|By Ifere Paul| 19th October, 2017
In 2009, I volunteered to teach English with "Teachers Without
Borders", in Porto Rico, after a ravaging storm tore apart the Island,
destroying social amenities and wounding a lot of people. The hurricane was
named either Ana or Erika. And it destroyed the destroyed major parts of the
Caribbean too.
During the visa processing and interview, I was given a catalog of
Puerto Rico to read about the Island. All volunteers after arriving Puerto Rico
were advised to gather at the Avenue of Heroes in front of the Capitol Building
in San Juan. According to the catalog, the Avenue of Heroes is a place where
statues of presidents of the US who visited the island are erected and kept as
a commemoration of their visits and contributions towards relief efforts.
I was informed that the Avenue of Heroes attracts tourists more than
any other part of San Juan. Although the Capitol Building is an administrative
center, there are lots of centers for relaxations, special San Juan pies and
pizzas, spicy tacos, and a lot of other attractions.
The catalog made me to understand that more than 3000 San Juan
residents benefits from the booming market of tourists visiting the Avenue of
Heroes. The report said that no fewer than 500 factories, employing local labor
strives on the manufacturing of tourists souvenirs made from local materials.
Puerto Rico has blue sparkling beaches which are masterpieces for
tourists who wants to sunbath after a long winter period. There are high class
hotel providing accommodation for all class of tourists.
In 2012 or there about, President Barrack Obama statue was erected
and unveiled in Puerto Rico. According to recent surveys, many tourists to the
Avenue of Heroes treats the Obama statue with interest. Often hugging the
statues for selfies. At the moment, the city is divided whether or not a Donald
Trump statue should be erected at the Avenue of Heroes. Majority of the people,
according to a CNN report, said that "Donald Trump does not deserve a
heroic treatment."
I did not get a visa to join other volunteers to experience the
attractions because I had no TESL Certificate at that time, but it was a lesson
I still treasure even though I have lost the catalog.
I may be wrong, but in 1887 the people of France donated the statue
of Liberty to the people of the United States. It was designed by French
sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel. At that time,
New Yorkers were said to have rejected the statue several times, and it was
almost taken to Boston. This statue has long been a tourists attraction for
anyone who is visiting New York.
In China, there is a big temple with statues of Confucius in
Beijing. It is one of the most visited after "The Summer Palace."
There are many other statues scattered all around Chinese cities to tell the
uniqueness of such cities and their history. They all are an attraction to
tourists.
In Calabar, in 1999, the city was design and different statues were
erected to help beautify the city. Hygiene, greenery and parks, coupled with
tree planting, and cleanliness helped markets the tourism potentials of Cross
River State. Today, Unical Gate, Calabar/Calabar, Destination Calabar, Mary
Slessor Statue, the fisherman's roundabout at Atimbo, the Effiette workman
roundabout, the bronze finger's garden are all statues that once sold our
potential as the first tourist state in Nigeria.
Erecting statues to boost tourism and commerce is not a bad idea. To
erect the statue of Jacob Zuma in Oweri, Imo State is not a bad idea. It
mustn't be a Mandela statue.
In all, I heard that the Imo State Governor, will soon unveil many
other statues. I don't care which persons or animal statue is erected, one
thing I know is that Rochas Okorocha may not be wrong. He may be laying the
foundation of tourism in Imo State. If he can complement his statues drive, to
payment of salaries and developing other critical infrastructures, Imo State
will be on the part of a tourists attraction.
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