Otunba Wanle Akinboboye introduced his 18th Tourism Product of the Week, Atunda ENT; noting that the product should be an integral feature of any African Tourism Destination.
Atunda means ‘Rebirth’ and acknowledges the role that entertainment and music, which this product promotes, plays in creating hope and fostering unity.
Otunba Akinboboye noted that, when he started his African tourism journey in 1984, he realized that African music and entertainment were an integral component of African tourism.
He emphasized that, when International tourists visit a new destination, they want to see the authentic culture of the people in such destination.
However, there is still a need to ensure that any entertainment presented is at par with what they would see in their home countries.
This is why visitors to New Zealand are fascinated by the slick performances showcasing Maori culture which incorporates Polynesian music and dances together with ceremonial war dances known as ‘Haka’.
The same can be said of Flamenco in Spain, where the haunting music reminds one of the Moorish history of the region.
Otunba Akinboboye noted that in 1984, Nigerians were focused on western based music, and young people felt they could only launch international music careers if they imitated the music genres emanating from the USA and UK.
He noted further that in the 1970s a revolutionary artiste; Bob Marley, who was Jamaican, promoted a form of music created in Jamaica known as reggae, and made it internationally loved. It simultaneously created a tourism anchor for millions of reggae lovers, who view Jamaica as the birthplace of reggae. Interestingly, in 2023, Jamaica with a population of 2.8 million people was visited by 4.1 million tourists.
Otunba Akinboboye indicated that, over four decades ago, he realized that, if he wanted to create a tourism experience within an African themed resort / tourism destination it was essential that such resort / destination also showcased African music and dance.
He also realized that any entertainment journey that focused on a musical genre that had not been previously seen internationally required a gestation period. This was because it took time to accept new genres of music.
“To ensure authenticity required raw local talents that had not been exposed to other genres of music and dance. They also should not view other music superior to that of their local communities.
“This often meant that the talents being developed did not have a base line sophistication and could come from any local government in Nigeria,” said the Tourism Icon.
Also, talents selected would however, be exposed to what he referred to as grooming. This is a process by which such talents would learn to internationalize their musical presentations without undermining their African roots.
The grooming process which involved significant financial outlay on his part, also taught them social skills and how to be comfortable with a high profile life style.
It was designed to give them the confidence to present African music and dance in a cosmopolitan manner that would endear them to international audiences.
It also gave them the ability to stand tall, proud of their creative abilities when faced with other musical genres.
Otunba Akinboboye mentioned that a number of the talents he originally identified left the grooming process before it was concluded because they found its trajectory too long . In particular, they wanted to attain the status of stars like Beyoncé in a year or two, forgetting how many years that such artiste took to reach international stardom.
Akinboboye said that his focus was doing the usual in an unusual manner. Consequently, female talents developed by Atunda ENT, learnt to handle and master traditional musical instruments that had previously been reserved for men, these include the talking drum, the Bata and the Ekwe.
Otunba Akinboboye spoke of his pride in three artistes Atunda developed; Ara Thunder who plays the talking drum, Olo Omidan Bata who is a virtuoso on the Bata and Anu, The Lady Ekwe. He noted that the talent who plays the talking drums a Yoruba musical instrument is actually Igbo by origin but was decided to play an instrument made popular by Yorubas. This shows the ways in which music fosters unity and leads us away from stereotypes.
The tourism icon said he is happy with the current successes of many of our Nigerian Afrobeat stars, who comfortably mix English with Nigerian languages, internationalizing many words and phrases that would otherwise remain only known to Nigerians. He believes their efforts will help in making Africa and in particular, Nigeria, a tourism destination of choice for those who admire this genre of African music.
Otunba Akinboboye firmly believes that Africans are duty bound to leverage off the talents peculiar to them and which includes their dance and music.
He also feels that when going on a journey you not only have to decide on your destination, you also have to determine how to reach your goals. This is what he has done with Atunda ENT which seeks to weave our culture dance and music around the growth of African tourism destinations.
Otunba Akinboboye expressed that hope that other tourism destinations in Africa will take their time to promote creativity in music and dance that also showcases Africa’s culture and roots.
He noted that by doing so they will create job opportunities for those that might otherwise be ignored because their talents are firmly rooted in and reflect their African heritage
Otunba Akinboboye added that, in revealing these various tourism products, it is his hope to assist others, especially young entrepreneurs who are looking to create or expand on existing tourism brands and who want to take advantage of the huge opportunities that exists, in developing an African tourism destination.
