The Nation Newspaper

Category: Travels on Saturday

  • Emancipation Day: Aregbesola calls for African unity

    Emancipation Day: Aregbesola calls for African unity

    The Emancipation Day Celebration was recently held in  Ghana. Participants for the annual event converged on different parts of the world, especially from America and the Caribbeans .

    The activities were held in the cities of Accra and Cape Coast. This year’s programme highlights included wreath-laying ceremonies at  the Du Bois Centre for Pan African Culture,  George Padmore Library and Kwame Nkrumah Park in the heart of Accra.

    These three venues are the final resting places of three illustrious sons of Africa and Pan Africanists who lived, dreamt and worked together in Ghana to consolidate and solidify the emancipation, liberation and decolonization of Africa and the black race.

    The event was held under the auspices the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts. The Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,  was the special guest and guest speaker for this year’s edition.

    Aregbesola, who arrived Ghana for the event, visited the Nigerian embassy. He later laid a wreath at the George Padmore Library and Kwame Nkrumah Park.

    At  the George Padmore Library, Aregbesola  was welcomed by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs. Elizabeth Agyari, and other Ghanian government officials. He later  lit the flame of freedom.

    Aregbesola also visited the  Nkrumah Park where he gave a short speech.  The Osun State Governor said it was  time for Africa to wake up early because it was getting too late,.

    According to him,  Africa lags behind other continents in development. Here, his main focus was on the African youths who engaged in drama and dance rich in  the African culture. After this, the governor and other participants walked into the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s mausoleum.

    The mausoleum is one of the top tourist sites in Accra. The interior was made of gold and fine marble befitting the first President of the Republic of Ghana.

    There are two statues in the park, the new one made of pure gold is a few metres away from the old one destroyed by soldiers as a result of Ghana’s first  coup d’état.  The destroyed Nkrumah statue broken into two has a story to tell. The bullet marks on the body speak volumes about the violent past of the country.

    The second day of the programme was at the former capital of Ghana called Cape Coast, a major tourist destination in Africa, blessed with one of the finest and best beaches around in Africa. It is the home of the famous Elmina Castle. Cape Coast attracts thousands of foreign tourists annually.

    At Cape Coast, Aregbesola delivered  an inspiring paper. Decked in all white  agbada attire , he delivered his paper in an auditorium filled to the brim with Africans and African-American audience.

    Among them were  Prof. Hamlet Maulana , an  African-American historian; Rabbi- kohain Halevi , the Executive Secretary of Panafest Intternational;  Mama Imahkus Njinga Okofu, CEO of One African Resort and Restaurant and Nana Kobina Nkatsia V, paramount chief of Essikodo.

    Mr. Kehinde Oluwafusho, who along with his twin brother, are Panafest representatives in Nigeria, took the stage to introduce the governor of Osun State to the audience, in his words. Kehinde described Ogbeni as a leader of leaders who drives the vision of others, a man of robust ideology, a strong and formidable Pan- Africanist , a strong advocate of the people’s culture who talks Africa, eats Africa  dreams Africa.

    Aregbesola, in his paper, took the audience through popular African proverbs, traditional songs, properly interpreted, interjected at intervals. Bob Marley’s freedom song; was interjected into his address.

  • Global Lifestyle group marks Eid al-Adha

    The Global Lifestyle hotel brands in Nigeria made up of Sheraton Lagos Hotel, Sheraton Abuja Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton Lagos, Le Meridien Ogeyi Place- Port Harcourt and Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resorts- Akwa Ibom have unveiled  Eid packages for its customers.

    The hotel teams have extended their goodwill to families and friends with discounted room rates  valid from 8 to 18 of September.

    The Area General Manager for the hotels, Barry Curran, said:  “This festive holiday will be celebrated with special Sallah meals where families can come together to enjoy roast lamb and other delicacies prepared by renowned chefs of the hotels.

    “At Le Meridien Ogeyi Place Hotel in Port Harcourt, you can be sure that the Sallah special at the Ororo Restaurant is a treat to experience. “

    For those wishing to enjoy the the Eid holidays, he said: Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and  Golf Resort Akwa Ibom is the perfect get-away choice for family and friends.

