Hannatu Musawa, the minister of arts, culture, and tourism, says the federal government is in talks to establish direct flights between Nigeria and St. Lucia.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Musawa said the move is part of efforts to strengthen cultural and tourism ties with the Caribbean nation and the broader region.
She said discussions are currently underway with the ministry of aviation and relevant counterpart ministries to facilitate a direct flight route between Nigeria and St. Lucia.
“One of the things that was on the table is accessibility. The fact that I had to go around the world in less than 30 days to get to St Lucia was a problem in and of itself,” the minister said.
“One of the things that will be established is a direct route, and those discussions are being currently undertaken with the minister of aviation and the counterpart ministries to ensure that we have direct flights to St Lucia even without a national carrier.
“We do have a very vibrant private sector that is more than willing to offer them their services. For example, in Brazil, I just heard they have announced that Airpeace will be making direct flights to Brazil. So it’s the same thing.
“If we have an enabling environment that allows even the private sector to flourish in the aviation sector, that is a route that we are empowering Nigerians in terms of eventually getting to a national carrier.”
Musawa said the focus is not solely on establishing a route to St. Lucia, but on creating a gateway to the broader Caribbean region and the global community of the African and Caribbean heritage.
The minister said the Caribbean nation is a strategic gateway to a larger regional market of over 44 million people.
“Many people ask why St. Lucia? After all, its population is under 200,000 — almost the size of my village,” she said.
“However, St. Lucia is the gateway to the Caribbean, which is 44 million people in terms of population and counting, because you have a greater global community. And this is 13 countries.
“St. Lucia is the headquarters to the organisation for the Eastern Caribbean. They are right there in St. Lucia. So I thought it was quite ingenious for the president.”
She said in a global atmosphere where Nigerians struggle to get an appointment for a visa that is going to last — “one entry for three months” — we need to look at who has the appetite and the interest in what we have to offer in terms of our content.
‘DISCUSSIONS UNDERWAY WITH ST.LUCIA TO ESTABLISH RESORTS IN NIGERIA’
According to Musawa, St. Lucia is creating new avenues for collaboration in creativity and cultural diplomacy.
“We have our Calabar Festival. We have Dirty Decembers. St. Lucia has its jazz festivals and cultural carnivals,” she said.
“Everyone in St. Lucia wants to watch a nollywood movie. So, this is a whole audience that Nigeria can tap into their resources.”
The minister said the Caribbean nation is an ideal partner for Nigeria to tap into opportunities for capacity-building, noting that discussions are already underway to collaborate with the country on developing resorts within Nigeria.
Speaking about the creative sector, the minister disclosed that the federal government has secured €100 million from the French treasury to build creative, animation, and design hubs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
She said the funding will be channelled through the newly approved creative and tourism corporation — a special purpose vehicle designed to avoid bureaucratic bottlenecks.
In addition, Musawa said her ministry secured $200 million from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the creative economy development fund.
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