he Guild of Tourism Journalists (GTJ) has tasked the governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, to do everything humanly possible to make sure that his dream and projection of making Ikogosi Warm Spring an international resort becomes a reality.President of the association, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre, made this call when its members had a parley with Governor Fayemi at the Government House, Ado'Ekiti, recently. Ojo-Lanre pointed out that the journalists had toured Ikogosi and were impressed. 'We have conducted a tour of the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resorts. We have seen the wonderful job which your government is carrying out there. We are thus compelled to task you on the imperative of ensuring that the project is made a reality.'Mr Ojo'Lanre said that 'the association is happy to have a governor in Ekiti, who is tourism-friendly, who understands the import of tourism and is ready to explore and unlock the economic magic wand of tourism for the benefits of the common people of the state.'He pointed out that the Ikogosi Cold and Warm Spring, which is probably the only one in the world where cold and warm waters flow side by side, had been neglected and left to suffer for long.'It is pathetic that past administrations in the state refused to accord necessary attention to this diamond of inestimable value donated freely by God and tucked in the serene ambience of a sleepy town called Ikogosi. A diamond which could have been processed for the benefit of all but left un-attended to. We have been to the Ikogosi Warm Spring site and we are impressed by the level, the standard and the quality of the work going on there. It is our sincere opinion that if you do not tarry and do not go off the trail, very soon, Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort could be a model of reference in Nigeria.' Ojo'Lanre informed the governor that 'As a professional association which seeks to protect, promote and canvass rapid development of tourism and its values in Nigeria, we have identified Ikogosi as one of the rare tourism blessings which God planted in this country. And as you have displayed a passionate interest in its enhancement, we have decided also to form a developmental partnership with you on this site, not only to keep you on your toes but to offer necessary advice and suggestions which could help in ensuring that the best is hewn out of Ikogosi Warm Spring.'Pointing out why the project must not fail, Wale Ojo'Lanre said 'You have decided to take on an enormous and noble responsibility of processing the hitherto unprocessed diamond in Ikogosi Warm Spring. This generation and generations yet unborn will condemn you if it ends up as one of the white elephant projects; stopping mid'way without ensuring its completion will be suicidal. This is why we are going to be on your neck and watch every development which concerns Ikogosi Warm Spring. If you are able to do it well, your name will be remembered till eternity in the good plate of people's memory and if otherwise, the dent will be on you. As for us, we are going to monitor the project and give a sequential feed back to the public.'The parley enabled every member of the association to put forth their impression, opinions and question on Ikogosi to Governor Fayemi, who took time to throw light on every poser.In his response, Governor Fayemi commended the association for being thoroughly professional in its conducts and charter.'I must first of all commend the discipline and ethics which the leadership of your association embraced and eschewed. We all talk about values, neutrality, objectivity, but often, our objectivity mirrors our own interest and I am happy that your interest in tourism is what drives this objective assessment by going to Ikogosi on your own volition and I must point this out that some of your members have displayed a rare sense of professionalism by rising above political sentiment and affiliations in matter of professional assignments.This is noteworthy and commendable. This has endeared the association to me. And I also see this association as a partner in development.'Governor Fayemi assured the association that his government was solidly determined to turn the hitherto parlous and wretched Ikogosi Warm Spring into a resort of international standard desired, by locals and scramble for by foreigners.He said, 'You have not seen anything yet. What you have seen are just a caricature of the real thing that we are putting on ground. The facilities and structures which are there now are just for the first phase of the project of a three phase initiative which will culminate in a golf course, a helipad, a games village, a wild life park, a cable car and other range of tourists' facilities.'Governor Fayemi revealed why the first phase has to come in now. 'As political animals, we all know that efforts are great but quick result is very important.And this is what our people yearn for. The first phase is to tell the world. Come, kindly see what we are bringing out. This will enable us to go along with the other two phases with public confidence, support and understanding.'Reacting to the question on what drove his vision and propelled him towards uplifting the status of the Warm and Cold Spring despite the fact that his predecessors failed to do this' Governor Fayemi said: 'My passion for tourism is driven mainly because of my interest in anything which will add value to the development of the society, particularly any project which is capable of changing the status of the common people for the better. My education and exposure have greatly come in handy here. There is no part of the world that I have not been to. I sure know the import of a deluge of people; I mean heavy tourists traffic to a state. I know what and what to put in place to have this