He built Nigeria's Biggest Resort & Everything Got Destroyed!

no claim for lmar he has no claim we SPID all his infrastructure we don't pay for shanties and even those shanties are on our right of ways 250 M from the shoreline so there has no claim we made all the efforts to spay all his uh infrastructure and that's why I say he's a politician me I'm an engineer and so why he plays the politics I do the engineering work today one of the biggest real estate investment and the biggest tourist attraction in Lagos Nigeria called Landmark is getting demolished due to the Legos calaba coasa road construction and we bought this site in 2007 so a good 17 years ago over the period of time we sold our European and American Business introduced all the money into Nigeria I have borrowed and raised capital in excess of $100 million um so it's my life's worklog need J Niger I am not a Nigerian but I know that this Vlog might get me into trouble why do I say so because today's Vlog is not just controversial but most sensitive Vlog that I've ever touched on in 2021 I found myself in Landmark Lagos and believe me or not this is one of the best places that I've ever been you know why because it's actually the most visited place in the whole of West Africa I really enjoyed myself had a great time in here until I got opportunity to speak to the Visionary mind behind Landmark Africa was was it difficult acquiring this land it wasn't that difficult it was difficult raising the money but we saw the land there was there was land everywhere but how long did it take you to raise the money to buy this property gosh um um about a year and a half so we we we um we negotiated a deal where we we paid the deposit and then um we completed it a year later right so I raised money from a bank from some private Equity from friends and family and it was a lot you know it was just under $20 million um in 2007 $20 million people the land alone yeah $17.9 million if I recall yeah um so you know what people placed huge bets some people believed in the vision a lot of people thought I was a mad man I this was maraco this was Marshland there were no roads there was nothing here was there was absolutely nothing here so um so he basically transformed an empty Coastline into a world class play and Leisure facility fast forward April 2024 I got back to Lagos and I found the coastline empty once [Music] again every everything everything he built was [Music] gone it's been a week since that demolition have you ever been there to see what really happened no I haven't it's been 7 days and as you can imagine we've been involved with um sort of picking up the pieces um so we Tred not to feel sorry for ourselves but I lot of things to do you know all sorts of contracts supplier contracts advertising contracts picking up the pieces figuring out what we're going to do where we're going to store things and stuff um but you know over the last 18 years um we've built this place um especially actively in the last sort of six to seven years um it's not really something I want to see the destruction and the um chaos of it um at this point in time whil we're still trying to rebuild my all of my attentions are on looking forward rather than the [Music] past are you are you trying to say that you don't have the heart to see what happened well we don't know yet but um you know people talk about mental state and so far my mental state is still very good um and I don't know whether this is what can trigger it so I rather not just see the destruction now so I can focus rather than um focus on the past and and and get bitter it's better for me to just focus on a bright [Music] future since they I was here when they said the but I haven't like come through and gone all the way and knowing that what was here before and what you're seeing right now yes it's so different um you can imagine that we those structures are new and they're just gone um Breeze was only opened last year spent close to a billion that project so beautiful and it's just gone it's just gone all the employees we had that worked just on the beach you know it's quite tough had almost close to 200 people that work for just the service team um you know our own staff everyone and even to put some of our stuff we couldn't even Salvage so many things they demolished a lot of things our Cabanas they were broken down um it's [Music] painful I lost my dad in 2017 so I definitely know how it feels like to lose a loved one I mean something that is so dear to your heart I really know how it feels so I definitely feel him but I managed to convince him and on the next day he took me to the demolition side for the first time this is your first time here wow what will you describe what you're seeing wow how will you describe it well it's chaos this is um wow looks like this place was was bummed wow at debris you know the last time I stood on this St staircase there were probably 2 to 3,000 people out here people having fun children adults old people so much activity the golf carts running up and down the broadwalk moving people around look at it looks like it war zone you finally gaed the confidence to see the demolition for the first time yeah I don't know whether I really wanted to do this um you know um it's been it's been just over a week and I haven't I haven't been down here um because I didn't really want to I wanted to um remember it in it in its glory and use that as a motivation to recreate it um I just you still have plans to rec cre in it oh without a shadow of a doubt we're going to do something bigger and better um we have to repr provide these 4,000 jobs we have to repr provide this tourism platform the hopes and aspirations of a lot of thousands of people rest on us so you know we've got to do it we don't have a choice well can you tell me what inspires you you know we've been here for 18 years literally here um and I've watched the lives of so many people change um not just the people who work here and interact with here but the local community even the people who the service agents look let me just give you an example we sell half a million bottles of water a month right if you think of the value chain that leads up to that so think of things like the chicken the paper cups the straws the the foods the you know people who come and clean the windows that clean the soil you know the the economic the social economic activity um is huge apart from that just the lifestyle change this was one of the only family Centric places you know literally on this Coastline you know we we sit here today and what is what is going through your mind right now seeing this for the first time a baby that you give birth to watch it grow and today the baby is normal so you know I didn't really want to come here because I didn't want it to drive me into depression to be honest right no I'm so sorry for bringing you out I am so sorry but having said that you know um you know you know comeing here even inspires me more you know look 10 days ago there were thousands of people here um visiting and enjoying a lifestyle interacting with the Waterfront there were thousands of people working for a living there were happy families um and there was a lot of socio economic activity um 10 days later it's Rubble right um You have to find a way to reconcile that in your mind and when you reconcile it you've got to find a way for it to motivate you to do something bigger and better the hopes and aspirations of thousands and thousands of people rest on on our ability to turn the corner on this I mean coming from Ghana I know there's so many people from different countries that will be watching this video and they really want to understand why the [Music] demolish so it's simple um you know by the way I've had three different African presidents call me to sympathize and to also invite me to their countries to to do something similar right um you know so one has to respect that someone has made a decision that the first 1 and a half kilm of this road is more important