    “Our offers will include complimentary breakfast,  complimentary dinner or lunch, high speed internet access, in-room amenities, express access to our fitness facilities, while kids below six  eat for free.

    “You can spend the day at Sheraton Lagos Hotel or Four Points by Sheraton Lagos without sleeping over and still access our world-class recreational facilities.”

  • Ooni: Promoting tourism through Motherland Beckons

    Nigerians in the Diaspora (NIDO) has opened its Motherland Beckons Office in Enuwa, Ile-Ife. This is the organization’s show of commitment to the efforts of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi’s efforts to develop the ancient town into a world-class tourism destination.

    It would be recalled that the Ooni of Ife formally declared the ancient city a Tourism Zone last  February.  The formal opening of Motherland Beckons  Nigerians in Diaspora (NIDO) office at the Enuwa Palace was performed by the Ooni who is also the grand patron of Motherland Beckons, an organisation founded by Otunba Wanle Akinboboye which is dedicated to the promotion of Africa and enhancing linkage between the Diaspora and Africa.

    On the occasion, Oba  Ogunwusi (Ojaja 11) spoke of his ennobling vision of uniting Nigerians in the Diaspora and responsibility towards them as he sees them as one of his primary consistencies in his grand design of fostering peace, unity and development in Nigeria as well as Africa.

    The monarch also emphasised the significant role of the Diaspora in the development of the nation.

    He said America was developed by immigrants from Europe and not the native Red Indians. Oba Ojaja 11 then used the occasion to express gratitude to the members of NIDO America for the warm reception and hospitality accorded him and his entourage during his visit to the USA in June.

    He urged NIDO members not to relent in their efforts in contributing to national growth and development and showered royal blessings on them and stressed that the new NIDO office is for NIDO America, NIDO Europe, NIDO Africa and the Caribbean.

  • Intercontinental Hotel unveils Chef Kong

    For many Nigerian diners, the Chinese cuisines have become food that they have grown to love. This has led to many Chinese restaurants springing up and the Nigerian public has taken to their meals.

    Intercontinental Hotel says it is introducing a new and vastly experienced Chinese chef that specializes in modern Chinese delicacies and fusions of Chinese food with local food spices and flavours. The hotel unveiled its new Chinese chef, Mr.  Chua Kong. He will be preparation modern Chinese cuisines at the hotel’s Soho Restaurant.

    Speaking on the new chef, the director of food and beverages, Mr. Ahmed Raza, said it was part of the efforts to offer the Nigerian diners the best: “We have a new chef on Chinese cuisines. He has come with vast experience from different parts of Asia. He was worked in India and Malaysia. His main area of expertise is modern Chinese cuisines. The idea is that Chinese cuisines are very popular in this part of the world, especially Nigeria.

    “A lot of families come to us and what we want to give to them is Chinese food with a Nigerian twist. We will be focusing on the spices and we want to make authentic Chinese flavour with the Nigerian flavour. That is our target market. We want to reach out to the local Nigerian diner who loves Chinese food and we will make sure we give them the best Chinese food.”

    On his target market, he said: “Obviously, our main target is the local Nigerian market. That is our ideal focus. So, if that is our target market, why not create flavours that they will appreciate? That is the exact idea behind this.

    “That is the reason we have hired a new Chinese chef, Shua’s great experience in blending flavours. He has done that in India, China and Malaysia, and I am sure he will approach this task with the same zeal and enthusiasm. We revisit our tastes and we pander to the taste of local Nigerians. I am sure Shua has the ability to really conquer the hearts of Nigerians.”

    Chef Kong said he was excited and that the experience in Nigeria was “very good experience because of the culture of the people in Nigeria, the flavour. In other countries, the taste is different. Here your food is more spicy. So, now we come with menus that have more variety in terms of spice.

    “We have dishes for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Our cuisine is a modern Chinese cuisine with authentic sauce, but we do the fusion to come up with something exciting and different. We have about 27 sauces and all the dishes are different and unique. We serve the dishes with the sauces.”

