TINAPA was designed to attract 30 million tourists yearly to Cross River State, says Donald Duke

TINAPA Lakeside view

TINAPA was designed to attract 30 million tourists yearly to Cross River State, says Donald Duke

The now moribund over $350 million TINAPA Resort in the North of Calabar municipality, Cross River State, was designed to attract more than 30 million tourists per year to the South-South Nigerian State, the former Governor of Cross River State, who initiated and commissioned first phase of the project in 2007, Donald Duke said in Abuja today.

But the dream which could have been adding not less than N500 billion to the State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) died a forced death due lack of continuity, the soft-spoken politician lamented.

Duke was the guest speaker at the Leadership newspaper award at the International Conference Centre this morning and he asserted that until state governments are forced to fall back on ingenuity to generate revenue to fund themselves and also contribute to the central government, Nigeria’s development will be a pipe dream.

Tinapa view

Tinapa view

“Cross River State is at the end of the country. You don’t pass through Cross River State to anywhere. So, the only way to get people to visit the state is to create a tourist destination that could attract people. If people come to the state for tourism, at least, they will eat. So, they will buy food. When they buy food, the local farmer will sell and the chain will go on and on.

“Our plan about TINAPA was that by the year 2012, the number of tourists coming to Cross River State would have crossed 30 million per year, then we would have been self-sufficient. We would not need the federal allocation to anything, then all our federal receipts will go into a Savings Account called the Future Account. But that dream could not materialize because of the devil called lack of continuity”, he said.

He said States must create ideas that will give them revenue so that they don’t depend on the federal allocation.

 “States must generate resources to sustain themselves and also contribute to the federal government. This cannot happen until states are forced to make it happen”

Duke said Nigeria’s tragedy is on the culture of waste and lack of productivity. He said Nigeria must invest so as to be able to employ the numerous young people who roam about the street, hawking businesses.

“We should worry about the young people at the prime of their lives. There are no jobs. Those young people hawking potato chips on the hold-ups do not have jobs. Those are not jobs.  If you look closely in their faces, you will see anger. The government must do something to create employment for these people. The problem with Nigeria is lack of will to do. We do a lot of talking but we do nothing. If we continue this way, our country will be the biggest loser on the face of the earth. If we don’t change the tragedy of Nigeria, I wonder where we will be in the next 30 years”, he said.

The TINAPA Resort in Nigeria is associated with the Calabar Free Trade Zone. The Tinapa Free Zone & Resort has facilities for retail and wholesale activities as well as leisure and entertainment. For consumers, the resort sits on approximately 80,000 square metres (860,000 sq ft) of lettable space for retail and wholesale made up of four emporiums of 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) each, smaller shops, and warehouses. An entertainment strip contains a casino, digital cinema, children’s arcade, restaurants, a mini amphitheater, a night club and pubs. There is an artificial tidal lake that feeds from the Calabar River, a Water Park / Leisure Land and parking Space for 4,000 cars.

Business facilities include an open exhibition area for trade exhibitions and other events, and a movie production studio commonly called Tinapa Studios. There is a 243-room international three-star Hotel. The resort also has a truck terminal, and it is powered by an independent power plant.

But the Resort is largely moribund and needs rehabilitation.

Tinapa view