Metro

Beyond Beaches: Mr. Nonso uses tourism to connect Nigerians with their heritage

…Harnessing domestic tourism to drive nation branding

By Admin

The bus left Lagos Mainland at dawn, 150 voices humming with anticipation. By sunset, those same voices were singing around a bonfire at Elegushi Beach, feet in the sand, phones out, posting.

This was not just a tour. This was _‘Lagos Summer with Mr. Nonso’_ — August 22 — and it felt like a love letter to Nigeria, written in real time.

Art, History, and Hands-On Culture

First stop: Nike Art Gallery, Lekki. Four floors of color, chaos, and craft. Most in the group had heard of Nike but never walked her halls. They left with photos, stories, and a new respect for Nigerian art.

Next: The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University, Epe. Tucked away in green, the museum feels like a secret. Guests picnicked under trees before a guided tour of over 1,000 works. Then came the highlight — an Adire tie-and-dye class. Young professionals, expatriates, and families bent over fabric, learning a craft older than the city itself.

The finale: Elegushi Beach. Bonfire. Music. Networking. The kind of night Mr. Nonso dreams will one day last 4 days, like summers in the Mediterranean.

“Sell Nigeria Before We Invite Outsiders”

The brain behind it all is Mr. Chinonso Emmanuel Uche — Mr. Nonso. This is year 4 of _Lagos Summer_. Past editions toured Abuja, Enugu, and Imo.

“We need to consume what we have and push it out there,” he said. “Let Nigerians understand what we have first. When they go, take pictures, post online — that’s what will make foreigners start patronizing our place.”

Demand was so high they had to prune sign-ups to 150. Next year, he plans to scale.

Why This Matters

Nigeria’s tourism problem isn’t a lack of attractions. It’s awareness.

By taking people to Shyllon — a museum Mr. Nonso says “has more foreign visitors than Nigerians” — he’s filling that gap. By getting people to post, he’s turning tourists into marketers. By spending locally, he’s putting money in the hands of artists, drivers, and beach vendors.

And his pitch for Lagos is hard to argue:

“Apart from safari, every other thing you’re looking for in tourism is in Lagos — urban energy, beaches, colonial history, Yoruba culture, Brazilian heritage.”

Partnerships Too

Ginette Kadigiri, RwandAir’s Regional Manager for West & Central Africa, added value with a fun quiz and prizes — a smart example of how airlines can plug into domestic tourism.

The Bigger Picture