Following the recent declaration of Ile Ife as Tourism Zone by the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Osun State has been experiencing a beehive of business and investment drives to put the sleeping town on the global radar.
Subsequently, the development drive has yielded positive result as Motherland Beckons in pursuant of its continent building project and rallying of The Diaspora to heed the call of motherland, has raised the bar of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector in Nigeria, as it has facilitated a $1.4 billion Technology City project in Ile – Ife, Osun State.
However, Motherland Beckons has invited renowned US – based business groups, SprintPort Technological Group and Image Consulting to partner with the House of Oduduwa, the Ooni of Ife, on the building of the technology, media and agriculture city in Ile – Ife with the recent signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).
Following this development, the representative of SprintPort Technological Group, Victory Yemi Oluwasegun, disclosed that the Technology City, is designed to make Nigeria a leader in ICT, create millions of jobs, promote tourism to grow Nigeria’s economy.
‘‘This is for everyone and we want a situation where we have 24/7 electricity, where we have 24/7 internet access, where we have various productions and people have the opportunity to live their lives like we live in overseas.’’
According to him, the city is going to be a hub for all the sectors of the economy and all forms of human activities, but driven by the most modern technology.
‘‘We are looking at technology companies coming in, the likes of Google, the likes of Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon, all having an environment where they can strive just the same way that they strive in other parts of the world.
He explained that the city would be built by Nigerians and Nigerians in Diaspora who would be wooed and encouraged to invest in it and also transport their expertise.
‘‘So Nigerians are going to be the core people here, those who are in elementary school, secondary school and now moving on to the universities, we are looking for those who have new experiences.
“We want them to go into the Technology City and learn software development, hardware development and other projects whereby they can allow their minds to just go free.
Funding for the project, according to him, would not be an issue as he disclosed that ‘‘investors are coming, investors want to put money into great, great ideas, the next Google is going to be birthed right here in Nigeria. This is a fact, I am not just saying this, but it is a fact and when this happens the Technology City will be ready for those people to come on board.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Image Consulting, Mrs Remi Duyile, who is the former Vice President of Bank of America and one of the facilitators of the project, expressed appreciation to Motherland Beckons that invited her from the United States alongside other professionals, to witness the declaration ceremony of Ile – Ife as a Tourism Zone.
‘‘The funding is $1.4 billion, and it will be coming from America, Asia and a lot of other places,’’ said Mrs Duyile, explaining that. ‘‘these are funds that we don’t have to go and look for, but these funds are already established. The only requirement is for the MoU and the identification of the land and we have got all these.’’
and then