The Nation Newspaper

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  • Lekki: The making of tourism zone

    Lekki: The making of tourism zone

    Lagos State, with more  than 180 kilometers of lush white sandy beachfront, myriads of islands some inhabited  and others lying fallow, probably boasts of the highest tourism credential in West Africa. Hitherto, not much has been done in the area of maximally harnessing these gifts of nature and turning them into real value-for-money tourism assets that could lure tourist traffic from far and near.
    One council development area has, however, decided to take the gauntlet  and use tourism as a tool for socio-economic transformation, and, in the process, put the area on the tourism map of Africa. The place is the Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA). Before, to the knowledgeable, the LCDA, with its tourism asset, was just a huge waste of God’s gift.
    Lekki’s foray into tourism goes back more than 100 years.The colonialist saw the potential of the zone as a tourism haven. That was why they decided to build a chalet where they could go and unwind and generally have a qualitative leisure time. That gave birth to the place that was later made more famous  as the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s detention camp in the 60s.
    Aside the centre, there was no major high profile tourism project by the government  until in the 90s when the then military governor of the  state, Colonel Buba Marwa, developed the Eko Tourist Beach Resort, Akodo in Lekki. A private sector initiative was also put in place by Otunba Wanle Akinboboye  when he opened the luxurious La Campagne Beach Resort, Ikegun in the early 90s.
    Currently, it is as if the scale has been removed and everybody can now see that this part of the state is a tourism gold mine. A free trade zone will soon be operational. There is also a 27-hole golf course being built. For the Lekki area, the future is looking bright.
    One would then ask: What in the area of natural tourism asset does the Lekki area have to offer? It is mind-bungling. It has history.  Scattered on the beachfront of the area is the slave baraccon used during the slave trade, the Refugee Island, the Freedom Flag, the Awo Detention Centre, some colonial relics at Orimedu and many others. Of course, there is the close to 30 kilometres of white sandy beach, including the famous Eleko Beach. The council also boasts of about 16 lakes plus the lagoon areas and smaller islands.
    It is in the light of this that the  LCDA chair, Barrister Mukandaisi Ogidan, decided to turn the area into a tourism  zone. He is the first LCDA chair in Nigeria to do so. It is history and this is also to his credit as an administrator.
    Asked why the declaration of the area as a tourism zone, Ogidan said with the declaration, the council will welcome investors in the area of tourism and will be given all the necessarily co-operation to put projects in place and  have returns on their  investments.
    On hand as the special guest of honour at the declaration ceremony was the president of the World Council of Mayors from the United States of America who came with his entourage, Mr. James Walls. Others were  a former commissioner in Lagos State, Dr  Tola Kasali; World Council of  Mayors Tourism Ambassador to Nigeria, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye; traditional rulers from the council and other notable individuals.
    In his speech, Ogidan said he envisaged the ceremony as a catalyst for  the transformation of the area. His words:“We  see this kind of transformation as the only way we can bring  about the economic potential of this local government development area. Just like Awo said in the 60s that this place would be the best in terms of development.
    “Thank God, this is coming true while we are still here and while our former leaders are still present. We have seen our brother, Mayor James Walls. Their coming here today is good. It is also to secure  the assurance that when they come here to invest, you will be prepared. We will give them every co-operation required for the transformation of  the  LCDA.”
    The President of the World Council of Mayors spoke on why he decided to be part of the history.
     His words: “It is truly an honour to be here for the declaration of the Lekki Tourism Zone. Ambassador Wanle Akinboboye called me on the phone and said Mayor, I need you to be in Nigeria next week. And I said to the ambassador, are you crazy? I am in the middle of an election, trying to re-elect our president, Barack Obama, and you want me to stop what I am doing and travel to Nigeria, and the ambassador said yes, and I replied okay.
    “And before you know it, I am here in Nigeria. I came to Nigeria because this is something very  important. Prior to becoming the president of the World Council of Mayors, I served as the vice president for tourism and asAmbassador Akinboboye told you, my first experience of the motherland was right here in Nigeria and right here in Lekki. Since 2008, I have had the opportunity to visit the motherland and here in Nigeria over 30 times.
    “So, when you talk about tourism, it is very important because men and women and brothers and sisters of African descent need to reconnect with the motherland. I believe it  is through projects like this that will give African-Americans, Africans in  Europe and others an opportunity  not only  to come back and reconnect but come back and reinvest in mother Africa. So, today, this tourism zone is an opportunity for Africans to come back and re-establish their ground and reinvest in our community and I will leave you with this: This is our day, truly it is. This is our hour, and, as Africans, we shall make sure we do not miss our time.”
    Dr Kasali went down  the memory lane to talk of the efforts of the leaders of the area to open up the place in the past.
     “When you talk about the economy of an area, you talk about commerce, industry and tourism. We thank God we now have the Lekki Free Trade Zone in this area. At the beginning of this free trade zone, it was like a tug of war because we needed enlightenment and a lot of talking to let our people know that this is the future that we have been talking about.
    “Once we have the free trade zone, we are opening the place  for commerce and industry and then when we have the tourism project, then we are opening up the place for the whole world. I believe and I am so passionate about it, that we haven’t seen anything yet,”Dr Kasali said.
    Otunba Akinboboye, who is also the owner of the La Campagne Beach Resort, said the status of the council is a welcomed development and promised to work with the council to develop the area.
    Lekki is about an hour drive from the city of  Lagos, off the Lagos-Epe Expressway on the right.

