Lagos Bar Beach Gives Way To Real Estate

WHILE COUNTRIES SERIOUS ABOUT TOURISM ARE DEVELOPING AND RESTORING THEIR TOURIST SITES WITH HUGE MULTIPLIER EFFECTS, NIGERIA SEEMS TO BE ON THE PATH TOWARDS DESTROYING ONE OF ITS MOST POPULAR TOURISM LEGACIES (THE LAGOS BAR BEACH) AND THE MEMORIES IT HOLDS. OMOLOLA ITAYEMI WRITES ABOUT BAR BEACH’S METAMORPHOSIS TO A REAL ESTATE AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON TOURISM The Bar beach on Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island is officially closed to the public, don’t let the colourful kiosks and huge boulders fool you, its no more for lounging by the sea-side, collecting sea-shells, swimming (if you are that brave), religious, traditional and other entertaining activities. Any attempt to walk towards it, sometimes just as soon as you’re alighting from your car, security personnel tell you to leave in no smiling manner, demanding you go to Elegushi Beach, a smaller beach, some kilometres away, if you wish to enjoy that beach experience. Disappointed, people leave. Eko Atlantic City project is on (the land reclamation actually started in February 2008 with a seven-year dredging operation planned to create 8,000 square metres of new land every day but was officially declared last year in a glitzy ceremony including Bill Clinton, former President of the United states) and Bar Beach is part of it. Cranes, bull dozers and other construction equipments littered all over the beach line shows active work in progress and dashing the hopes of fun seekers still visiting hoping to savour some tranquil moments or just gaze at the beach for motivation etc With the World Tourism Organization [WTO] estimation that tourism accounts for up to 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP), making it the world’s biggest and fastest developing industry, are we not circumventing tourism’s potential to contribute significantly to GDP. But it’s not only the fun seekers that are affected, three different parties consisting of not less than 5 were turned back when this correspondent was there. Across the road, the horse and its master sit down looking forlornly at cars driving past, its obviously a bad time for him as business is on a low ebb (horse riding is one of the popular side attractions). Bar Beach, even in its declining state and with the rash of public beaches springing up all over the city is still a prime spot for hanging out. One couldn’t help but notice the absence of street urchins, vendors hawking different kinds of wares from crafts to culinary delights to car washes, officials making money form gate takes and car park, red and yellow cab drivers generally found here, a far cry from its busy state even on week days. With a total area of 923,768 square kilometers, land area of 910,768, with water – 13,000 square kilometers and coastline 853 kilometres, the country indeed has abundant tourism potentials from our beaches dotted all over the country but these prime spots are rarely harnessed, from Lekki to Oniru beach, the story is same. Bar Beach means a lot to people who belong to the age bracket of mid 30’s and above. Its where a lot of childhood fun took place. A prime tourist and entertainment spot in the 80’s and 90’s, it became a permanent fixture on people’s social calendar. Many a memories were made there. Alhaja wunmi Mohammed in her mid 50’s, a beach visitor, is of the belief that the Eko atlantic city project could have been built without taking that huge chunk of Bar Beach. ‘’Its completely absurd for Lagos state government to convert Bar Beach into this futuristic city as its being projected. All over the world, beaches like this are being preserved not using it to build cities that the ordinary man cant afford. I work on the Island and often come to theBar Beach during break time to walk around, its helps to relax me and its one period I cherish. Now I cant savour that again as im being referred to elegushi beach. This is so sad, Bar Beach holds a lot of sweet memories for me. It’s a pity I wont be able to show my grandchildren when their older landmarks of my childhood.’’ Unlike other countries like Gambia, Maldives, Mauritius who have got it right with their beaches turning it into money spinners we seem not to be able to tap into this and make our beaches world class. With a whopping 80 kilometres of coastline to speak of, Gambia’s tourist industry has largely been geared towards these 80 kilometres and the resorts which mark them. And sure, the combined joys of beaches and sunshine are a worthwhile holiday, but Gambia isn’t a one-trick pony. Gambia is a very popular getaway for package tourists from Europe, escaping the European winters.