Ekiti Tourism Needs Partnership, Not Division.

Ekiti Tourism Needs Partnership, Not Division.

By Olalekan Ojo

Something was troubling about recent remarks attributed to the Director-General of the Ekiti State Tourism Bureau, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre. While presenting his stewardship report before the Ekiti State House of Assembly, he reportedly claimed that Glocient Hospitality Limited, operators of Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort and Conference Centre, does not support the Bureau’s efforts to develop tourism in the state. The claim has since travelled far beyond the Assembly chamber. 

Public institutions have every right to account for their stewardship, just as private organisations have a right to expect their contributions to be assessed fairly. The available evidence, however, suggests a more complicated picture than the one conveyed at the Assembly, and one that deserves closer examination before conclusions are reached or reputations are unfairly judged.

Consider first the record at Ikogosi itself. Glocient Hospitality took over management of the resort in 2022 under a 15-year build, operate and transfer concession designed to revive and reposition the facility. Since then, the company has invested billions in accommodation, conference facilities and leisure infrastructure in an effort to match the site’s natural appeal with the demands of a modern tourism destination.

The transformation is increasingly visible in the resort’s role as a venue for government functions, business meetings, tourism gatherings and private celebrations. Its growing use by different categories of visitors and institutions points to a facility that is steadily finding its place within the Nigeria's tourism ecosystem.

Against that background, the suggestion that Glocient Hospitality does not support tourism development deserves proper scrutiny rather than swift acceptance. According to information available to this writer, the company’s 2026 sponsorship budget had already been fully committed when a further request for N4.5 million arrived from Wale Ojo-Lanre, making it impossible to accommodate the request at that stage.

Yet a decision not to fund one particular request is not, by itself, evidence of indifference to an entire sector. Sponsorship is discretionary expenditure, and companies operate within budgets and commercial priorities like any other organisation. The inability to fund a particular programme cannot reasonably become the sole measure of a company’s broader commitment to tourism.

The wider record tells a different story. When the Bureau sought support for the AKWAABA Travel Market, one of West Africa’s leading tourism exhibitions, Glocient supplied marketing materials for the delegation. Photographs from the event showed Ojo-Lanre alongside members of the Glocient team, suggesting an existing working relationship rather than an absent one.

A year earlier, a similar request relating to the Efon-Alaaye Hiking Event attracted N5 million in sponsorship from the company. Glocient’s relationship with AKWAABA’s organisers also predates and continues independently of the Bureau’s involvement, a detail that matters when assessing the fuller picture of its engagement with tourism promotion.

Glocient Hospitality does not stand alone in the wider corporate footprint across the state. For instance, Agbeyewa Farms, a sister company under the Cavista Holdings portfolios, has continued to invest in youth development through the Agbeyewa Cup, a state-wide football competition that has attracted more than 150 secondary schools, in collaboration with the Ekiti State Ministry of Education since 2023. Public records from the 2025 edition put participation at more than 150 schools, while Agbeyewa’s own account describes the competition as an annual initiative covering all 16 local government areas.

The company has also been involved in promoting Adire Ekiti, connecting hospitality with the state’s indigenous cultural heritage in a tangible way. In March 2025, the resort announced a partnership with the Ekiti State Government to promote Adire and integrate the fabric into the tourism experience offered to visitors.

None of this means every request from the Bureau must be funded, nor that Glocient should be placed beyond scrutiny. Private investors, like public officials, ought to remain open to fair and constructive criticism. The argument here is simply that judgement should rest on the complete record, not on one unmet request.

Government cannot do everything on its own, and private investors cannot reasonably be expected to do everything either. Tourism thrives when government, investors, communities and cultural practitioners work together within an ecosystem where responsibilities are understood and expectations remain realistic.

Ikogosi’s transformation from an underused public asset into a functioning hospitality and events destination illustrates what sustained private investment can contribute. Its progress also demonstrates why the relationship between government and investors should be managed as a partnership rather than reduced to a question of who funded which individual programme.

The larger issue is the kind of tourism ecosystem Ekiti wants to build. A state blessed with warm springs, hills, forests, cultural traditions, festivals and a rich history cannot afford unnecessary friction between institutions whose interests should ultimately converge.

Public agencies need effective partners, while private investors need an environment in which their contributions are recognised fairly and legitimate concerns can be addressed constructively. Neither side benefits when isolated disagreements are allowed to overshadow the broader objective of developing a sustainable tourism economy.

That requires candour on all sides. Where government believes an investor is not doing enough, it should say so and provide the evidence. Where an investor has contributed substantially, that record should also be acknowledged. The objective should not be to win an argument, but to strengthen the sector.

Public office holders, in particular, must be mindful of how they communicate. Public communication is not only about what is said, but also how it is said, when it is said and the meaning it may convey. Personal feelings or temporary disappointments should never outweigh emotional intelligence and institutional responsibility. In a knowledge economy, statements and silence, actions and inactions, can shape perceptions and affect the corporate identity of the people and organisations we represent. 

Taken in full, the available record presents a picture considerably more nuanced than the suggestion that Glocient has no interest in Ekiti’s tourism development. Sponsorship is only one form of support. Investment, infrastructure, partnerships, cultural promotion, destination development and sustained private-sector participation matter just as much in the long run.

Ekiti tourism needs more of these partnerships, not less. It needs investment without suspicion, accountability without hostility and public conversation anchored in facts. Above all, it needs stakeholders who understand that the destination they are building belongs not to one institution or one company, but to the people of Ekiti.

In conclusion, I feel that one single unfulfilled request shouldn't have been used to jeopardize investment, partnership potential, job opportunities and growth that took years and billions to build.

The Ekiti State’s tourism future is too big and important for division to become the story. Partnership should be.

*Ojo a Mass Communication Lecturer writes from Ilorin*

*P.S: My intervention in the ongoing debate was informed by two things: my recent visit to Ikogosi and  my Unity days at Usi in the late 90s where Uncle Wale Ojo-Lanre's name was loud among those of us in the Arts class. I couldn't just reconcile the then quintessential man of pen with the political jobber our dear Uncle has suddenly become. Could it be survival? Could the sudden change be as a result of craving for relevance? Who exactly  Uncle trying to impress with that outburst? How times fly? With this latest development, one can conveniently conclude that our darling brother is fast losing his qualities.*