  • Yes, Nigeria’s problems too can be solved

    UNITED States President Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina last week was emphatic that no matter the problems his country might be facing, the challenges are all solvable. I love optimism coming in the midst of affliction. At least Obama recognized the reality of his time and tenureship and was not giving excuses or shifting blames even as the opposition has been alleging that he has not kept his promises. It was also coming at a critical time when America’s job approval rating has fallen below 50%.

    Obama’s response to his performance grading was valiant. “I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick and easy. I never have,” he told a cheering crowd; “You didn’t elect me to tell you what you want to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve the challenges that have built up over a decade.” It was as if he was saying no matter what might be happening now, there is hope for restoration of lost glories.

    If the same America that moved to the place of high majesty among nations on the trust in God could now be facing challenges in the lowly areas of jobs and housing like downtrodden nations, then the issue is beyond the ordinary that world economists can solve. Advancement in technology and comfort has made people to abandon the Almighty who can make all things possible. The US today is being bombarded by all manners of hurricanes and tsunamis that are above the control of man. It might just be a celestial reminder that emergence as the leading nation of the world could not have been by the power and wisdom of man, but by the enabled grace of God.

    Let’s admit that a leader could only lead gloriously if God is on his side. Former President Bill Clinton’s integrity and encouraging speech at the Democratic Party’s convention might end boosting Obama’s re-election bid, not because of his being an ex-President, but more because of his accomplishments while in office.

    Clinton said: “Know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.” I take it that the future of man as well as that of a nation is better placed in the hand of the architect who is the creator with the ultimate capacity to turn things around for good.

    Whatever we are reaping today as a nation are those things we sowed in the past years of grace when Nigeria was being tagged a nation on the path of greatness. We are in the depressed state we are now because of the abuse of grace. Our leaders abused God’s provisions and resources through scooping corruption while the people too abused opportunities and endowments that once upon a time were flowing in the land.

    People will always hold their leaders accountable for their performances. In view of our hopelessness under distress, are we being made to see light at the end of the dark tunnel? How many of our past privileged leaders’ uprightness can be used as model to stimulate the nation’s future generations? Have we had leaders who are servant-leaders in truth and in deed – with love for the masses and not for fellow elites alone?

