Adesegun Adekoya, the deputy minority leader in the House of Representatives, and Oba Abdulrazaq Adenugba, the ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye, have urged all tiers of government to foster an atmosphere that will draw investments from the private sector into the tourist industry.
The pair recently stated that tourism and hospitality businesses are legitimate ways to support governmental development initiatives during the opening of WosAM Cinemas in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
According to Adekoya, the dynamics of travel and tourism throughout the world have demonstrated that Nigerians need to invest more domestically to modernize the interior.
However, “the government must create an enabling environment to encourage investors. To be honest, the government has no business doing business. Leave businesses to the private sector and well-meaning individuals.
“All they need are good infrastructures like roads, electricity, security and tax incentives. That is how to draw more investments to tourism for the development of our towns and creation of job opportunities for our people,” he said.
The congressman praised the president of the WosAM Foundation for using cutting-edge hospitality facilities to bring Ago-Iwoye to public attention.
“The king’s reign has brought a lot of fortune to the land. There will be another university apart from Olabisi Onabanjo University. A college is almost ready. More banks will be in the town.
“I congratulate my brother for this feat WosAM (Cinemas). If we do not develop ourselves, who will? Who will develop Ago-Iwoye, if we don’t? The level of investment here is more than N500 million and it was done to develop Ijebu part of Ogun State. The love of one’s hometown is a religion. That is why I salute the investor as a trail-blazer,” he said.
A flurry of fresh investments, according to Oba Adenugba, could only foster the healthy rivalry that the states need to grow.
The ruler urged the town’s other sons and daughters to follow in his footsteps by operating lawful companies and making their fair share of contributions to the growth of their communities.
“My being the Ebumawe of Ago-Iwoye is ordained by God. This is evident in the development ensuing in the town.
“WosAm Cinema is a great initiative that will develop Ago-Iwoye. You have invested well. The founder is doing this here as an indigene. You all should also invest in initiatives that would bring about the development of your origin.”
WosAm Cinema has a spa, hotel rooms, a gym, and a theater. Children’s amenities are also available in the theater, giving them access to a variety of playthings.
Adekoya remarked that he wanted Ago-Iwoye to resemble Las Vegas, one of the biggest cities in the country known for its tourism and hotel industries.
“What motivated me to do this was that when I returned to this town three years ago 25 years after leaving, I was unhappy that there had been no much improvement, so I thought something must be done.”
“I thought I had to play my part before complaining. That brought the idea of building WosAM Arena and Cinemas as a one-stop shop centre. To be sincere, I spent money here and the challenges are many. Getting a licence and approval is one. Right now, we are running on diesel, which is huge. The access road was not motorable; we had to fix it too. Those are the challenges that could have made our investment a lot easier,” he said.
