HOW ANAGO JAMES AKEEM OSHO HAVE EXCELLED IN THE PERIOD OF REVIEW (JUNE 2018-MAY 2019) TO WIN THE ‘BEST TOUR GUIDE AWARD IN NIGERIA’.
These potentials have tremendously helped to shape how I present my narratives to the tourists/visitors. Tour guide is not a lay man’s job, it is an art that requires good knowledge and understanding.
The earnest desire to satisfy my tourists travel or special needs, created a marketing niche and promotion for me. My niche is referrals which I get constantly. Such memorable tours which I give usually establish an impression on the mind of my tourists. According to some visitors who had been on my tours, especially historical and cultural tours, it had been asserted that my narratives and passion for history are unconsciously re-enacting the past in the present. To them, their tour guide experience with me makes them to see, feel and participate in events that are centuries or thousands of years old. These past events usually seem to come alive.
My activity log book reveals that from June 2018 to May 2019, I have tour guided about eight hundred and eighty nine (889) tourists and excursionists. I have guided about sixty seven tours (67) tours to different attraction sites.
My experiences and skills as a cultural and historic tour guide motivated Imani Bridges USA and Dr Kathy Dudley to approach me in December 2018, to partner with their organization to train youths and college graduates who are interested in Tourism and Tour Guiding.
I designed six (6) modules as guide for the training. The first class was held at the Transformation center Alivide-Badagry, Lagos State in March 2019. The training will be held twice a year. Another training will commence by October. Many people have benefited from similar training that I present.
I am an active member of West Africa Tour Guide Association, and the President of the Nigerian chapter. I am the official Tour Guide of many international and cultural exchanges organizations that visits Nigeria and West Africa annually, like the NigeriaBlackOut, Imani Bridges etc.
In one of my articles titled “The Positive and Negative role of a Tourist Guide in Tourist Destination Development”, I stated categorically how important a tour guide is in tourist destination development. Among the many roles of a Tour Guide is the role of an “Ambassador”. They are usually the first contact between the tourist product and the tourist. The impression the tour guide creates either positively or negatively could mould the perception of the tourists/visitors towards the tourist destination, products, community, people, or country.
My work as a cultural tour guide has brought me in contact with many African Descendants in the Diaspora, and I have helped them to learn that they have at least one African relative. The positive role I have been playing made Imperial African History and Genetic Genealogical Society USA, to appoint me as the Ambassador for DNA tested Yoruba of Nigeria and their matches in Diaspora. According to the founder, Nee C. Naja Levoe in her congratulatory message to me, she said “You have helped them to learn about their origins as well as taken them to several historical locations in Africa. This has given them back at least 450 years of lost history”.
My role, consistency and integrity as a tour guide, gave me the personality of a positive role model for the country and continent.
I have contributed immensely and supported the travel/tourism industry in Nigeria by the positive role I have been playing as one of the first contacts between the traveler and the tourist products or people. I have trained tour guides, and unemployed youths how to make a living from tourism.
My dedication to the importance of “Area knowledge” as an important skill in tour guiding in Nigeria has yielded positively. Such tourist’s destinations become known, popular and tour operators and travel Agencies would package such local destinations and sell it both locally and internationally. Badagry, Oshogbo and Calabar are some examples.
I have participated in tourism and travel events in Nigeria as a partner, panelist, location manager and guest speaker. Through my work as a cultural and historical tour guide, I have connected Nigeria and El Salvador in Central America (that have lost connection with Africa for more than 200 years), with Nigeria through Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa and soon, El Salvador will have an embassy in Nigeria.