Ben Ayade and the ruination of Obudu Mountain Resort legacy

I watched a special report on TVC NEWS NIGERIA by Babajide Otitoju and I was crestfallen to see what the government of Ben Ayade has turned the Obudu Mountain Resort into. Once a pride of not only Cross Riverians but #Nigerians and black people all over the world, the facility now looks like a shadow of its old lusciousness.

When Donald Duke was the Governor of Cross River State, he built up the tourism potentials of the state and turned it into the holy grail of tourism in Nigeria. One of his numerous iconic tourism projects was the Obudu Mountain Resort. He fixed the twining road network all the way to the hilltop, built stunning chalets, aerial tramways (cable cars), and generally upgraded its infrastructures. Duke himself was the Chief Marketing Officer. He engraved the Resort into our hearts and subtly compelled Nigerians to recall #Obudu whenever we were talking about tourism.

After his mandatory 2-terms in office, Duke handed over. Granted, Duke, rated in some quarters as Nigeria’s most tourism-friendly Governor to date could be a tough act to follow.

Upon his assumption of office and perhaps willing to make the resort sustainable without exerting any pressure on the state’s funds, the Ben Ayade government in 2017 & 2018 signed contracts with Zedici Capital Limited to rehabilitate, remodel, finance, operate, and manage the Ranch for 25 years.

Good vision you would think. Just wait for this. The same Ben Ayade’s government unilaterally cancelled the agreement without any evidence of a breach by Zedici. Throwing Nigeria back to the dark age, the era of declension, Ayade’s government wanted to just annul the contract and move on without any consequences.

Zedici went to Arbitration and the Tribunal ruled that the only breach they saw was by Ayade’s government.  It declared that the contract agreement between the parties was still subsisting and awarded N3 billion against the Cross River State Government in July 2019. Both parties have been back in court since then.

The biggest loser in all these is not Ben Ayade and his mountainous ego. It is the people of Cross River State and the image of Nigeria that took a devastating blow in the global business community. It is because of such actions that foreign investors are reluctant to come to Nigeria. They love consistency, peace, and stability. When they realise that in Nigeria, government officials behave as if they are ABOVE THE LAW, they shudder and take their investments elsewhere.

If that resort was still operating at full capacity, it would employ the people of Cross River State, generate revenue for the state, and save the nation this unnecessary reputational damage.

I can hazard a guess that the concessionaire could ask for more than N3 billion compensation now. Naira was hovering around N310 to $1 when this deal was consummated, now it is about N500 to $1. Leaders who build remarkable legacies are always in a better place with posterity than those who destroy legacies.

Ayade probably had his reasons for what he did, those reasons fly in the face of civilized norms. He seems to have an impressive record in the industrialization of the state but he got this one totally wrong. If his BIG ego would allow him, he should beat a quick retreat and do the right thing.