonesia on its on explored the multi–ethic nature of its countries and hype this as the tourists’ catch for the nation. But what is Nigeria doing with the great tourism potential it harbours?

We have more than what these countries have in terms of tourism potentialities. Is it the people? Is it culture? Is it the natural tourism sites? We have them unexplored and untouched !

But we have some sites in Nigeria ……..
Oh. No. Don’t bring up that issue. There has been no conscientious national effort at developing Nigeria as a tourism country. All those funny moves which you wanted to refer to are nothing but deception and lip service. Malaysia was determined to turn the table of being an oil nation to a tourism nation and it went in full scale pumping heavy money realised from oil to develop the tourism sector. The nation is better off for it today. Tourists all over Europe scramble to get to Malaysia with forerign  currencies. Malaysia’s economy is no longer on the apron string of the Europeans. Indonesia picks its culinary aspect of its culture and brands it as the catch and the country is better off today. If Nigeria is serious about finding an alternative to oil, tourism is there for the pick.

How will ENFIS come in?
Thanks. This is one of the reasons why ENFIS was inaugurated. The membership is of Nigerians in diaspora who have made their mark in different sectors. We are ready to deploy our contacts, experience and wealth at making sure that Nigeria becomes a nation with dignity in the comity of nations. We can and we will facilitate multi-billion dollar tourism investment to Nigeria. Like I said, we are determined to end indigenous slavery and exploitation. And we have identified tourism as one of the sectors that can be used to emancipate our people. However, the government of the day must wake up and determined to see tourism as the bailout choice for this nation to grow.

Is ENFIS ready to partner with the Fedeal Government?
That is obvious. We are Nigerians and some of us have tourism investments all over the world which we can relocate to Nigeria. But you know, no wise one will like to relocate where it seems business will not grow. If we notice a bit of seriousness in the government, we all shall come back home and invest. We love Nigeria but Nigerian should show  that she loves its citizens. Let Nigeria smile at us by showing the capacity of good governance and before you say Nige….., you will see us running back  home.