Rural tourism: Koton Karfe emir signs MoU with La Campagne Tropicana Resort

The Emir of Koton Karfe, Kogi State, His Royal Majesty, Alhaji Abdul Razaq Gambo  Isakoto  has taken a giant leap to develop his community and create wealth for his people by partnering with La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Lekki, Lagos in building the La Campagne Tropicana/ USI Kokoko Mountain and River Resort in his domain.

The royal father, who grew up and worked for about 30 years before retiring home to wear the crown of his forefathers, decided to blaze the royal trail by offering about 2000 hectares of land to the experienced La Campagne team to come and partner with his community in building a five star resort to provide direct  and indirect employment for his people, generate wealth and turn Koton Karfe, which is about one hour away from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to a tourism destination with its attendant social and economic benefits.

The motivation and inspiration for this royal and majestic leap came from Alhaji Isakoto long sojourn in Lagos and his association with La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, which has impacted in no small measure on Ikegun Village, Lekki, Lagos. Before the advent of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort at Ikegun Village, one could count the number of concrete buildings in the erstwhile sleepy villageon the finger of one hand, but today, Ikegun has more than 5,000 modern houses, built mostly by workers of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort over the years. There are beach combers and sweepers who have built three houses from their salaries and emoluments, due to low cost of living, zero transportation cost and healthy and extremely productive lifestyle.

An Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort shows that it has grown the economy of Ikegun Village over the years and generated enormous wealth for the community.

Hence, there is no gainsaying the fact that with this bold step, the Emir of Koton Karfe has written his name in gold in the annals of tourism in Nigeria, because the resort, (now under construction) just like in Ikegun Village, will generate gainful employment for the people, grow the local economy and turn Koton Karfe to the foremost destination of choice for elites and the working class people in Abuja and its environs. It would also expose and promote the tradition and culture of the people of Koton Karfe, which has been the hallmark and the unique selling point of La Campagne Tropicana in its 30 years of experience in tourism and creative arts in Nigeria and Africa.

Royal fathers in Nigeria should take a cue from the visionary Emir of Koton Karfe by partnering with experienced tourism practitioners like La Campagne Tropicana and replicate this in all the 774 local governments in Nigeria.

Development we believe should start from the grassroots with the royal fathers as the harbingers. This obviously remains a better option than kings and traditional rulers going ‘crown’ in hand to solicit for hand outs and stipends from government officials  and their agencies, because the famous kings of yore like Shaka the Zulu, Ovoramwen Nogbaisi,Jaja of Opobo, Alaafin Sango, Attah of Igala, Uthman Dan Fodio and so on lived for their people, promoted their wellbeing and culture, and also created wealth for them by expanding agriculture and commerce in their respective domains.This we believe should be the preoccupation of our royal fathers across the length and breadth of the country.

Also Read:

Bumper harvest stopped me from exile ―Buhari