I do not see myself as less-privileged just because I’m a woman —Akinbile-Yussuf

Pharmacist Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, the Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture in an interview with ROTIMI IGE, spoke on issues bordering on gender parity, fashion industry and the legacy she hopes to leave behind among other issues. Excerpts:

Gender parity and equality remain issues we are dealing with in Nigeria. Are you pressured to deliver because you are a woman?

I see myself as a human being before my gender. I do not see myself as less-privileged because I am a woman. I can meet up with anybody on any stage, anywhere. I tell people, the reason why we position men ahead is because of their masculine strength when there is war. Anything outside that, we are all human beings and we are equal.

What are you doing concerning the fashion industry as a way of boosting tourism in Lagos state?

At the ‘Greater Lagos’ fiesta that we are planning, we already have a day to showcase our fashion and style, our beautiful iro and buba, our beautiful kaftan; these are things that when you travel abroad, you get a lot of compliments from the foreigners. These are things that I believe we can continue to export, and last year we were able to support many people on these fashion activities and events that have come forth. We are private-sector driven; we ensure that we create wealth around people’s business. That is what we are positioned to do. We are not the ones to take the business of tourism. The business of tourism is for the people. As government, our duty is to regulate and ensure the standardisation of everything the public is doing, to promote who we are as a people. Those are the areas of concern to us in the ministry.

What is the most challenging thing about your job as Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture?

We have our downtime. Everything in life has its own downtime. The worst period of my job was during the pandemic. When you see people that have the passion that cannot even do what they are passionate about. I was looking for help on how to bring them up, how to restore their hope, because many people lost hope during the period of the pandemic, wondering how would they be able to get back into business. That was one of the bad times for me as commissioner. And it was not long after I assumed office that we got into the pandemic, so it was highly devastating, even for me as a person. To the glory of God, when it was presented to Mr Governor, he was able to alleviate the suffering that was a fear to me initially, and that gave me joy.

Number two is when our people know the right thing and they choose to do the wrong thing, and keep blaming the government for the wrong that is happening in the society. We as a regulator, want to know you are there. We want to know the numbers. Just come and register your business and your premises with the ministry. You have to go and get enforcement to get them to just do mere registration. I do not know why it is difficult for us. There is no other place in the world that you will be in a business without government oversight. But here in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, they are so recalcitrant. When their businesses are sealed up, they start calling people and complain.

Just come and register. We want to know you are there. Like now we are discussing about the Lagos Q4, for the last quarter of the year. We are going to tell the people about it, but some people will still not come and register. When they want to start their event and we go in there to seal up, they see us as bad people.You have to register with the ministry the event you want to have, simple. We are not asking you to come and pay. We just want to know the number of events going on in Lagos state for us to capture the data.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

One of my legacies is LACI (Lagos State Creative Industry Initiative), which I am very proud about. There was nothing like LACI before I came on board; an initiative that will train the young generation. I was Commissioner for youths. Anything that will improve their livelihood, I key into it. The same thing with Mr Governor. He is a man that positions youths at the centre of his administration.

The other legacy is the master plan and the policy that accompanies the masterplan that we have done. We will be having an art exhibition that is first of its kind in the state. It is going to be a very big one. We are having it in first week of November. The Lagos Q4 (a programme to improve awareness of local tourism potentials and promote traditional activities in Lagos state during the last quarter of the year); is part of the legacies, and so many activities that we have been able to do and still intend to do.

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