By KOMOLAFE HANEEFAH

Copyright independent

LAGOS – Organisers of the 21st Ak-waaba African Travel Market has conferred on the Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyenbanji, the Best Tourism Governor of the Year 2024/2025 award and Most Active Tourism State in Nigeria on the state.

The decision was arrived after Tourism stakeholders across Africa, tour operators, investors, hoteliers, cultural promoters, and journalists cast their votes at the grandeur of the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.

These were the products of a rigorous poll conducted by African Traveller Quarterly magazine in partnership with Akwaaba, which was emphatic.

Governor Oyebanji’s record stood tallest, while Ekiti emerged as the state most alive with tourism energy.

Ikechi Uko, publisher of Travel-lers Magazine and founder of Ak-waaba, eulogised Governor Oye-banji, saying: “Within two years in governance, you have lifted an otherwise recluse tourism state into a global reference point and destina-tion. This is no mean achievement, and Africa must celebrate it.”

Governor Oyebanji’s journey began almost immediately after he assumed office, and within a very short time, detached tourism from the Ministry of Arts and Culture, establishing a standalone Bureau of Tourism Development under his direct supervision.

Wale Ojo-Lanre was appointed as the director-general, and with that move, Ekiti State gained its first structured tourism machinery that gathered momentum at an unprec-edented velocity.

He launched visitekiti.ek.gov. ng and inaugurated the Ekiti State Tourism Policy and the Ekiti State Tourism Development Master Plan in partnership with UNTourism, marking the first collaboration be-tween the global body and any state government in the world.

The hitherto abandoned Ikogo-si Warm Springs was a concession and transformed into Nigeria’s most vibrant resort. The Ado Ekiti Bus Terminal and the Agro-Allied Car-go Airport were completed, while roads leading to every major tour-ism site were also rehabilitated.

“Fifty professional tour guides, were trained, two each from Nige-ria’s three major religions, to en-sure that every visitor could feel at home.”

“Ekiti State did not stop at that policy and infrastructure; it show-cased itself proudly on every stage available. At the Canadian Consul-ate Tourism Fair in Lagos, Ekiti’s pavilion stood out. At the NIHO-TOUR Gastronomic Festival in Abu-ja, Ekiti cuisine thrilled visitors.

“At the Goge Africa celebration in Abuja, the state’s cultural displays earned ovations. And at the Oodua Tourism Fair in Osogbo, jointly or-ganised by FTAN South West and the Osun State Tourism Board, Ekiti State was again a star performer.

“Each event was another proof that under Oyebanji, Ekiti State had become Nigeria’s most vibrant tour-ism state.

“The turning points, however, came through symbolic Easter hikes that captured continental imagina-tion and in 2024, Governor Oyeban-ji led thousands to the Abanijorin Rock of Wonders in Iyin in an un-precedented show of support. Ni-geria’s first Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade John, and NIHOTOUR DG, Nura Kangiwa, joined him.

“That Easter Monday marked the first time top federal officials per-formed tourism duties on a public holiday.

“In 2025, he repeated the feat at Oke Sagbonke, the Mount of Clouds in Efon Alaaye, where more than 4,000 hikers danced, dined, and ate in the clouds, where the people of Efon-Alaaye, inspired by the spec-tacle, went on to host their own independent hiking event without government intervention, proof that Oyebanji’s Community Tour-ism Initiative was bearing fruit.

“Other communities followed quickly. Ilogbo Ekiti began showcas-ing its world-famous 42-headed palm tree, while Ilupeju Ekiti embraced the Oke Ewo War Stones, where in-vaders were turned into stone.

“Tourism thrives only where peace reigns, and Oyebanji un-derstood this truth well. Through Amotekun, Peace Corps, and Agro Marshals, Ekiti became Nigeria’s safest state, and with ease of doing business reforms and a friendly tax climate, it grew into fertile ground for investors in hospitality and cul-ture,” he stated.

In Ado Ekiti’s Oja Oba market, the awards were received with joy. “For the first time, we feel like the world is looking at Ekiti State. Oye-banji has made us proud,” Mrs Yemi Abimbola, a bead seller, said.

In Efon Alaaye, a community leader, Prince Adeyemi Adejolu, said: “The governor opened our eyes to the value of Oke Sagbonke. Now, even our youths see tourism as wealth.”

A student at the Ekiti State Uni-versity, Omobolaji Aina, added: “Tourism is no longer abstract; it is something we can study, live, and work in.

“The pride was not just local, but diasporic. Ekiti indigenes in Lagos and abroad flooded social media with congratulations, hailing their state as Nigeria’s tourism heartbeat.”

Receiving the award on behalf of the governor, Wale Ojo-Lanre said, “This award belongs to the resilient people of Ekiti State. It is their heri-tage, their culture, their nature that we are showcasing. We are only cus-todians of what they have preserved for centuries.”

Also, he added, “The double honours at Akwaaba were not just a celebration but a challenge to Ni-geria and Africa. They showed what political will, strategic planning, and community involvement can achieve in a short time. Ekiti State has proven that tourism is not about potential, but performance. Oyeban-ji’s model is clear: policy, infrastruc-ture, and people together create a tourism renaissance. In two years, a landlocked agrarian state has be-come a continental benchmark.”