- Bankole Bernard (NANTA President)
Bankole Bernard is
the National President of National Association of Nigeria Travel
Agencies (NANTA). A role he assumed in 2016. He worked in the banking industry
for eight years in various banks such as EcoBank, Metropolitan Bank
now United Bank for Africa, and
left in 2006 as a Branch Manager for First Atlantic Bank (FinBank).
Bankole Bernard is
the Founder and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Finchglow Travels
Limited/FCm Nigeria. He with the support of other directors founded the
company in 2006 after leaving behind his banking career.
His company
Finchglow Travels is named in the top 3 amongst about 1500 registered travel
agencies/travel management companies in Nigeria with sales volume of 10 billion naira annually.
He is also the Chairman of Travelden Nigeria Limited, an online Travel portal and Southoak
Aviation Services, Lagos Aviation Academy, Finchglow Holidays and Prysm
Investments.
As a socialite he works just as much as he enjoys
himself. He believes a balanced life makes a healthy body. He shares his
lifestyle with us in this interview with Paul Ukpabio.
What
would you say is the greatest achievement so far for NANTA?
Recently, we had our 43rd Annual General
meeting. To the best of my knowledge, this was the best AGM we have had in
recent times. Ever since I took over in 2016, I have been pushing the bar so
that the general public and the stakeholders in the industry can understand
what NANTA is about and who the members are. We contribute to the growth of the
GDP of this country, yet we are given little recognition because NANTA as a
body had not done much in terms of awareness in the past. So when I took over,
I realized that an association that has been around for over thirty years and
was least known even within the people in the industry, meant that a lot needed
to be done about awareness. So in 2016, we embarked on awareness campaign,
built a website, created social media accounts, restructured the secretariat
and worked through the zones. Now all that has been actualized! One other thing
that I will like to say that we have achieved is that our advocacy has yielded
results to the point that people are now aware that there is an association in
the travel and tourism industry that is known as NANTA and it is functioning
well.
What
are your fears about the industry so far?
Personally, I actually do not pay
attention to fears, what I see in the industry are the growing opportunities
that exists therein because what you consider as fears, in there, lies great
opportunities. And what are these opportunities, for us to become a strong
pressure group and understand that we are to assist the government in the area
of suitable, sustainable policies and regulations that contribute greatly to
the aviation industry.
Sometime
ago the fear of plane crash ruled the Nigerian skies, but these days it has
become a thing of the past, has that influenced better operations in the travel
indices in Nigeria?
Air crashes in the country has reduced
greatly because technology has improved, safety and security has been taken to
another level, through the effort and support of IATA. With that we have had
some level of stability in terms of sky safety and we are in a period where
there is awareness about travel. A lot of Nigerians travel these days and there
has also been a lot of awareness about travelling which has made the volume of
travelers to go up. That has contributed to the aviation sector of the
industry through the awareness that has been created and the safety methods put
in place by IATA. We now have more and more people travelling and more and more
airlines coming into the Nigerian airspace.
What
does it to be the President of NANTA and what are the challenges like?
It doesn’t take more than being dogged,
committed, and passionate about the growth of the industry one loves. Being the
president of NANTA in these past three years, I have discovered that a lot of
my time and resources has been thrown into NANTA cause. There is nothing that
gives a man fulfillment like seeing that you put your time and resources into
something that you can see the possible growth. So in the last three years, I
have seen NANTA grow and I have also seen government show recognition for the
existence of NANTA.
How
about the challenges?
The challenges is that I have less time
for myself and my family, and my business, but I have been involved in creating
a better general platform for everybody to survive and that is a better
sacrifice. One thing in life is that we must learn to sacrifice for ourselves
and others. So I consider it a great opportunity to sacrifice this time for us
all for the great of the industry.
Tell
us what led you into the travel industry?
