Olalekan Okusan, was recently in Equatorial Guinea. In this travelogue, he explores the Central African nation, particularly the new capital – Djibloho, which is well on its way to becoming the first African technology driven city.
Just before I was billed to resume at work after a well-deserved vacation, my trip to Equatorial Guinea was the last thing I did. I got just a few hours’ notice with a call from one of Nigeria’s top golfers, Willy Gift, who informed me that the organisers had decided to include me on the trip. I was able to make it to the Lagos airport on time but the delay by one of the local airlines kept us at the airport for hours.
When we finally jetted out to Port Harcourt, the trip was smooth. However, my joy was quenched on getting to Port Harcourt with the usual begging style of airport officials who are fond of cajoling you to part with money whenever you are travelling out. But after completing the formalities, we boarded the Cronos Airline heading to Malabo.
The journey to Malabo from Port Harcourt only lasted for less than 40 minutes and on getting to Malabo we completed the visa requirements on arrival before heading to Bata where we then proceeded to Djibloho for another three-hour journey by road.
I met and interviewed Olawale Opayinka, a Nigerian, whose ingenuity is driving the tourism potential of Equatorial Guinea. For five years, Opayinka through his firm, 3e Actuaries, has organised the annual 3e Actuaries Golf Open in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea. The tournament, which has continued to grow each year, can boast of assembling more than 100 professional golfers drawn from across the globe, with a prize-money of $250,000 this year.
On arriving at Djibloho, we were welcomed by Opayinka who is the tournament host at the Grand Hotel Djibloho. I would get to know later that the warmness with which he welcomed us at the hotel reception was the natural style and character of the Oyo State-born businessman.
Apart from his warm hospitality, I was really impressed with the organization. The list of expected visitors was already posted at the reception and everyone knew their room numbers without any prompting, there was a designated hotel staff who later handed the room keys to us, and shepherded us to our various rooms within ten minutes of arrival.
Having traversed the globe in the last one decade, this was one of the smoothest and most effective logistical arrangements I had encountered, and it gave me a good idea of how organized the overall tournament would be.
It would be unforgiveable not to mention about the grand opulence of the Grand Hotel Djibloho. Being my first time in that hotel, particularly the 50 square-meters spacious rooms filled me with a sense of awe.
Taste of the new city
According to Wikipedia, Oyala is a city in Equatorial Guinea that is being built to replace Malabo as the national capital. Established as an urban district in Wele-Nzas in 2015, it is now the administrative headquarters of Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea’s newest province was created in 2017, and is located near the town of Mengomeyén. In 2017, the city was officially renamed Ciudad de la Paz (“City of Peace”).
The location of Djibloho, which is a planned city, was chosen for its easy access and conducive weather. It was designed by a Portuguese studio for architecture and urbanism, FAT – Future Architecture Thinking. The city is projected to have around 200,000 inhabitants, a new Congress building, a number of presidential villas and an area of 8150 hectares. The construction of this new capital has been criticised by the political opposition to President Teodoro Obiang, who was the driving force behind the initiative. The government of Equatorial Guinea temporarily moved to Oyala in early 2017.
Djibloho is surrounded by several national parks and is not far from the eastern border with Gabon. The city, which has been several years in the making, includes a five-star hotel, a championship golf course, a conference centre and a university.
Located on the Wele-Nzas, the new capital city was built in order to fulfil the President’s dream, which is that the concept city is characterised by modernity and respect by the country’s cultural roots, optimizing its identity and the richness of the ecosystem where it belongs. It is projected that the new capital city will attract an estimated 160,000 inhabitants and will extend for 8,150 Hectares.
Djibloho is characterised by the dense equatorial forest that surrounds it and by the strong presence of the river Wele. The Administrative Area consists of the Presidential Palace and Presidential Guards, along with the Government Ministries, the Parliament and the Supreme Court culminating at Av. de la Paz (Peace Av.) and a wide garden.
Hotel of grandeur and allure
The beautiful Grand Hotel Djibloho is one of the big attractions in the new city. According to the hotel’s General Manager, Vincenzo Presti; the edifice can rival any seven-star hotel in the world.
“The Grand Hotel Djibloho is a masterpiece of the International Hotel Industry with great finishing done by the construction company Piccini Construction from Perugi in Italy. Honestly, in 39 years of my career in the hotel business, I have never seen a hotel which offers various kinds of services to any kind of tourists.”
Speaking on the importance of the hotel to the government, Presti explained, “The hotel was sited in Djibloho because the city will be the future administrative capital of Equatorial Guinea and the government wanted to have something more than a normal deluxe five-star hotel. This is why they built the Grand Hotel Djibloho.”
The eight days I spent in the city would forever be memorable and this has confirmed the potential that abound in Africa. For tourists willing to have fun in a quiet and beautiful environment, Djibloho is indeed a place to be.
