VISIT TO THE FELA MUSEUM-

 Fela, the Broadway musical show went around America, Europe, and finally came to Nigeria. The audience around the world was thrilled and mesmerized; many were awoken to spirituality and the force Fela represented through Afro Beat.

He was the voice of the hopeless and a megaphone in championing the cause of the common man. The world saw the magic, the brilliance, bravery, and his endless collision with the powers that be. And that the show was backed by Jay Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinket, it became one of the biggest.

The production won the Lucille Lortel Awards for Best Musical, Outstanding Choreographer for Bill T. Jones, and Outstanding Costume Design for Marina Draghici. The Broadway production received eleven 2010 Tony Award nominations and won Best Choreography, Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical

Fela is from Nigeria, Broadway is one of the biggest stages in the world. Unfortunately, Nigeria was unable to ride the momentum of the show running on Broadway, and turn the Fela Museum to a Mecca of some sort. It was a monumental waste of opportunity.

Felabration starts next week and I visited the Fela Museum, the Kalakuta, and indeed the shrine. The Museum where Fela spent his last day and where he rested is still magical, and we still fail to wrap our head around the humongous opportunity this could have done to our tourism.

Our economy should have felt the impact of international visitors during Felabrations,-hotel filled up, our national carrier hauling tourist, our taxis busy, tour guides busy, our farmers selling more food, tourist buying souvenirs, bars selling more drinks, and the naira gaining traction.

We are still sleeping

Hafees Keshinro is the Founder CEO Butterfly Tourism Nigeria