Reflections on Tinapa

Tinapa which has been tagged "Africa's Premier business resort" by its promoters, has been commissioned earlier this month by no less a person than the President of Nigeria. It has been estimated that the project has so far gulped Fifty(50) Billion Naira, with a substantial portion of that being in the form of loans from commercial banks (such as UBA) and equity infusion from the Organised Private Sector. The project has been billed to serve as a business cum leisure hub for the West African Sub-region, in essence providing for West Africa, the niche filled by the Emirate of Dubai(part of the UAE).

I must say that I respect and salute the courage of Mr. Donald Duke (outgoing governor of Cross river state) for daring to dream in a society that views governance only as a mechanism for the payment of civil servants salaries and the unfailing "lining of politicians pockets". However, before this project can live up to its promise and justify the high expectations of Cross Riverians and Nigerians at large, certain limiting issues must be discussed and if possible mitigated.
The success of the Tinapa project is dependent almost entirely on the ability to generate and attract business and leisure "traffic". People must be willing to come to Tinapa for business and be willing to stay for a little more time than is absolutely necessary to conduct business, in order to relax and take advantage of the leisure facilities present in the resort. For this 'traffic" to materialize, people must find it convenient and safe to visit Tinapa from any part of the world. Secondly Tinapa must have what they are looking for, it must have high quality merchandise and services for sale at a rate that is very competitive (which has been Dubai's Unique Selling Point).

It is this "traffic" that I am doubtful Tinapa can attract, the Socio-economic status of the country is a key militating factor against this. The peculiar security situation of the surrounding Niger-Delta region, with incessant kidnappings, vandalisation and arson, will probably serve to scare potential visitors from outside the country. Although it can be argued that Cross-river state is itself is relatively peaceful when compared with the surrounding delta region. Apart from the peculiar situation of the Delta region, the uncertainties in the country as a whole has resulted in various travel warnings to European citizens.

More importantly, the pertinent question is: Can Tinapa attract the "big name" multinational retailers and corporations that will serve as a magnet to attract the traffic of people. The Calabar airport is not comparable to Dubai's airport, it is not even in the league of Nigeria's Murtala Mohammed International Airport. The Port at Calabar will need to be dredged to accommodate larger ocean-going vessels, which "pile em up, sell them cheap" retailers such as Wal-mart so greatly depend. If big name retailers are to be attracted they will be expecting near first world infrastructure in terms of reliable power, communications, financing and human capital. These infrastructure though achievable will probably come at great cost, which will increase the cost of doing business and with it a reduction of the expected competitive advantage of Tinapa.
Though I might be accused of being (or at least sounding like) a "prophet of doom". I still think it is important to view the "infectious" optimism that pervades the Tinapa project through the lens of our current socio-economic realities.