  • Chesney: Using technology to enhance customers’ experience

    Chesney: Using technology to enhance customers’ experience

    The owner of Chesney Hotels Lagos, Mr Ken Obinna, has said the hotel “is using modern technology to enhance customers’ experience and in the process, its customers have been taken to a new level of experience”.

    According to him, the use of technology to enhance costumers’ experience is noteworthy, and this shows   from the gate, where cars are checked with an inspection mirror, through the revolving doors, to the lounge where separate buttons indicate what particular service you want from the barman, and the ultra-modern elevator as well as the air purifiers on every floor.

    The  rooms , he said,  come in nice brown shades, with the touch of deep red. The décor also draws inspiration from different African cultures. On the walls in the passages can be found pictures and paintings of various heros, from Martin Luther to Barack Obama and Lionel Messi.

    The lampshades by the bed are both aesthetic and functional, with the light switch conveniently placed on the board above the bed.

    Other pluses include a wide range of channels, seamless power switch over, competitive pricing for drinks and superfast room service. Apparently, Chesney places a lot of importance on quality as well as the speed of delivery of food.

    According to the hotel’s business service manager, MalvinOkorafor, Chesney has kept pulling in new guests with food. “Everything here is made fresh, despite meals being delivered in no time,”he said.

    The a-la-carte menu options include English or Nigerian breakfast, beef, chicken, seafood and vegetarian, burgers, sandwiches and pizza. Then there’s the special Nigerian menu which includes ofada rice, boli (roasted plantain), asaro (yam porridge, beans porridge, dundu (parboiled fried yam) and the full complement of Nigerian soups (efo riro, egusi, ogbono, afang, bitter leaf, oha and white soup).

    According to Okorafor, most of the hotel’s guests are corporate clients. This is by design; the hotel’s calm setting is ideal for businesspeople. For example, there are no live bands or themed nights and music is low whenever it’s played.

    He said the hotel  has ultra-modern conferencing facilities for meetings and presentations. This and the management’s flexibility and personalised service ensure it is rapidly becoming a favourite for discerning corporate guests and individuals with cherished world-class quality in a peaceful environment.

    The synthetic grass at the Chesney garden that leads to the crystal clear swimming pool is just one of the many attributes that show what the Chesney Hotel on Saka Tinubu, Victoria Island, is all about.

    The 50-room hotel is one of the modern hotels in Lagos giving international brands a run for their money. As many insiders in the tourism and hospitality industry know, Lagos has some catching up to do when it comes to offering international standard hotel rooms which  apart from costs incurred from generating their own power  is a major reason for the high prices hotel rooms command.

  • NICO to commence language programme

    In line with its mandate of mobilising Nigerians towards a culture-oriented lifestyle, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is  organising this year’s edition of its annual 4-week Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP).

    A statement by Caleb Nor, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of NICO, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma said participation in the programme, which begins from August 2nd to 30th  at the institute’s head office at No. 23, Kigoma Street, Wuse Zone 7, Abuja as well as its Zonal Offices is free.

    The statement added that the programme, which is in line with the institute’s mandate of harnessing culture for national development seeks to create awareness on the need to speak our indigenous languages, create a sense of pride in our indigenous languages, foster national pride/identity, encourage and preserve our indigenous languages as well as stimulate creativity in science and technology through the use of indigenous languages.

    This year’s Abuja edition of the programme will feature six (6) languages Efik, Gbagyi, Igbo, Hausa, Tiv and Yoruba.

    Meanwhile, the programme will run concurrently in Akure (Ondo State), Yenagoa (Bayelsa State), Owerri (Imo State), Katsina (Kastina State), Ilorin (Kwara State) and Yola (Adamawa State) where the institute’s Zonal Offices are located.

  • ATPN advises Ambode on Tarzan Jetties

    The Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN) has called on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State to reconsider his decision to seal off the Ikoyi Jetty of Gani Tarzan  Boats and unilaterally revoke the lease agreement the state entered with the water transport company to use some jetties in Lagos as a springboard to develop water transportation in the state and access islands in the state for touristic purposes.

