* Revamp it to appease Prince Abubakar Audu’s spirit.
Writes ATABOR JULIUS LOKOJA
The late former Governor and the man who transited on the cusp of being declared winner of 2015 Kogi state governorship election, Prince Abubakar Audu may not have been a happy man in his new abode of eternity. His soul may not have been resting in perfect peace for nine years now, which was not because, he had not achieved his earthly lofty dreams. But his spirit and soul will continue to despair for what he had not envisaged will befall his legacies as governor of kogi state. He had hoped that most of his cherished projects would be sustained even when he transited. But , he was stone wrong. His wish was not to be, they begun to crumble even in the hands of Ex. governor Yahaya Bello and his successor, Ahmed Usman Ododo who inherited his votes to become governors.
The erstwhile Governor, Prince Abubakar Audu was not alone in the tales of decayed projects after leaving office. Gov Idris Wada of the then PDP, who ruled between 2012 -2016 has also been perplexed with what has become of his Kogi Hotels project, — which gulped billions of Naira– after he left office over nine years ago, ditto ,entire residents and well wishers have been awed over what have become of these Hotels, once dubbed earth shattering edifice that made the state tick.
Ex. Gov’ Idris Wada’s attempt at reconstructing kogi hotel in Lokoja had continued to suffer same woes of abandonment. The kogi hotel, which had achieved 80% completion has become warehouse for the shipment of palliative commodities.
The late sage, Prince Abubakar Audu, on assumption of office in 1999 had conceived and built state of the art resort, code named Confluence Beach Hotel Lokoja, first of kind on the confluence state and indeed the middle belt.
He set the ball rolling with the construction of Confluence Beach Hotel and other legacy projects across the state.
He was convinced that , the construction of the hotel which will serve the hospitality needs of the people would definitely create jobs for the teeming youths , and rake in revenues for the development of the state, but, his dreams began to skip and left in doldrums as soon as the new Czars, Gov’ Yahaya Bello 2016-2024, took over. lamentably, it was the administration that benefited from his misfortune.
Confluence Beach Hotel was the cynosure of all eyes . It was a toast to those in the hospitality industry . The aesthetic architecture was alluring and magnetic. The Confluence Beach located at the point where the two Rivers -Niger and Benue met. The sight was captivating. Even motorists and passerby hold their fingers in their teeth watching the wonders of Prince Abubakar Audu . It was a beehive of activities. The major activities of state government, federal government, private sectors and indeed foreign bodies jammed their heads to hold their activities at the facility.
The media industry was not left out in the jamboree. The Confluence beach fame was being used to promo programs on Televisions and radio stations. The revenue surged. Direct and ancillary jobs boomed. Youths that would fester crime and criminality were off the streets with dignified source of livelihood at the confluence Beach.
Kogi state became households name across the nation. Prince Abubakar Audu got accolades from near and far. He became ” the Governor” of that era . Every one want to be associated with kogi state. The media in their accountability role gave overwhelming distinction to the state at the end of their tour of all the states.
However, the fortune of the Confluence Hotel began to take quantum drift into oblivion with the passage of successive administrations. Although, the attempt of Gov Ibrahim Idris between 2003-2011 to keep the facility afloat could not yield meaningful results, as the master plan was tinkered with the erection of one block of three storey building, but , it continue to operate skeletally.
The administration of Captain Idris Wada 2012-2016 has nothing to do with the once elegant and boisterous confluence Beach. For his four years in office, he turned blind eyes to the Beach.
But the killer joy was the Government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello who came in on the inheritance of Prince Abubakar Audu ‘s votes. One would have thought, he will continue to upscale the legacies of his benefactor, but , that was wishful thinking. He closed his eyes and shot his doors against the hotels. And the edifice became a caricature stuff to the state.
The roofs have been blown off, weeds overgrown and it gradually became the residence for reptiles,rodents, street urchins and women of yore who ply their whoredom on short time basis at the facility. Citizens cried to high heaven with torrent of water dropping from their eyes without the administration’s attention. Their lamentations became orphans. No one to run to. The Government has nothing to do with her , even as, it has the potential to generate huge revenue for the state, it matters not to them.
The citizenry piped to their ears, that government is a continuum, hence, it should not be left to doldrums, but , not for the new direction government and its succeeding administration to muster political will to revamp the facility, if not for anything, but for the sake of the late Abubakar Audu- Aduoja,- who held the resort to his heart to appease his spirit and ghost.
While shedding his frustration about the Confluence Beach Hotel and Kogi hotels, located in front of Government House , Comrade ABDUL IDRIS MILIKI, the Executive Director Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolutions CHRCR, averred that , kogi state government does not know the value of tourism and hotels’ contributions to the growth and development of a state.
Kogi state government if it is smart enough, it would have declared state of emergency on tourism to maximize its central location of bordering nine states and proximity to the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. One of the things that can generate revenue and create massive employment for the teeming youth is tourism, alas , the present Government of Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo and immediate past governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello bungled the opportunity by allowing the two state owned Conference Beach and Kogi Hotels to rot away .
Comrade Miliki added that for nine years, the two hotels have suffered neglect and could not generate a farthing , highlighting that , tourism sector world over is a money spinning and employment generation endeavour.
