Mercy Johnson and the team of six (6) notable personalities were led by the executive director Questal House, Barr. Izu Osuigwe
ABOUT THE SHOW
It is the first tourism based reality television show in the world and Nigeria is pioneering it. We are partnering with the FEDERAL MINISTRY OF TOURISM, CULTURE AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION on the project.
Screening Zones
Entry to Quest Nigeria 2008 closes on the 6th of September 2008 while screening kicks off at the following zones.
| S/N |
Zone & Date |
Location |
Screening Address |
| 1 |
South – East / South - South zone
Date: 9th & 10th September 2008 |
Imo State |
Summer Suite, Owerri. |
| 2 |
Northern zone Abuja
Date: 11th & 12th September 2008 |
Abuja. |
Nanet Hotel Plot 242 Herbert Macaulay Way,
Zone 4 Wuse, Abuja. |
| 3 |
South west zone;
Date: 15th & 16th sept. 2008 |
Lagos |
Beach Gate Hotel Lekki Beach, Lagos. |
| |
WHERE DID YOU TRAVEL TO? AND WHAT WERE THE PURPOSES OF THE VISITS?
We actually visited some of the areas that will be hosting the contestants in the inaugural edition.
- To ensure that the games to be played in the states meets with their cultural, traditional and moral standards.
- Discussed with the states officials on what we expect them to do to ensure a successful outing in their respective states.
We visited Oyo, FCT, Plateau, Niger, Kaduna and Kano.
WHAT WERE THE RESPONSES LIKE
Mind blowing, The states realized that the reality television show offers unique opportunities for the selected states to showcase their tourism potentials, culture etc to a watching audience in 44 countries in Africa and beyond, which translates to a viewing population of more than three hundred million people across.
Apart from Oyo State where we were asked to include the picturesque AGBELE HILLS and IGBETTI Marbles as they deliberate on what steps to adopt, other states visited and the FCT have expressed their commitment in terms of interest and support.
In Minna, the Honourable Commissioner For Tourism and Culture, Honourable Umar Nasko and the General Manager of the State Tourism Corporation Mr. I.B. Mustapha advised us to substitute some of the locations earlier chosen with the following; GURARA WATER FALLS, BIDA BRASS WORKS, ETC
In Plateau, the very capable Ministry for Tourism and Culture, under Honourable Dan I. Ajik, informed us that the great HELENA FARMS that provided the bulk of rose flowers used to bury PRINCESS DIANA of BRITAIN is no longer in operation, so we are adding Jos Wildlife Resort with its elephants and lions to areas the contestants shall visit.
In Kaduna, we met the Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Hon. Allamagani Yohanna, who assured us of the preparedness of the state to be part of the competition, and reiterated the unique position of the state in the tourism map of the country.
The Kano State Ministry of Tourism and Culture under Hon. Barrister Haruna Isa Dederi, exhibited a high level of readiness for the reality show and as Mr. Ali Bature, the Director of Arts and Culture quipped, this is another opportunity to exhibit the tranquility and peace that reigns in the state to the country and Africa in general.
At the ABUJA TOURISM DEVELOPMENT BOARD, a committee had already been set up for the tourism reality show under the chairmanship of the director of the board, Alhaji Abdullahi.
Modalities for a successful outing of the Abuja leg of the competition were discussed and fine tuned.
The next stage of the pre competition tour will take us to Imo, Edo, Cross River, Benue and Anambra states which are on the list of twelve states to enable us appraise the readiness of the states to be part of this unique reality television show.
More so, an additional eight states have written to Questal House wishing to be part of the competition. So we stated it clearly for any state which lacks the capacity to be part of this edition to indicate. This will enable us extend the opportunity to any of these interested states.
WHAT IS THE KEY DIFFERENCE WITH OTHER REALITY TELEVISION SHOWS?
A lot really, this appears to be the most involving show as twelve states shall be visited. The contestants will race across the country discovering the key tourist sites in each of these states.
Also the games they will play in the states are patterned on the culture and traditions of the visited states.
Evictions parties shall be held once in each zone, attracting the business, political, educational and civil stakeholders of the affected zone there by engendering an interactive platform for high powered networking opportunities.
AIRING OF THE SHOW
The show shall be aired for one month on DSTV, NTA, AIT, MBI and other local channels.
SPONSORSHIP
We are fortunate to have the support of the federal government through the Ministry of Tourism Culture and National Orientation. The Honourable Minister; Prince Adetokunbo A. Kayode has been very supportive of the reality show. And have declared it in line with the federal government’s agenda on tourism development.
Other bodies behind us includes
1. LEVENTIS GROUP
2. NANET HOTELS GROUP
3. R. T. BRISCOE MOTORS
Also the states we have visited so far have been highly supportive and encouraging.
CHALLENGES
One could say that the most glaring challenges now have been how to handle the request of states that have written requesting to be part of this show. In fact two of the states have invited us to discuss on what could be done to move forward.
It will be difficult to substitute any of the listed states with another, unless a state declines, but so far none have taken this step. |
