Oja Africa is Tourism Icon, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye's Tourism product of the week!
Oja Africa according to him, was created to enhance the African continent's free trade agreement, which was itself created, "to make sure that we are able to trade without any barrier between the 54 African countries."
The agreement created an opportunity for goods from all African countries to be available for the entire world to patronise. Furthermore, the idea of 'Oja Africa' is to make sure that we create an African Trade centre, whereby we all can come to the same spot to collect goods from all over Africa without hassles, without having to buy visas or expensive travel tickets all over Africa, or go through horrendous road transport from one African country to another.
"So, as our tourism product for the week, Oja Africa, the African Market is to be replicated in as many destinations as possible, so that people can come to a central point and buy first, our culture.
"Oja Africa, is firstly weaved around our culture, African Arts and Crafts, African customs, African food and music. These five parts are the essence of the African Market, which 'Oja Africa' stands for.
"The first 'Oja Africa,' said Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, has been created at La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort with 54 stores, representing the 54 countries in the African continent! So that one can move from Nigeria to Ghana to Boukina Faso all the way to Egypt and then back to South Africa without collecting visas or tickets, while you buy their jewellery, their food, their drinks, listen to their music, all in one location.
"That way, the Europeans cannot patronise our anger, they can't patronise the evil they perpetuated throughout the 400 years of slave trade on Africa. They won't even be able to patronise our complaints or tears, but they will patronise our food, our fashion, our music that will create prosperity for Africa.
"And Africa must be collectively joined together because of the lost 400 years of retrogression. We must join forces together as a collective force, not to register wrongs of the 400 years of animosity of slave trade, but collectively bringing together the best of the best of African culture, African fashion, African music, as we sell to the world at 'Oja Africa'.
"Also, in enabling the success of the African continent free trade agreement, focus should not be entirely on the multi national companies or the top 500 companies in Africa. Rather, focus should be on the small businesses like the fashion designers, the artists, singers, musicians, craftsmen, farmers, who hold the nerves of the local government economy. That's where we should have actually began from, not weaving it around mega organisations, but small businesses that will develop the generality of the people in the local government, and the economy of the people in the grassroot.
"And the only time you have a total advantage, is when you take advantage of your advantage," added the Tourism Icon, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye.
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