    The President of ATPN, Malan Kabir, in a release titled ‘No, Governor Ambode’, said it was unfortunate that after spending and putting in so much to develop water transportation in the state, hostility is now being visited on Gani Tarzan Boats by the state government.

    His words: “When Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s government approached the Managing Director of Tarzan Jetty,  Mr. Ganiyu Balogun (De Boatman), to invest in the hitherto waterlogged areas to complement the government efforts of easing the monstrous traffic jams, little did the boatman imagine that a day would come when he would be thrown out.

    “When he was encouraged by the then government to rehabilitate the marshy and waterlogged areas, as a businessman, he took it very seriously. He brought his expertise and funds and invested. It became a very good service to the people who moved around daily for their daily bread. He greatly contributed in making things easy for the transportation of hundreds of people.

    “Now the order being given by the government of Ambode is, to say the least, unfortunate. This certainly will send a wrong signal to both local and international tourism investors in the state. Because tourism has a long gestation period where one makes investments and waits to reap the benefits at much later years. This is exactly what Tarzan Balogun and his company did. He made his investments and now it is time for him to recoup his investments”.

    The ATPN, therefore, advised Lagos State to handle the matter properly. The association called for dialogue. It said the state should look back at the days when the state jetties were yearning for development.

    It continued: “We, members of the ATPN, are watching carefully how this issue is resolved. It will help us shape our thoughts. Lagos State must stop and pursue the path of dialogue. This will give the necessary confidence investors need, especially tourism investors, whose investments take a long period to mature.”

    It would be recalled that last month, the Lagos State government shut down Tarzan Boats’ loading jetty at Ikoyi, Lagos and ordered him to vacate the jetties which the company allegedly leased from the state for 25 years.

  • Ayade wins Tourism Man of the Year Award

    Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade,  has won the Balafon Tourism Man of the Year Award for Nigeria and West Africa.

    It was a four-man race, involving him, the Minister of Tourism for Ghana, Minister of Tourism for The Gambia and Obinna Ekezie, the Managing Director of Wakanow.

    This was based on the results released recently  by the award committee. The Balafon Award Committee, made up of travel professionals and journalists from Nigeria and Ghana, approved the results for the best performers in travel and tourism in West Africa. The committee had earlier met and shortlisted nominees for the different award categories. The shortlisted nominees were then exposed to public votes online.

    After a robust debate, while analysing the results, the award committee approved the results. Winners will be presented with award certificates at the Accra Weizo event in Ghana on July 15. From the analysis, it is obvious that most of the voters were from Nigeria and Ghana with a few other voters from other parts of Africa.

    The governor, in his first year in office, not only sustained the tradition of the Carnival Calabar, but raised the bar for the event. His tourism achievements in 12 months in office included the opening of the first monorail in sub Sahara Africa, hosting the biggest ever street carnival in Africa last year and setting up Callywood, the new movie genre rated to be bigger and better than Nollywood.

    He is also creating new cities in the state. Cross River State prides itself on having created the first authentic international carnival in Africa with participation from Africa and other parts of the world.

    He introduced the first Bikers Parade, the first green carnival and delivered the largest crowd ever seen since carnival began in 2014.

    These achievements helped governor clinch the double award in his first year.

    Other  Balafon Awards winners based on results approved by the committee include:

    Best Airlines in West Africa: Arik, Asky, Air Peace; Top 10 Hotels in West Africa: Eko Hotel and Suites Lagos, Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, Intercontinental Hotel Lagos, Labadi Beach Hotel Accra, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel Accra, Kairaba Hotel Gambia, Radisson Blu Hotel Lome, Wheatbakers Lagos, Lou Moon Ghana, MovenPick Ambassador Hotel Accra.

  • Intercontinental adds Sunday Brunch

    Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos is currently providing families in Lagos a chance for quality weekend outdoor dining. The culinary offering by the hotel includes champagne and international dishes from different parts of the world.

