RECREATION in Nigeria, especially Lagos state has for long been limited to people gathering together, eating and drinking. And most Lagosians do this at the beach. This ritual may soon change as the owner of Omu Resort is coming up with a new tourism experience for Lagosians.
Omu Resort, a 22.4 hectares of land situated in a serene environment at the foot of Omu river at Bogije town, Lekki Epe expressway, Lagos features zoo with variety of animals ranging from lion, giraffes, zebras, baboons, monkeys, hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, ostriches, peacocks, snakes and others. There is also amusement park, Koi pond, outdoor park, go karting, miniature golf and horse riding. A Section of the facility, SeaWorld showcases different aquatic animals, archery, wax museum, quad biking and so on.
According to a spokesperson of the resort, Olabisi Falase, he said the idea is directed towardso giving Lagos state a signature project; educate the tourists while offering them recreational activities. He said project such as Omu resort aims to change people’s attitude and perception and solves the dilemma faced by most parents of where to take their children during holiday.
Olabisi revealed that the project started in Surulere simply as a SeaWorld where schools and families come for excursions to learn about aquatic life. According to him, the vision got larger as a result of influx of people, which made the location too small to accommodate the many visitors that visit on daily basis, hence, the establishment of Omu Resort.
“The Omu Resort was conceived as a complete destination point for schools, families and corporate organizations. We thought of establishing a vacation spot where parents can come with their children; spend three or more hours without being bored. Our floor plan aims at providing our visitors with a rewarding experience that will broaden their educational spectrum in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere. We have many facilities for all ages and the fun is endless yet educating.
“Our mission is to provide an entertainment and educational environment in which to display and propagate animals (both aquatic and wild) in a safe manner that gives a unique viewing opportunity to all of our visitors as well as ensure that other activities compliment our exhibits. Our strategy is to enhance the quality of the time spent by our visitors by developing a blend of education, entertainment and other environmental aspects, to improve respect for the land and the life it supports.”
Olabisi said that Nigeria is richly blessed with a variety of resources apart from oil and other stuffs and needed to make the most out of them. He disclosed that Nigeria has the world’s largest diversity of butterfly which is located in areas surrounding Calabar, has 81 different types of snakes that are unique to us and 357 different types of fishes particular to our water.
“That’s what we should be exhibiting in this country; it is our heritage. If you can showcase over 1000 different butterflies in one place, that’s a tourist attraction; people will come from different parts of the world to come and see it.
“Every major city in the world has a signature project. In London, there is the London Eye, the Buckingham Palace; if you talk of Dubai, you talk of the Burj Al Arab Tower, the Underwater World; the Sand Safari; in Singapore, you talk of the Formula One; the Statue of Liberty in New York, America; same with other major cities. For us in Lagos, you can never truly build a mega-city without a signature project-something you can identify the city with. And this is what we are trying to achieve with this resort; where you can proudly take your foreign visitor to and they come back satisfied with what they experienced.”
Olabisi is very optimistic that they have the best package in Lagos with what they have on ground. He believes that the resort would soon become a beacon.
He said: “If you read the story of how Disney in Florida started, it was just one huge piece of land and they were building year after year and that is the same thing we want to do and continue to improve on them. What you see today is not what you will see there next week, what you see there next week is not what you will see there next month. We will keep investing because I think what I want to do is to leave a legacy and what our children will see tomorrow and say: ‘thank God our fathers did these.’”
Source:(http://www.ngrguardiannews.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment