A Visit To New Ooni Of Ife Multi Million Naira Lagos Resort

                          

THE destination was Inagbe Grand Beach Resort on one of the islands that dot the Lagos lagoon waterway heading to Badagry. The take-off point was the jetty along Queens Drive, Ikoyi where a luxury boat latched to the jetty bobbed to the rise and fall of the waves on the lagoon. Each member of the team made his or her way to the boat, collected a life jacket and gingerly stepped into the boat.


The leather settee felt comfortable. The boat paraded a 1, 000 horse power twin outboard engine. The last person to come on board was a tall, young man in navy blue shirt and white chinos trousers. He had stayed back to ensure that everyone was comfortably accommodated. He boarded the vessel and glanced round to make sure everybody was comfortable and safe. Then he ordered the boat operator to launch the trip.

In the course of the comfortable 15-minute cruise to the resort, some of us got to know that the person that courteously supervised the boarding was the resort’s owner, then Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi. Today, he is the Ooni of Ife.

At Inagbe Grand Beach Resort, right from the wooden walkway that extended deep onto the lagoon with the floating lounge on the water, everything about the resort was classy and special. It was also obvious that a broad-minded person who understood tourism conceptualised the resort.

Inagbe Resort is a statement on how to harness the tourism assets of Nigeria and create world-class facility comparable to any getaway anywhere in the world. The surprise as it later emerged, is that almost 90 per cent of the materials used in building the resort was locally sourced or got from the island itself.

Prince Ogunwusi, now known as the Ooni of Ife, shared his vision on how to provide affordable world-class tourism facility to an average Nigerian through Explore card.