Also available
For rice we have two large-scale investors. One of them is looking at producing 100’000 metric tons annually, growing rice three or even four times a year, and he’s also looking at processing. Already now the rice pad has over one thousand farmers working as individual holdings, and we’re encouraging them to improve their output.
The cassava pad has at least two thousand farmers. Apart from processing cassava for domestic consumption, we are also trying to develop an ethanol processing industry and an investor has already gotten very far in turning the plan of an ethanol refinery into reality.
In addition to refining ethanol from cassava, there is also another investment group that is working on producing ethanol from sweet sorghum. The investors have actually just harvested the experimental plantation and have been very amazed at the yield, which is some of the best they have seen anywhere in the world. Hence, the investor who is converting sweet sorghum to ethanol is almost ready.
So if we’re producing ethanol from both cassava and sweet sorghum, Ekiti State will become one of the most serious destinations for bio-fuel in Africa and that’s what we’re trying to position ourselves as. We want to take a few things and specialize in them; we don’t want to be generalists.
Nigeria’s tourism potential was long neglected but has recently received more attention, also in Ekiti State. What are some of the tourist attractions in the State and which ones are the most interesting to develop through private investment?
The most compelling tourist attraction is Ikogosi, the warm spring site. It’s one of the only eight warm springs in the world and still today remains untouched, the way nature presented it. We believe that Ikogosi has the potential to become one of the most important tourist destinations in Africa and we’re looking for investors that can employ significant resources and have the know-how that is required to develop hospitality around the site. We believe the Ikogosi development will come complete with an airstrip to facilitate access from anywhere.
Second, if you look at Ekiti State, we’re blessed with a lot of hilltops and breathtaking landscapes. We’re currently working on a bill that will give the State Government access to all hilltops in Ekiti State, making the Government the custodian of those natural resources. They are like little independent islands all across the State, and even around the capital city Ado-Ekiti there are many. We’re interested in having the private sector develop the hilltops into centers for entertainment, hotels, restaurants and casinos and we believe that – once developed – the hilltop resorts have the potential of becoming some of the best resorts in the world if we have the right people to develop them. There is no supporting infrastructure in place yet to access the hilltops but as soon as an investor is seriously interested, we will provide roads and the necessary infrastructure.
What are some of the other investment potentials in Ekiti State?
We are also looking at the education sector, as we are known for eduction. Ekiti has the highest per capita percentage of university graduates, PhD holders and professors in Nigeria, and we believe that we can attract high-caliber serious investors to develop academic institutions. In fact, an Ekiti indigene is currently planning on establishing what will be one of the best universities in Nigeria here in Ekiti State. If we attract the right type of investors, we can become the education hub of Nigeria, or even West Africa. As an investor in education, we give you 100 hectares of land for free, so your access to land is guaranteed, with the condition that within two years students will be admitted to the institution. Otherwise we take our land back because we don’t give land to people who convert it to speculations.
Investment opportunities aside, what makes Ekiti State the right destination?
The environment and the surroundings of Ekiti State are beautiful, the climate is pleasant and the air is pure, with a low pollution quotient. It is very peaceful and safe here and the people are welcoming and friendly. I believe Ekiti State is one of the best places to live anywhere in the world and investors will agree with me.
Prev
Page 2 of 2
