THE WHITE ELEPHANT AT TINAPA

The Vision of Tinapa is described as.

...to play a catalytic role in establishing Calabar as a trade and distribution hub in West Africa while at the same time providing a unique tourism experience that will inform the growth and enhancement of the tourism sector in Calabar, Cross River State and Nigeria………..

Of all the tourist attractions in the South-South geopolitical zone, Tinapa has been top of my interest ever since I got to know it from media reports in 2007. In fact, during my undergraduate years, it has been a destination for ‘edutainment tourism’ of several student groups from my school. Neglecting the far-flunged distance from the South West, it has been testified of as a place worth visiting. Having the opportunity to do my national service at neighbouring Akwa Ibom State, I vowed to undertake the edutainment tourist trip to Tinapa and 10^th August 2013 afforded me the opportunity. For the first time in my life, I set foot on Calabar, destination Tinapa!

As a student of Architecture, I was held in awe by the flawless construction detail of the infrastructures, the judicious planning and zoning and in all, the serenity of the environment. However, after touring the site, I couldn’t help being encumbered in thoughts at the dull economic atmosphere of the so-called ‘free-trade zone’. For God’s sake, Tinapa didn’t exist as a natural phenomenon! It is man-made and at that, it must have cost billions of dollars to construct! I wondered why in about six years of its existence/commissioning, it has failed to live up to its bidding. As one who has lived through the hustles and bustles of Lagos, Tinapa should live up to the Lagos standard in terms of commercial activities. A visual negation of this thought made me probe further into the origins of Tinapa.

Commissioned 2^nd April 2007, the Tinapa free trade & resort was built with the intention of combining business and recreational functions with duty free shopping. An intriguing aspect of the Tinapa story is that it was meant to complement the concomitant Calabar Free Trade Zone due South of Tinapa. Built by the Cross River State government under the Donald Duke administration, Tinapa was meant to facilitate international commerce of goods and service devoid of nebulous custom clearance gridlocks. As such, goods (especially for export) alongside retail shopping are meant to sell at Tinapa void of taxes and custom clearance. Just like a free port, it will then attract traders from the international and local markets to ply their trade at Tinapa. As a resultant, one cannot underestimate the economies of scale in terms of support facilities and activities that would emanate from such an economic/commercial hub. And for sure this would help to awaken and standardize the industrial ingenuity of the South Eastern heartlands of Aba, Onitsha, Umuahia and Enugu, as products from these industrial hubs would find a ready international market in Tinapa. Thus, another Chinese Shanghai or HongKong and Middle Eastern Dubai would be right at our door steps at Calabar for Nigerians, West Africans and Africans!

However what did I see at Tinapa?               

•  Commercial dry emporiums thinly laden with goods for sale

Unoccupied shop space

•      Most sales shops unused/unoccupied
•    Closed down studio, cinema and casino

The Tinapa studios (closed down)

•   Commercial dull ancilliary/relaxation facilities like the fisherman/craft village, games arcade etc
• Only the amusement/water park could be said to be fully put to use. However, the revenue could soar gargantuanlly if economic activities peaked at Tinapa

The amusement/relaxation park at Tinapa

Commercial Hubs at Tinapa begging for commercial activity

After these observations, my thoughts followed up with some questions which apparently were maligning the Tinapa dream:

If Tinapa was built with full cooperation of financial instutions, the Cross River State government and the blessing of the Federal government as seen in the commissioning of the project by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, why the lag on the part of the Federal Government in granting/licensing Tinapa in full economic swing?

With the hyper economic/commercial activities at the Lagos Port, and the Oil based export tendencies of ports in the Rivers/Delta axis, Calabar port and Tinapa provides another corridor for the decongestion of the Lagos port, whilst facilitating the rejuvenation of the erudite industrial capabilities of the South East which in turn will boost tourism to spectacular attractions within the zones. For all the potential Tinapa affords, it has been laid at the altar of neglect by the Federal government (since it has the plenipotentiary powers to sanction the operation of Free port zones).

Upon my departure from Tinapa, I pondered on this---

“Tinapa is set to become a world-class integrated business resort. Located on the Calabar River, and contiguous to the Calabar Free Trade Zone (Calabar FTZ), Tinapa is the realisation of an exciting dream - the first integrated business and leisure resort in Nigeria.”

Yes! Tinapa is infrastructurally set but wilfully neglected! For the first time in the 21^st century, Nigeria seemed to have made a stride in pawning on her economic potential and just when it seemed done, the dream seems to be going moribund!

Tinapa wasn’t built for cobwebs and lichens; neither was it built to occupy a vacuum of desolation.

Who then will slay the white elephant at Tinapa to awaken the sleeping economic giant in Nigeria?

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