Deputy Minority Leader at the House of Representatives, Adesegun Adekoya, and Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye, Oba Abdulrazaq Adenugba, have urged governments at all levels to create an enabling environment to attract private sector investments to tourism.
The duo, at the opening of WosAM Cinemas in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, recently, said tourism and hospitality ventures are veritable avenues to complement development efforts of the government.
Adekoya said the global dynamics of travel and tourism had shown that Nigerians need to invest more at home to give the interior a facelift.
However, “the government must create an enabling environment to encourage investors. To be honest, the government has no business doing business. Leave businesses to the private sector and well-meaning individuals.
“All they need are good infrastructures like roads, electricity, security and tax incentives. That is how to draw more investments to tourism for the development of our towns and creation of job opportunities for our people,” he said.
The lawmaker commended the President of WosAM Foundation for bringing Ago-Iwoye to limelight through state-of-the-art hospitality facilities.
“The king’s reign has brought a lot of fortune to the land. There will be another university apart from Olabisi Onabanjo University. A college is almost ready. More banks will be in the town.
“I congratulate my brother for this feat WosAM (Cinemas). If we do not develop ourselves, who will? Who will develop Ago-Iwoye, if we don’t? The level of investment here is more than N500 million and it was done to develop Ijebu part of Ogun State. The love of one’s hometown is a religion. That is why I salute the investor as a trail-blazer,” he said.
Oba Adenugba added that a rash of new investments could only drive healthy competition that the states need to develop.
The monarch enjoined other sons and daughters of the town to emulate good examples of doing legitimate businesses and contributing their quota for the development of hometowns.
“My being the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye is ordained by God. This is evident in the development ensuing in the town.
“WosAm Cinema is a great initiative that will develop Ago-Iwoye. You have invested well. The founder is doing this here as an indigene. You all should also invest in initiatives that would bring about the development of your origin.”
WosAm Cinema comprises a relaxation centre, hotel rooms, a gym and a cinema. The Cinema also has facilities for children, affording them an opportunity to interact with different playing equipment.
Adekoya said he would like Ago-Iwoye to be like Las Vegas – one of the most populous cities in the United States renowned for tourism and hospitality businesses.
“What motivated me to do this was that when I returned to this town three years ago 25 years after leaving, I was unhappy that there had been no much improvement, so I thought something must be done.
“I thought I had to play my part before complaining. That brought the idea of building WosAM Arena and Cinemas as a one-stop shop centre. To be sincere, I spent money here and the challenges are many. Getting a licence and approval is one. Right now, we are running on diesel, which is huge. The access road was not motorable; we had to fix it too. Those are the challenges that could have made our investment a lot easier,” he said.
