Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of information, culture and tourism, has expressed his willingness to visit TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in Ikotun, Lagos state, saying the place of worship is the most visited tourist centre in Nigeria.
Lai Mohammed made the disclosure in Lagos, during a recent media briefing with newsmen on the coming United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s Committee for Africa (UNWTO-CAF) meeting scheduled to take place in Abuja.
The report gathers that the minister indicated his willingness to have a sight seen of the popular place of worship, in light of its position as the biggest tourist attraction to Nigeria.
The minister who also gave a breakdown of the positive impact of the famous church’s activities on Nigeria economy encouraged those who come in from other places to visit the church, to spend their money so that the country can also benefit.
“Honestly speaking, I have no issues at all visiting Synagogue. This is why this particular conference is important; because it is dealing with data, statistics. You see, if 500 people come in every day to Synagogue Church, it means in a month, we have about 15,000 people.
“The impact of 15,000 people on the economy of the Alimosho local government area monthly… You know when they come, which hotel will they stay? What will they eat? How do they go? Do they go outside the church?
“You see, these are issues we need to study; but if you have one source that could sustain thousands of people on a regular basis to your country, it is very important. If they don’t go outside the church, the impact on the economy will be a bit less.
“We need to engage the proprietor. Tourism is not just sightseeing. We have medical tourism everywhere in the world. We have religious tourism.
“Take Saudi Arabia for instance, where hundreds of thousands of people go from all over the world. But the biggest impact on the economy is that when you go to Saudi Arabia, if you have the money, you will buy goods and come back.
“I want to encourage those who come in, even after receiving spiritual blessings, they should please spend their money so that the country can also benefit. But I think it is a good idea,” Lai Mohammed said.