than the social economic activity that Landmark has created so obviously the right of way for the coastal Road was moved um from the Medan of water Corporation Road right onto our beach and immediately after our beach it turns back to join the water Corporation Road someone has made that decision that that is more important than the social economic activity that we created on this beach and that's okay um you have to respect the right um the right of the government to do that it's not illegal it's the absolute right for the greater good under the principles of eminent domain um so we've got to find a way to recreate this and we've got to work with the government you know I'm not bitter and I'm not fighting we got to work with the government to figure out how we can be compensated adequately to continue this social economic activity um Although our story has been told widely but look if I were making decision it would be a different decision obviously but I have to respect the rights of the people who made this decision and so be it um you know we've got to find a way to rebound and to recreate and we have so much riding on the success of our platform we have a lot of investors a lot of creditors a lot of Staff um a lot of businesses um this beach wiped away 50% of our income and 50% of of our business the other 50% we've got to find a way to make it make up for 100% and grow bigger and better and the last time I spoke to you you encourage more Africans to invest in Africa especially where they come from yeah yeah and this has happened will you will you say exactly the same thing yes I will for many reasons you know look you know a country a country is more than just a situ a series of bad incidences and challenges yeah a country represents the hopes and aspirations of hundreds in this case hundreds of millions of people um we don't have other another country this is the country we have right um and the only way it's going to progress is is one um socio economic activity does take place two the people who have experienced an exposure and talent um apply it here three is we ensure we always have good government and good governance and transparent and authentic processes and um and I'll say lastly uh we need to bottle up and ignite the the hopes and aspirations of of all the citizens to just make sure this place is better we we have no choice you're not giving up on Nigeria gosh I tell you something my first um 5 minutes ago when you brought me out here I looked at this and I thought you know what I should just go back to [Music] London um no no I can't I can't see how I can give up on on on Nigeria I don't have another country the questions that everyone is asking were you giving notice about the road yeah know every everyone is asking we got official so you know there've been rumors for a year or so um you know um but you know when you're running a business like this you have a lot of rumors and a lot of people in your ears and stuff um but you know we receiv received official notice on the 19th of March um we're given 7 days to evacuate I joked that I couldn't move out of my bedroom in seven days right let alone a place you've created over 18 years but um you look as I said it is it'll be less than realistic of me to criticize the decision that has been made that's has passed you know we've now got to pick up the pieces and figure out how we we make hay while the sun is still shining so how do we how do we do this for the rest of the business that all the people who brought into Waterville apartment we intend to deliver a a sterling you know business L Leisure and lifestyle um that when they when they come here to live that they'll enjoy and we need to make sure that all our remaining tenant and all our remaining infrastructure perform to the best of their ability and we need to recreate this for all the jobs and and the businesses that enjoyed it so um you have any way in mind in Nigeria to rec this we have three we've looked at three different sites um you know um all all in in in Lagos um we have offers from three different state governments as well well two of them um incredibly serious um we have um agreements on the table to be signed um to to do this and both of them on the waterfront um we need to do something in Lagos um a lot of that would depend on how the government supports us with compensation to to to to give us enough legs to create it um you know as you know we have investors and and creditors who are jumping up and down right so so we got to figure out how we create some clarity and and and move forward but the question is look it will you be compensated well that's not a question for me right and we're in conversations look over 42 billion naira of infrastructure has been damaged has been washed away um the income streams and and the businesses here have all been washed away um so all that has to be recreated and I think someone somewhere has to make a decision whether they want to recreate it or not right our part is that we've made that decision to recreate it and we do need help and there's absolutely no business can lose what we have lost and and not feel it so so we we'll see we haven't been compens ated yet but we hope to your final message to um Nigerians especially Landmark lovers that well the final message is look this is a disaster and there many disasters and there many challenges where for us it's a disaster we're devastated and we don't pretend not to be in pain having said that we take this decis on the chin we will need to work with the government and work with the stakeholders and environment to create something bigger and better um and we will do that within the next 12 months my my hope is that if we do close on one of these um sites that we've seen we will create this Leisure and lifestyle um beach front somewhere else and we'll be open by Christmas um so so watch this space um Believe in Us trust in us pray for us support us and um we'll make sure we don't disappoint we will deliver the opportunity of a lifetime can only be realized in the lifetime of that opportunity and that opportunity is right now H how do you feel being here bro I can tell you like when we were young When We Were Young uh in calaba where we grew up like we always heard about landmark you know so everybody wants to come to Lagos the first place they want to come to is Lark they want to come and you know they want to be closer to the beach and the visioners behind the landmark they had created an entertainment Hub a Tourism Center because Landmark even at some point started getting more popular than Legos you meet a foreigner they say oh lmar yeah I know lmar you know so lmar is not just real estate now it is real estate and tourism right and um Lagos and Nigeria at large I know the tourism sector is one that we haven't gotten right we're still trying to figure it out but you know an establishment like this was taking us towards the right direction um but for me I have my own opinion which is like for a for a for an investment like this the government would have found alternative just to save you know like you know he said more than 20,000 people come here every week so you can imagine that number is going to keep growing so I feel I felt other avenues would have been explored before they come to a conclusion like this right the question is you don't think there should be an alternative I mean let me know what you think in the comment section do you think this this is the right thing to do because this is a $200 million investment that has gone down to the train as an African on a journey to celebrate African excellence and always telling Africans to invest in Africa I think this will actually prevent entrepreneurs investing in Nigeria especially an African who is is willing to create more jobs for his people I'll see you all in the next one don't forget to like this video subscribe to be part of this awesome Channel and um most importantly please share this video and I'll see you all in the next one [Music]