For me, having worked in the banking
industry for several years, coming into the travel industry was indeed a
relief. That is because the travel industry is not monotonous like banking. It
is very dynamic and very broad. You meet with different challenges by the day
and having a positive mindset to get those problems solved has been worth my
while.
You
were once a banker; can you tell us more about that aspect of your life?
I worked in Ecobank, and other banks, and
my last place of work in the banking sector was First Atlantic Bank where I
left as a branch manager.
What
was the interest that led you into the travel business?
I wanted to try something new. And if I
wasn’t going to do banking, the other alternative business that I had always
admired and wanted to be a part of, was the travel business. So I encouraged
myself into it and found out that it has really been worth my while. However,
it is more stressful than banking from what I have seen but I still prefer it
hundred times over to banking.
What
has been the turning point for you?
The turning point in my life was when I
got the opportunity to add value to other people by asking them to join me to
work with me. That was the actual transition from being an employee to becoming
an employer. That was a great thing and getting other people’s dreams fulfilled
through me has been a greater achievement.
Can
you tell us a little about your background?
I attended Igbobi College, studied
economics from the University of Lagos. Back then, I actually saw myself
becoming the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria until I left banking for
Aviation. Now, I’m looking forward to being a Minister of Aviation since I have
left banking and that my dream of becoming the CBN governor did not come to
pass.
What
inspires you to think that you could one day be a Minister?
The present Minister is an aviator. He
was once a Pilot. So it is very easy to become a Minister if you are passionate
and you are identified within the industry; you could emerge as one especially
also, if you are willing to serve.
At
what point did you call it quit with banking?
The decision for me to call it quits
with the banking industry came up when the consolidation of banks started, and
the fact that they had to shrink the banks by force was a rough indication to
me that it wasn’t going to be competitive any more. And just as I thought, the
whole banking industry became monotonous for me to stay. That was when I
realized that I couldn’t find any new challenges in it. So I urged myself to
try something new.
Looking
back who would you say influenced you most?
My mother influenced me most because she
was a teacher and extremely hard working. She always wanted the best from me
and she could go to any length to make sacrifices for her children.
Were
you a privileged child?
(Laughs) No, I was not; I was actually
an under-privileged child. That is because we didn’t have everything we needed
while we were growing up. It was a huge struggle.
But
you still found the money to go to school?
That is one thing that was real in my
family when I was growing up. Education was made a priority for us back then.
Where
did you grow up?
I grew up here in Lagos. It was quite
interesting that Lagos then was not as crowded as it is presently and the crime
rate was very low, it had not escalated like we have it now. Children were
allowed to be children. But unlike now that things are quite different and
people are up-tight and everyone is caged in-doors. Children cannot go outside
to play, because of fear of kidnapping. Lagos was okay for us while growing up,
then we could easily board a public transport as a child and your parents will
not be scared. But now parents can’t do that or allow their children out of
their sight without serious pre-cautions. We used to board LMTS (the Lagos
Metropolitan Transport Service) buses then un-guarded.
What
other memories of childhood do you have?
When I was forced to go to a boarding
school at the age of seven, it was a big challenge; I was forced to learn the
hard way! Unlike other children who were still with mommy and daddy at that
age, I was forced to go to a boarding school, a convent school. My parents were
working and again my late grandfather, who was a Muslim, wanted all his
grandchildren to go to that school. It was called Nazareth Convent School, in
Epe. That is where I hail from.
But
why did your grandfather insist that you all should attend the convent school?
Oh, that was because he gave the school
the land and knows that Catholic school offer better education.
What
future are you looking at for NANTAP?
I must say that the future is bright; and
the future I see is simple. I want NANTA to be at the level of relevance all
over the world. We have such associations in the world like the American Society
of Travel Agents (ASTA), also the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA),
these ones are at the very high level and they are very well respected and that
is the level I want NANTA to be.
What
do you think made NANTA members choose you as their president?
I guess they saw me as someone who has
done very well in the same business that they are also into, and they believed
that I would be able to take them to the level that they wish that they want to
be. And in several ways I think that I have been able to meet with their
expectations.
