The government of Lagos State has issued a demolition warning to the proprietor of $200 Landmark Beach Resort, a leading tourism spot, because it obstructs the planned route of a 700-kilometer coastal road intended to connect the state with Calabar.
Paul Onwuanibe, 58, told CNN that in late March he was given a notice to vacate his multimillion-dollar beach resort within seven days for its impending demolition.
Onwuanibe said that the Landmark property, worth over $200 million, accommodates more than 80 businesses and sustains over 4,000 jobs directly. Additionally, the company claims it contributes more than N2 billion in taxes each year.
The beach resort, regarded as one of the top tier tourism spot in Nigeria, receives about a million local and foreign visitors last year.
Onwuanibe explained he purchased the land in 2007, well before the coastal highway plans were formulated, and was left with mixed feelings after the demolition notice arrived, also prompting him to claim compensation.
“People who bring in money to make cities like this effective will be very concerned (with the proposed demolition of the beach resort). It will pose a huge threat to inward investment into the state and, most importantly, pose a threat to people who are already in the state trying to do things.
“We’ve spent between $80 and $90 million developing this ecosystem and one-third of that was spent on the beach. So, all that, which we are still paying loans on, will disappear,” Owunibe lamented.
Onwuanibe said that both international and domestic investors in the Landmark Group are considering withdrawing their investments if the beach resort, which features a mini golf course, beach soccer field, volleyball, and basketball court, is demolished.
“Without the beach, the entire ecosystem is at risk and is severely damaged.
“I have had widespread panic calls from my international and local investors as well as local debt providers threatening to pull the plug as they think this is material to our survival as a business,” he added.
A key player in Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality industries, the 13-hectare leisure beach of his Landmark Group Plc along the Atlantic Ocean beachfront was listed among Nigeria’s best seven beaches in 2023 by the Lonely Planet travel guide.
It is a top-tier destination visited by about a million local and foreign visitors.
