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There are so many attractions to lure an average tourist to visit the West African country of Benin Republic, Nigeria’s neighbour. Top among these is the ancient Trans-Atlantic slave port Ouidah which has the sacred forest, pythons’ shrine, the ancient slave market, and Point of No Return all serving as major pulls for tourists.
However, the country’s capital, Cotonou, though currently a construction site, has become more appealing to tourists with so many attractions being added to the city. This has enhanced the profile of the country as a destination. With the hostile visa regimes against Nigerians introduced by many countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which used to be Nigerians preferred destination, Benin’s transformation as a tourist haven has become a welcome development for many Nigerians.
While Ouidah is a little far from Cotonou, there are so many attractions within the city to visit and have a wonderful time.
Currently, among the tourist sites to visit in Cotonou is the 30-foot statue of Amazon. Located in the highbrow Haie Vive area, the iconic statue has become the busiest area of the city with thousands of locals and foreign tourists trooping to the foot of the statue daily to take pictures. The statue is surrounded by a well-maintained lawn perfect for picnics and other leisure activities. The Benin statue of Amazon connects the country to its past history. The bronze statue was built by a Chinese sculptor, Li Xiangqun, and it depicts Queen Tassi Hangbe, under whose leadership in the 18th century, the female warriors defied patriarchal norms to become a fearsome force, which was later formalised under King Gezo in the 19th century.
A little further from the Amazon statue, opposite the presidential palace, is the longest graffiti mural in Africa. It is a kind of outdoor gallery more than 940 metres in length. The work of art on display is attributed to 40 graffiti artists from Africa and other parts of the world. The colours and images on display are enchanting. Thousands also flock there to take pictures.
For those who want to have a different kind of experience while still in Benin Republic’s capital of Cotonou, Ganvie village on water is worth visiting. It is on Lake Nokoue. From the waterside, there are many boats called Pirogues that carry tourists to Ganvie. Some are open boats while others have roof cover. It is about 40 minutes to the village.
Ganvie village was founded in the 16th century by the people of Tofinu. They sought refuge from slave traders and rival tribes. The occupation of the people is fishing with no land to farm. Their houses are constructed on water, hanging on stilts above Lake Nokoué.
As a means of promoting connectivity among African countries, some members of Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) led by their president Hajia Bolaji Mustapha had visited the country to network with their counterparts in Benin on how to promote tourism between the two countries.
Olanma Ojukwu, a travel and tourism consultant based in Cotonou, spoke on the attractions in Benin and the need for more open borders for Africans to move freely. She said: “On what we are doing, tour operators of our region, that is West Africa, have been craving opportunities and a platform where we will begin to know ourselves, so that when we go for international trade shows, we will be able to sell our destination as a single product. When you travel abroad for such events, you see the East Africans selling their region with the single entry thing. When you go to their pavilion, you just come in and tell them that with one single visa, you are able to visit several countries. You have such a thing in Europe. We have been craving how we bring this home to West Africa. Nigerian and Benin stakeholders having this kind of meeting are top notch for the region.
“We are going to be having networking opportunities and exchange of cards, and also ample time to say who we are and what we do. We believe this is going to trigger the long awaited tourism relationship for West Africa.
“One of the major problems that foreign visitors complain of is this single visa thing. They want to be able to have one visa and touch as many countries as possible in a single trip. We know what we go through when we are doing different visas for Nigeria, Togo, and Ghana and so on. We are so close to each other but we are not able to visit ourselves without going through visa protocols. So, we want to make this noise and advocate for single visa entry for a minimum of at least four West African countries. We highlighted it at the ECOWAS level and we believe that ECOWAS is beginning to push it.
“We are so blessed in Africa. We have diversities that are supposed to be a plus, and not a minus. We have to begin to see ourselves, not as competitors, but rather complement each other. That I have this and you don’t have this, we look for what you have and sell what you have. We harness these and begin to make our destinations places that have so much to offer people when they come to our continent. The decision and policy makers have to do more. Most of the decisions that have to do with tourism, without the political will, we won’t be able to have the structures and infrastructures that we need to drive tourism. These decision makers need to come together to have a common policy for our region.”
Hajia Bolaji Mustapha, the leader of Nigerian tour operators also had this to say on the trip: “I was on a panel session in Ghana for a programme and we started discussing about how to build collaboration between West African countries so that we can remove those barriers between Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo and so on, so that we can move swiftly. She said we need to come now so that we can aim and target summer for our people. We should work on selling Africa. We are beginning from Benin. That is why we are here to meet with our own tour operators so that we can package the country. The essence of a FAM trip is that you need to know about what you want to sell, not just talking on the phone. We are also looking at when your group will come to Nigeria. You will bring people there to Nigeria.”
Outside Cotonou, there are many sites and places to explore, making the country an option for Nigerians wishing to go on vacation on a shoestring budget and still intend to have maximum fun.
