The United States Government's travel advise, which generalized about Nigerian hospitality establishments, was criticized by the Federal Government.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, stated that such advisory measures accomplish nothing more than inciting unnecessary fear, which can seriously harm the economy and jeopardize the government's attempts to draw in investment.
"We understand the concerns raised by the US government in their recent travel advisory," the minister stated, "but we think it's important that we avoid extrapolating isolated incidents to the entire hospitality industry."
As we have seen, these recommendations do little more than inciting unnecessary fear and can have grave negative effects on the economy, not to mention undermining government initiatives to draw in investment.
Our top priority has always been ensuring the security and welfare of every foreign visitor to our nation. To protect travelers and foreign visitors, extensive security measures have been put in place at the federal and state levels.
The statement goes on, "To maintain a secure environment, these measures include intensive intelligence gathering, acquisition and deployment of additional platforms, personnel training and retraining, and cooperation with international law and enforcement agencies."
Security advisories have been sent to citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom alerting them to an enhanced threat to big hotels in Nigeria's larger cities.
The alerts were sent in advance of the November 11 governor's race in the states of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.
The US Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement released on November 3 that it had "credible information" indicating that prominent hotels in Nigeria's largest cities were under increased threat.
Additionally, in the days preceding and during the elections, US residents were encouraged to "exercise vigilance" and "consider avoiding major hotels altogether," according to the statement.
A similar travel advise was also released by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on November 4, cautioning against all but necessary travel to the states of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.
The states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara, as well as the riverine regions of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River States, were also cautioned against travel by the FCDO.
Speaking on Monday about the security agencies' efforts to contain the situation, the Minister gave the assurance that the government was committed to guaranteeing the safety and well-being of all Nigerians and visitors, and that it would keep working to keep the country safe and welcoming for travelers on business and vacation alike.
"Our security agencies have been very busy, working hard to keep everyone safe," he stated. Between November 1st and November 3rd, seven bandits were neutralized in various parts of Kaduna State through various operations.
"On November 3, in Kano State, personnel from the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Army together conducted a dawn raid operation on terrorists’ hideaway in Gezawa Local Government Area, thereby preventing an impending insurgent attack on Kano.
"Among the items recovered during the operation were AK-47 rifles, AK-47 rifle magazines, an RPG, RPG bombs, hand grenades, and materials for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs)."
"Two NYSC personnel who were kidnapped by bandits in Katsina were safely freed. The Nigerian Air Force has been extremely active in the country's northeast and northwest, carrying out multiple effective airstrikes on terrorists' and bandits' camps and hideouts in the states of Borno, Zamfara, and Katsina.
"To strengthen the fight against banditry and terrorism, the Air Force recently took delivery of four new aircraft," the statement continued. The Eastern and Central Naval Commands launched Exercise Sea Guardian 2023, a joint sea exercise, on October 25 in our maritime environment.
In order to demonstrate that security and intelligence services were always on the lookout for dangers and neutralizing those attempting to jeopardize national security, the minister said he was going to outline a few of these initiatives.
And for that reason, everyone in Nigeria—including the media—should fully back them. He said, "Please take note of what they are doing and provide increased coverage to their accomplishments and gains."
According to him, security agency operations were being undermined by bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, and other criminal forces engaging in both physical and psychological warfare.
As a result, he cautioned the media not to tip the scales by publishing stories that could be false, dramatic, or detrimental to the confidence of security officers.
Alhaji Mohammed Idris Bandits' travel advisory is included in this article.
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