effect in any creative environment which Ikogosi Warm Spring offers. I also know that tourism propels an economy by mobilising wealth, creates employment, empowering and initiating development. Hence, it will be wrong of me if I said because of my predecessors failed to enhance the awesomeness of Ikogosi. I too should follow suit. No. The fact is that I see what they did not see in Ikogosi. I know the economic wonder which the full enhancement of Ikogosi Warm Spring will perform in the lives of my people, the economy of Ekiti State and Nigeria. This is why my government is making it a priority of development. And I assure you, we will not rest on our oars until Ikogosi Warm Spring becomes the best tourism resort in Nigeria. Mark my words.'Talking on the values that could ensure the sustainability of the project, Governor Fayemi allayed the journalists' fear: 'I thank you for this question. Like I said, my exposure and interactions with peoples of differents races and my understanding of how and why organisations, companies and concerns crumbled has enabled me to know that tourism vision is not only about building great edifices, planting out-of-this-world infrastructure and mounting first class facilities but what can make it sustainable is the richness of service which it renders. And that is why we have to put up with Mantis. We were looking for a partner that understands rural resort, that understands theme park, a partner that knows how to run a games reserve, a partner that can combine all with operating a hotel in the city. We made research and we found out that the Mantis squarely fits in better than others who are mainly good at operating chains of hotels in various cities of the world. Some of you know the profile of the Mantis Group in South Africa and I have visited three of their holdings and I found out that Ikogosi will benefit greatly from their experience and benefits.'Governor Fayemi also revealed that Mantis selection and engagement is a blessing. 'The selection of the Mantis Group is an act of God. This is because we later found out that the group had earlier carried out a detailed research on Ikogosi forest and has the list of all unique flora and fauna which are endemic to the place. Though some of these are at the fringes of extinction, we have to re enact and re'generate them. Hence, we have acquired about 10,000 hectares of land beyond the Ikogosi forest to serve as a buffer zone for the wildlife. I mean, as I said, what is on the ground now is just a tip of the iceberg. The warm spring is just serving as the niche while the wildlife, the games village, the golf course will be major attractions in there. And to God be the glory, the Mantis also run some of the most successful games reserves in South Africa. I have been to the Samwarhi Games Reserve run by them and I saw how inspiring it was and how the group runs the jungle so well by balancing and protecting the flora and fauna, making it attractive and interesting without letting you feel that you are in the jungle, yet you have the real ambience of the natural jungle.On whether the government would run the resort', Governor Fayemi declared,' I am making this clear that the Ekiti State government will not run the resort.We know that government does not do well in running businesses. We are not going to burn our fingers and ruin this laudable project with that.We cannot afford Ikogosi going aground. The money being sunk here is not mine. It is the generational fund which must yield the dividends for this generation and generations yet unborn. That is why we are involving the Mantis group from the scratch now. In fact, we are happy at this because most of these things are being designed to suit the games reserve and international standards.We are also happy because the Ikogosi concept is not making the same mistake made by a similar project in Nigeria where the common people have been excommunicated with the pricing and tariff. There are facilities for all categories of people. There are five star facilities for those who can afford it, there is three star majority of the people.On the chain of reactions which the project had caused Governor Fayemi disclosed that the Ikogosi project was propelling other laudable projects in Ekiti.'Ekiti is the nodal state between the administrative capital which is Abuja and the business capital, which is Lagos. It will take you four hours to get to Ado-Ekiti from Lagos and the same four hours from Abuja. But what about the busy and time up tourism buffs who cannot afford wasting such a time' This is telling us that we cannot run away from having an Airport in Ado'Ekiti and a heliport in Ikogosi for that dash ' in and dash'out wealthy spenders who can afford it. We are going to do this.'Responding to a question whether the Ikogosi is a mono tourism product. With a drive of 5 minutes from there is the Ipole Iloro waterfall and just after, with a drive of 10 minutes is the religious tourism hills of Erio Ekiti. So, you have a lot to salivate about when you come to Ikogosi Warm Spring resort. This is why we are making sure that the accommodation facilities on ground at Ikogosi are of international standards which can be accessed by all.'On who financed what Governor Fayemi said 'The first phase is totally being financed by the people of the state. The Mantis is just coming in to ensure that the place is run well, tend the commonwealth properly and ensure that the money invested is recouped. At the end of the day, I assure all. Nigerians will be proud of Ikogosi Warm Spring resort. Let's wait till the October when the first phase will be inaugurated. We shall all be happy.'And the visiting journalists applauded the governor who has taken the gauntlet to rescue the awesome Ikogosi cold and warm spring from the doldrums of wretchedness.
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