I spent Valentine’s day in church –DG NTDC, Sally Mbanefo

Sally is a 1986 Law gradu­ate of the University of Lagos. She has 25 years corporate, professional experience in banking, manufacturing, oil and gas sectors. Sally also had a stint with the private and social entrepreneurial practice.
In 2013, she was appointed Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corpo­ration (NTDC). Sally is pas­sionate about charity works and corporate social respon­sibility services. A consum­mate artist and avid reader, she spoke with Saturday Sun in Lagos, recently.
Excerpt:
When your tenure ex­pires as DG, NTDC what would you want to be remembered for?
I want to ensure that every person out there believes in, and have faith in Nigeria. If you observe the news cur­rently, the world is going up in smoke. That is the sign of the end time. The world is coming to an end and Nigeria is a country that God loves so much. If everywhere else is going up in smoke, Nigeria will definitely not go up in smoke and that is my prophecy. Nigeri­ans have to have faith in Nigeria. These white people, these embassies that are here physically, what are they looking for? The white people have foresight. They knew that Nigeria is about to ex­plode. They have realised that Nigeria is the next frontier in Africa; a place for people to be. It is the country of people who like excitement; people who like good things. We are a blessed country.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement?
Creating awareness is the most im­portant thing about tourism. Tourism to­day is the greatest employer of Labour. Tourism contributes up to 10 percent to the global GDP. People need to know that tourism is the greatest employer of Labour. I want people to be conscious of domestic tourism. What is domes­tic tourism? It entails encouraging Nigerians to travel within Nigeria. That means that people should be discour­aged from going abroad for everything. The potentials of domestic tourism in Nigeria is about 4 billion US dollars. We are 170million people, you can imagine if 20 million Nigerians spend N2,000 per capital income on tourism during a concert. The tourism industry in Lagos is booming. The revenue they are generating in Lagos is fantastic and every other state should emulate Lagos State because that is the centre of tourism in Nigeria. I want to be remem­bered for domestic tourism. It makes Nigerians to be conscious of their environment. If you go to the North, there is the Durbar in Kano, (the horse carnival). Kano is huge in commercial tourism as well. You go to Benue State, they have the best cultural troupe, there is Osun Osogbo in the South West, in the South=South, you get the incredible carnival of Calabar. I have travelled to the six zones of the country and I saw what we have. In the East, you have incredible masquerades, waterfalls and caves all over the place. In Niger State, there is the beautiful waterfalls. in Nasarawa, Kaduna, there’s so much going on. In Adamawa, we have the SUKUR , the world heritage site. In Abuja, conference tourism is there, you have pottery village, Nike Art Gallery has a huge branch in Abuja. There’s so much going on. Our arts, music, cuisine are fantastic. We have varieties. I don’t want people to cite security and all of that as excuses. When there was no security problem, were Nigerians doing tourism? I have lived in Nigeria all my life except for a couple of years when I traveled out for my A levels. This is my home and I tell my children, you are Nigerians, I had all my children here because I had faith in the medical system. My kids stands out even better than those who gave birth to their chil­dren abroad. They got the best medical care and love and care from family and friends instead of being stacked out there in a whiteman’s country.
When you are not think­ing about tourism, what do you do?
I draw. I’m an artist. I paint and sculpt as well. I read, I mentor young people. I spent the last Valentine day in an Anglican church, giving talks to youths. I inspire youths. Because I look young, I also have an open mind being an artist and a successful woman. Before I got government appointment, I was very successful, wealthy and com­fortable. I thank God for that. What I do is that, I spread my wealth to the poor. I don’t want to keep money, I want to give it out to the poor so that God will continue to bless me. Last year, I was invited by the governor and I went all the way to Taraba to preach , mentor and counsel about 700 youths. That is what I do. I’m a happy woman, well accomplished. God has blessed me with everything. So, I like to show the young people that they don’t have to go abroad for anything. Everything is here. I’m an example. I wasn’t born here because my mother is a European but I have lived here all my life. I had all my education here in Nigeria. My lifestyle is very simple. I’m a very positive person because my faith in God is very powerful. Nothing shakes me. If the roof comes down on me the next day, I’m smiling. I learnt that from my dad. My father is always smiling. In spite of his age, he looks 20/30 years younger. My family members are very cosmopolitan peo­ple. We don’t judge people, we are open-hearted. I come from a privileged family. It’s not a polygamous family, but a tight knitted family. When a family is like that, a lot of love flows. That’s how I re­late to other people and that’s why I love to mentor and admonished young people when I have the opportunity.
You have a fantastic figure, what’s the secret?
There’s no secret. I eat three times a day. I eat every­thing I like. The important thing is to have eating habits that will last you many years. Don’t put your body through extreme pressures. Be active. If you eat and you don’t burn it, it gets stored as fats. I’m restless by nature. I burn out everything I eat. When I’m hungry, I don’t eat cake or biscuits. When I’m hungry, I eat my fish soup, pumpkin soup, potatoes, filey, salmon and fish, chicken, salad, I eat proper food. If I’m going to eat cake, it’s just a slice of it, if am going to take ice cream, it’s just a scoop of it. I eat right. That is the secret of my youthful look. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. I don’t touch alchohol because as an artist, you don’t need to drink to be on top of the world.
Whats your fa­vourite quote?
Because we are in the season of lent, the quote that comes to mind is, ”man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out from the word of God.” People tend to run after instant gratification, I want it now, now, now. That is our mentality in Nigeria and in the world. It’s the mentality of young people. That quote tells you not to seek instant pleasure.
What has life taught you as a person?
There’s always a silver lining. Never give up. Learn to meditate. Have quiet moment with your God. God no longer speak to us like in the days of Abraham and Moses. However, God will not speak to you if your mind is muddled up or too involved in material pursuits. I’m not pursuing anything. I don’t want diamond, I don’t want gold. I can use the cost of that diamond to pay the school fees of someone whose parent cannot afford to send to school. Before I got a government appoint­ment, I could afford to buy 50 Ferragemo bags or 10 Christain Dior bags but I would not do that. I can buy just one if I want a designer bag but I would think of what to do with the money to help others. Life has taught me not to cling to material things. I’m contented. If I leave gov­ernment today, I will not try to pull down the next DG or spend my whole life writing petitions against the next DG, or try to extort money from the new DG. I will leave my life in a positive way to add value to lives. Then you end up fulfilled.

Source and credits: Saturday Sun