    The idea, according to the hotel, is to give both locals and foreign guests opportunity to enjoy meals from different parts of the world.

    Speaking on the innovation at the hotel, Mr. Ahmed Raza, the director of food and beverages, said: “What we want to promote is family festivity each week. We want the families to come here and have a great time with the music, the children activities that we have, with the dishes that we have that represent Nigerian, Italian, Indian favorites; we have cuisines from all around the world.

    “It is just for the families to come around, have a great meal, and enjoy their time together every week. That is what we are aiming at. Sunday Brunch is a meal where people get together and  celebrate every week.“

    The Sunday Brunch has turned the Ekaabo Restaurant of the hotel into a beehive of merriment with live music .

    Raza said the new offering has been successful: “The culinary experience is coming very strong because what we have done is to merge all the flavours . We have a lot of strong chefs with us. We have Italian chefs, pastry chefs, Chinese chefs and a very strong group of local chefs.

    “Fusing all these chefs together is making a lot of difference that is really setting us apart. We are offering a wide range of varieties at Intercontinental that is strong point for us. At Sunday Brunch, we bring all these flavours together at one platform. That is why people are coming back to us each week because when they come to Intercontinental, they get the  fflavour of everything, especially the Nigerian flavours which are improving day by day,”Raza said.

    He said to make the Sunday Brunch even more satisfying for in-house guests and visitors, the hotel is providing champagne.

    “Champagne is a sign of celebration. When people come, they get complimentary champagne with the meal. We are partnering Taittinger Champagne, and by tying up with them, we want to give our guests the best of Champagne. When they come in, they are going to have welcome Champagne which is of top notch brand. Like I said we are celebrating, and when families come in to celebrate, what better way to celebrate with a bottle of champagne. The champagne is complimentary, “he said.

    On the cost, he said: “We are pricing it keeping competition in mind and the good news is that kids under the age of five eat for free. And during the Sunday Brunch we have one deal or the other up, like during the Father’s Day, fathers would eat 50 per cent off.

    Sunday Brunch is one particular meal that we are getting a lot of outside guests. Also in-house guests also like to come and have a good time, but mostly it is the out-side guests. Pricing has never been a problem for them because they really have value for money-music, champagne and wide variety of food. For them, the value is already there”.

    One of the chefs, Chef Samson Balogun, spoke more on the Sunday Brunch: “From what we have, the number of people coming that we have been receiving for our Sunday Brunch has been increasing”.

    Asked if it was a special, he said it was as if you are having meals from five different regions.

    Also there was always the chef’s special which Balogun explained thus: “‘It is a secret recipe. This is what we sit down and create. It is not what every other hotel or someone out there is doing. We sit down and discuss and for example say: ‘ok, this is the rice, how do we make it distinct and tasty. By the time we come out with ideas, let’s add this and this and do it like this, we will come out with special. Every week we have something different.

  • NCPC boss receives board members

    Newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Rev. Tor Uja, recently received Federal Commissioners on the board of the commission. Uja thanked the commissioners for the visit and informed them that he had made a resolution not to leave the commission better than he met it.

    He said the former boss of the commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara, did very well and as such must be appreciated publicly.

    According to him:” He really worked hard. God will bless him”. He promised to organize a befitting sent- forth for him sometimes in July and would invite the board and stakeholders to grace the event.

    He explained that he took over the leadership of the  NCPC at a very challenging moment when the country is facing serious economic recession.

    However, he stated that Nigeria had done fairly well, but should look further than oil.

    According to him: “Going Forward Nigeria has greater chances in future.”

    Rev. Uja assured the members of board that the pilgrimage process would continue with their support.

    He hinted that the commission was working towards airlifting about 20,000 pilgrims to the holy land this year.

    The NCPC boss maintained that it is possible for Nigerians to be exposed to pilgrimage at least once in a life time.

    Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Rev. Dr. Zion Ibenye, Federal Commissioner representing South East said they visited the new Executive Secretary to formally welcome him since his appointment and assumption of duty.