“Hotel is not something you lose the investment, because, people come to kogi state to stay and perform their assignments, so it is unfortunate, that those who found themselves in government only thinks about themselves and claim they know it all. Unless the government is conscious enough to include stakeholders in the planning and implementation of government activities, the state will continue in circles , making the state a caricature of itself. There was a time in the hey days of Confluence Beach Hotel, that the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN used the facility for training of her staff for three months with huge revenue for the state .
The serene ambience of the Hotel right on the spot of the confluence of two great rivers in Nigeria , it’s state of the art equipment and esthetic design and finishing made the facility a toast of hospitality loving Nigerians and foreigners who thronged to kogi to have the feel of the wonders of the people of the state*
He , however, lamented why the government with huge resources at her disposal will willy nilly abandoned the hotel which was already providing employment and rake in good money for the state. He urge the people not to be docile , they should interrogate the government for her penchant in destroying the common patrimony , drawing attention that government is a continuum.
He kicked against the attitude of the government for not being able to make the Hotels function optimally, suggesting that government should revamp the Hotels and then lease it to private Hotel managers who abound in Nigeria and globally, just as some states have been doing, based on public private partnership PPP or float shares for individuals and corporate organisations to invest.
He wondered why the House of Assembly who are supposed to exercise their oversight function have become an arm of the Executive. “When budget draft is received, they are supposed to organise public hearings for the purpose of allocating resources to area of needs of the people, but, what they do, is, simply copy and paste. They pass the budget exactly the same way the executive brought to them. It is worrisome.
Kogi state has not built a single industry In the last 32 years of existence and the Hotels that are to fill the gap were left to rotten by these administrations, which is the greatest disservice to the people of kogi.
“Yes, this government is paying salary, but , civil servants are not the only people in the state, there should be deliberate effort to establish industries, even media institutions to generate revenue and create employment, rather than pursuing private business owners with all kinds of taxes.
It is very unfair for some government officials to use facilities of government to build their own hotels which adorn all the corners of Lokoja and would allow the state owned Hotels to collapse, Miliki bemoans.
At the Tourism and Hotels Management Board office in Lokoja, the agency that is saddled with the management of the Hotels ,a high ranking official who does not want his name in print , shares in the frustration of the citizenry over the deplorable state of the once boisterous and booming Confluence Beach Hotel.
He said , from the inception of the Hotel , the administration and management of the Hotel was not domiciled with the Board or the ministry of culture and tourism, but it was allegedly being controlled by other agencies of government as it pleases the governor of the day.
“When it started even up till now that everything has run down, it has never been controlled by tourism and Hotels’ board. They was a time it was being controlled by Eko hotels ,we went there and they said that the government was the one that transferred it to them. Eko hotels tried to manage it but it got to some extent that they could no longer manage it again. As at six years ago, we went there to look at the state of things and we discovered that the roofs of the multi purpose hall blown off and everything gone. We dialogue with them and they promised to do it but they could not do it .We discovered to our amazement that kogi investment limited also came there and allegedly removed everything away , including Beds, Beddings, Air-conditioners furniture and, in fact everything except the blocks, and that was the end of it till now. The hotels as it is today, has no single mattress, Air-conditioners . We have written pile of proposals through our ministry to the government even before the present government came on board without getting satisfactory response.
For instance, kogi hotel which is directly facing government House is supposed to have been completed before now but still lying waste. I don’t know the effort of government and these are the only hotels that we have in kogi state that is owned by the kogi government and they are not working” He clarified.
He appeal to government to sit down and agree on how to revive and complete the state own Hotels to return to the people their integrity and pride.
In the same vein, UMAR NDA a retired Director, said, no reasonable kogi citizens will be happy with the government over the sordid state of confluence Beach Hotel. He recalled that at the hey days of the Hotel , it was being patronised nationally and internationally as it regularly host events and receptions because of the uniqueness of its location at the spot of the confluence and it’s artistic and esthetic construction .
He reminisced during the time of late Gov’ Abubakar Audu, footballers from Norway on international encounter in Nigeria were lodged at the Hotel with tales of hilarious amazement of the edifice by the visitors. The retired Director, who was visibly saddened by the current horrific condition of the facility noted that the 151 room Hotel, a Dome for conference, presidential suite, Car park, security post was a wonder in its glorious days. ” Every apartment is on its own, the splendid water view ,was a thing of joy for the lodgers who did stroll round the structure to feel the pulse of fishermen plying their trade with cacophonous noise of the fish buyers exchanging banters with utmost pleasantry .He charged the government to end the abandonment for the sake of national pride and mobilise resources to revive , repair damaged equipment and improve on the structures to enable the people to once again enjoy the beauty of the Hotel that was once the bride of the kogi state.
Meanwhile, a political scientist and lecturer, SAMUEL JIBRIN bared his mind on the state of the government owned hotels in the state, admitted that the tourism advantage of Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital and its propensity to attract tourists on a global scale, the idea of establishing a befitting hotel to suit this purpose was well conceived.
However, the present state of the confluence Beach Hotel especially after the 2012 flood calls for concern. The hotel has been grossly abandoned and all the facilities dilapidated .
The way to go is for Kogi State government to bring in private investors to take over the management of the hotel in line with modern trend.
Government also needs to make the place attractive to investors by embarking on a detailed environmental impact assessment with the view to tackle perennial flooding of the Niger. This can be resolved through an embankment project to prevent the overflow of the adjoining river.
Government can also embark on general renovation of the entire complex to give it a facelift, hence something urgent needs to be done to sustain this legacy for the sake of posterity.
