A maritime entrepreneur, Ganiyu Balogun, has challenged candidates for the 2027 elections to embrace the marine economy and water tourism as tools for creating jobs and reducing poverty,if elected.
Balogun, popularly known as Tarzan, gave the charge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Balogun, the President of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), said the sector could employ millions of youths if developed.
He said thousands of young Nigerians roaming the streets could find employment in boat operation, tourism, fishing and allied services.
According to him, developing the waterways would ease pressure on the labour market and reduce the poverty ravaging many communities.
“Poverty is high because we have refused to use the resources around us. Our waters can feed and employ millions,” he said.
Balogun criticised politicians who, he said, distributed money and food items during campaigns instead of proposing lasting economic solutions.
He described such gestures as deceptive, saying they impoverished citizens further and reduced elections to transactions.
“Sharing rice and cash during elections is an insult to the people. Give them jobs, not handouts,” he said.
He urged candidates at all levels to design programmes that would turn coastal and riverine communities into hubs of economic activity.
Balogun said water tourism alone could attract investors, generate foreign exchange and lift entire communities out of poverty.
He noted that countries with fewer water resources than Nigeria earned billions of dollars annually from marine tourism.
“Other nations are smiling to the bank with their waters. We are here begging for survival on top of wealth,” he said.
The ATBOWATON president called on the electorate to interrogate the economic plans of those seeking their votes.
He said the people must hold leaders accountable and reject candidates without a clear agenda for job creation.
“The power to change our story lies with the voters. They must choose leaders with vision and courage,” he said.
Balogun expressed optimism that a deliberate investment in the blue economy would reduce unemployment and secure the nation’s future.
