What Ken Ehigie Said About The Tourism Industry Driven By Wanle Akinboboye’s Motherland Beckons Initiative
● Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye
The Tourism industry driven by Ipada a Yoruba word meaning (Return) was coined by the Visioneer and Founder of Motherland Beckons, Otunba Wale Akinboboye of the La Campagne Tropicana fame.
Ipada Movement only last December 2024 played host to over 50,000 Africans in Diaspora and Lovers of Africa with a projection for 200,000 tourists in December 2025.
The Ipada Movement and the Creative Arts has the potential to actualize the dream of a “Nigeria Beyond Oil and Gas”.
“Nigeria is the Pivot on which the Fortunes of Africa turns”, said President Bill Clinton of the United.
Africa in this context includes Africans in Diaspora and Lovers of Africa anywhere in the world. “Africa is waiting for Nigeria” Nelson Mandela President of South Africa once said. All these calls on Nigeria is apt because to who much is given, much is expected. Given her endless Natural and very Dynamic Human Resources. Nigeria the Heartland of the Motherland is Calling.
President Tinubu has keyed into this Call as the Grand Patron of Ipada Movement followed by the Governors of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Taraba states. The movement have also been endorsed by some African and Caribbean nations.
The La Campagne Tropicana drivers of Ipada Movement is working on partnering with all the Coastal and some Hinterland States to play host to the over 5million guests in the first 5 years of Ipada Movement.
Each guest is projected to spend approximately $4,000 US dollars which will translate to $20Billion US dollar. The above estimate and Creative Arts which La Campagne is also a major stakeholder, can clearly ease our over dependence on Oil and Gas and consequently the realization of a Nigeria Beyond Oil and Gas.
The price of Crude Oil nose-dived this week to $60 per Barrel, with industry-watchers projecting a further drop to $40 Per Barrel in the coming months, about half of the 2025 Budget Benchmark. This development has obviously highlighted the Blood Pressure of the managers of Nigeria Economy at National and Sub National levels Scampering for where to Borrow the huge Shortfall.
Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar are not loosing sleep because they have diversified their economies.
About 70years since Nigeria discovered Oil in Commercial quantities and consequently became a major Global Oil Exporter, successive governments have failed to diversify or even invested in Infrastructure.
The 800 km Coastline, numerous Historical and Cultural Assets and the Creativity of the Nigerian People is our biggest Assets the government has failed to harness.
About 45 years ago, when most Nigerian elites were focused on Oil and Gas, Otunba Olawanle Akinboboye aka The Builder, after his exploits in the United States of America, returned to the Coastal wilderness of Ibeju Lekki to build La Campagne Tropicana, the foremost Lifestyle Beach Resort and Tourism destination in Nigeria.
This Pioneer Tourism Evangelist is poised to help develop Tourism and Creative Art for the much needed Forex to ease over dependence on Oil and Gas and Ipada Motherland Beckons is the Magic Wand.
The Vision is to make Nigeria the Mecca or Jerusalem of all Africans in Diaspora and Lovers of Africa. It holds the potential of generating Twenty Billion US Dollars per Annum. This is a Movement that will guarantee sustainable economic development Beyond Oil and Gas.
I encourage the National and Sub National Governments and Cooperate Organizations to key into this Movement. Nigeria with her huge Tourism potentials should not be loosing sleep when the price of Crude Oil drops or catch Cold when OPEC Sneezes.
– Ken Ehigie is a political and financial analyst