One
would expect that one who is in the traveling business would equally love to
travel. Do you like travelling?
Yes, I do. I have travelled far and
wide. I have been to every continent on the globe. I enjoy traveling. The only
thing I have not been able to do since being in office as the president of
NANTA is to travel. Being president of NANTA has actually restricted me from
many of the travels that I would have ordinarily made if I was not the president
of the body. That’s because of the assignments of the body! I don’t make my
personal trips that I ought to be doing. I have spent most of my time these
past three years going from one state of the country to another. Well, that is
still travelling but that is still travel within Nigeria. But I am glad that at
least the members can see my impact as their national president.
You
are in the travel business, how do you merge culture and travel especially to
somebody like you who is stylish and fashionable?
Travel has one product and that product
is culture. So more often than not, when you travel, what you get to buy where
you go, is the culture of those living there. So traveling is one thing that
can help us to tell people about our culture. There is no way that you travel
and not imbibe something about the culture of the people you met when you got
to your destination. So tourism is the vehicle with which you use to launch
your culture to the rest of the world. And traveling is the easiest way to make
it happen.
Are
you satisfied with the rate of tourism in present day Nigeria?
It is still better than before but it is
just that one is not comfortable with the fact that the Ministry of Tourism is
still tied into the Ministry of Information. That way, tourism is handicapped.
But I am sure that the Director General of Tourism is doing everything he can,
to make sure that we can get a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism, couple with the
fact that a bill is in process, we are just waiting for the president to assent
to it.
You
left Banking for Travel and Tourism. If you were not in these two things, what
else would you have love to do?
(Thought for a while) Sincerely, I don’t
know what else I would have loved to be doing. I left banking for this so if I
am given an opportunity, this is very likely what I would still be doing. You
also have to know that tourism is the biggest industry in the world.
Are
you fulfilled?
I am more than fulfilled. I am grateful
to God for giving me the opportunities that I have had in life.
What
do you value most?
I value God, followed by my family. I
have three children with a beautiful wife. I try as much as possible to spend
time with my family. Any spare time that I have, is spent with them. Once I am
not doing NANTA or doing my business, the next thing I do is to go home and
attend to my family.
What
does success mean to you?
Success to me is not about money, it is
about finding fulfillment in whatever you do. Once you find fulfillment in what
you do, then that means that you have found success.
What
sport did you grow up with; do you still find time for it?
Yes, I love sports. I love to play
tennis but in recent times I have not had the opportunity of time to keep up
with playing it.
Are
you a member of any social club?
Yes, I am a member of Ikoyi Club 1938.
Being
a socialite, does your job inspire you to socials?
My job is all about enjoyment, the
ability to create fun for others. So it automatically rubs off on me. I enjoy
encouraging people to travel to destinations where they can find fun and
maximum enjoyment. My job does not encourage boredom. If I am bored or I see
people who are bored, I can encourage them to take time off to destinations
that I know they will find maximum relaxation and fun. Whatever your situation,
there is somewhere that can bring the active part of you back to life.
Growing
up did you have role models?
I did but the role models kept changing
from time to time. For instance, when I was in the bank, I had a role model.
And when I got into the travel industry too, I found myself a role model. At
the bank, my immediate line boss was my role model. He was very passionate
about his work. Also when I got into traveling business, Femi Adefowope became
my role model. He is very passionate about his work and about the industry.
What
would you have loved to do differently or change?
If there is anything I will like to
change in the industry, it is to improve on the level of professionalism. That
is because the travel agencies are like ambassadors of the country. We are the
ones that get to advice people where to travel to or spend their time and days
or even months. So if we lack the professionalism, then we will not be able to
guide people into having memorable experiences. And if people do not have
favorable memorable experiences, definitely they will come back sad about the
destination that we have sold. So improving the professionalism in the industry
would be my immediate priority.
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