    At the review of the implementation of the First National Implementation Plan for the Vision 20: 2020 last week, Minister of National Planning Shamsuddeen Usman bragged that as a result of what he called effective macro-economic management by the present administration, Nigeria’s economy had made valid progress by moving from its 44th position to 39th on the global ranking.

    The same Usman used to defend CBN’s popularly-rejected unrewarding currency redesign chose not to understand that whether the nation has moved up from a lower position on the scale of economic performance or not, what would make the genuine differentiation lies in the capability of the economy to settle poverty, create jobs and curtail rising unemployment. Just like Americans are evaluating Obama’s administration, with the level of unemployment and poverty in Nigeria today, it would be difficult for any conceived ‘economic growth’ to be appreciated by the affected afflicted masses.

    The Yoruba Assembly summoned by Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd.) met in Ibadan the week before. The gathering advocated a return to regional autonomy and true federalism as the way to save the nation from collapse. This was after rightly acknowledging that Nigeria is at a critical crossroad and summed up the undisputable current state of the nation: “After more than 50 years of independence, deep structural issues and nationality questions such as federalism, fair and equitable revenue allocation, security, free and fair elections, state police and inter-relationship among the different nationalities remain unresolved. There is general insecurity in the land, growing infrastructural decay and increasing tension in the polity.”

    We must admit that the nation’s economic structure is flawed as it does not foretell a bright stance for meaningful development and the people’s progress now or in the future. It needs to be restructured with the honest dedication and heart of righteousness. The same God who touched the heart of Nebuchadnezzar is still on His throne to touch the hearts of those in position of leadership.

    We should begin to be more concerned about what would grow the economy than celebrating what is no more than ‘a marginal gain.’

    FEEDBACK
    Re: Where are the saints? Soji, Nigerians did not elect President Jonathan to “manage the problems he inherited” but to solve them. But he said we should wait till 2013, which of course is around the corner.

    – Barr. Moronkeji

    Sir, I read your article and I pray to Almighty God to grant favour to this country Nigeria, and peace, unity and prosperity among all Nigerian.
    – Junnih, Abuja

    Soji, President Jonathan is a product of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s school of wuru-wuru to the answer political ambassador. What do you expect from a president who patronizes the likes of Ahmadu Ali, former governor Ibrahim Idris who ruled Kogi State for almost 9 years with nothing to show for it, only to come behind and force his in-law and namesake on the people with the backing of the presidency and our hyper-corrupt judiciary who are the beneficiary of Kogi treasury since the inception of Idris Wada’s illegal administration.
    – Engr. Mohammed Haruna Emewe Opada.

    On Sanusi and CBN inconsistency, most of us got carried away by the introduction of N5,000 bill which to me is ok. The fundamental disservice to the naira is the replacement of 5, 10 and 20 naira notes with coins. That is where the devaluation comes in. We should all rise against it.
    – C.C. Odogun, Asaba.

    Re: Commitment, not excuse
    Governance has to do with planning, hardwork, integrity, and accountability, and not on good luck. For the President to assert his inefficiencies and total failure to some forces Boko Haram and the opposition is enough to throw him out of Aso Rock. He can’t claim not to know the people behind Boko Haram operations. The President is finding a sft nest to lay his eggs. In other words, it is an admission of failure. He should bury his head in shame. He is interested in amassing wealth and not to govern. He took 100 people to Brazil; numerous probes are rubbished; unpopular policies are wrought on poor citizens among other inhuman treatments on the nation. He has no excuse for his inefficiencies and incompetence. He is serving in the interest of his PDP and not the nation at large.
    – Past. Odunmbaku

    Sir, your article on 23 July is a perfect example of a constructive and structural criticism. It actually inspires me ass I study it from academic point of view. But objectively, don’t you think the President has a point by blaming Boko Haram for part of his failure? Since they categorically told him before election that if he wins, they will make the country ungovernable for him?
    – Krumale Oyinpreye Joseph, OAU.