By Clement Warrie.
December 29, 2024, was a perfect day for golfing. The sun and the cloud were, however, fighting a tough battle to dominate the day. At the end, the match ended in a draw, producing a spectacular kaleidoscope of warmth and glow.
Charmed by the clement weather and harmattan chill, Prince Enobong Uwah, Secretary to the State
Government, SSG, donned his golfing gear, packed his kits, and set out for a round of golf at the Arise Recreational Park.
To those familiar with the SSG’s tight schedule and commitment to delivering on the ARISE Agenda of his boss, Governor Umo Eno, it is likely that this outing was both a timely escape and an opportunity to assess the progress of work at the park.
He was not disappointed. Sitting on a massive 51 hectares of superbly sculpted landscape, the Akwa Ibom ARISE Recreational Park unfolded in beauty and grandeur, right in front of him, as though emerging from the pages of a luxury magazine.
But it had not always been so. This captivating park with its lush and luscious green, was once a rampaging ravine, a wasteland, and a den of thieves. Its remarkable transformation from a wasteland to a wonderland, in just under a year, speaks volumes of Governor Eno’s audacious development drive and insistence on moulding gold from filth and linking recreation to commerce and entrepreneurship.
Said the SSG. “It’s stunning! Governor Umo Eno has delivered a world-class golf course, lock, stock, and barrel, just as he had envisioned. And the rest of the park’s components is also unfurling beautifully,”
The Arise Golf Course, the first of its kind in Nigeria, is unique in features and design. As a 9-hole par-3 golf course, it presents a thrilling challenge with holes ranging from 90 to 170 meters, traversing hills, steep slopes, and a bridge across a major channel of water.
Said Emmanuel Ekong, MD, Equatorial Parks and Project Curator: “This was a place that was never expected to turn into a golf course or anything better than a treacherous and impossible landscape.
To think that we can turn this ravine and huge water evacuation point into a golf course is something Governor Umo Eno must be applauded for.”
But more importantly to Ekong is the Governor’s insistence on entrusting this massive project in the hands of an experienced local contractor .
“What Governor Umo Eno has done, trusting a local company to deliver on this job is quite commendable. It shows the Governor’s readiness to develop and empower local manpower,” Ekong said
As reported by Anietie Usen, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, in a Vanguard publication on July 21, 2024, and other national dailies, the ARISE RECREATIONAL PARK was “ scoped and defined as the DEVELOPMENT OF DOMINIC UTUK SPRING WATER LAKE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF TOURIST RECREATIONAL CENTRE WITH ROAD NETWORK IN EWET OFFOT, UYO”.
The site once notorious for a treacherous landscape and relentless erosion has been transformed beyond recognition as promised by the governor during his visit to the area. “We will reclaim this place and channel the water properly to create a beautiful lake, and we will have a very good tourist site here too that will make money for the State. The ROI is very promising,” the Governor said.
According to Faysal Harb, Managing Director of Bulletin Construction Company, handling the construction, the project consists of a golf course with a clubhouse, a 200-metre by 64-meter lake with fish barbecue bars, a football pitch, tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts, as well as a children’s playground. There will be four restaurants, six cafes, and plenty of green areas, where people can relax by the lake and poolside to eat roasted fish and chips. There are also four shops that will sell only Akwa Ibom attire and traditional handicrafts, as well as a pharmacy and a bank outlet.
In addition, there are also 20 chalets, with its own entrances, so no one will know who is in the next chalet. Of the 20 chalets, 15 are two-bedroom executive chalets and five are three-bedroom chalets, each with its own reception and admin block. There will also be a banquet hall for events and conferences.
Said Faysal Harb: “This will be a recreational hub. Once inside, you do not need to go out. I can assure you that once it is completed, it will become a destination for people from all over the world to visit Akwa Ibom State”.
Recently, the Arise Recreational Park witnessed a converge of golf lovers on a calibration test of the golf facility. They were fascinated.
The Captain of Ibom Golf Club, Mr. Isuamfon Archibong, applauded Governor Eno’s vision and commitment to making the State a tourism destination in the country, describing the ARISE Park as a “well thought innovation that would redefine family recreation”.
To Usenobong Akpabio, immediate past Captain of Ibom Golf Club, Governor Umo Eno is simply a miracle worker. “ We know what this place used to be, and for the governor to have turned it into a place that would bring tourists and golfers into the state is quite wonderful and commendable. It is safe to say that Akwa Ibom is fast becoming a destination of choice for golfing in West Africa, in view of the highly rated Ibom Golf Club”
Other golfers who thronged the Park for the calibration exercise were equally amazed by the facility’s progress and potentials. They showered thegovernorr with praise for his commitment to delivering a world class recreational park that will not only elevate the tourism industry in Akwa Ibom Stat but alsot provide employment opportunities for the citizens of the state.
The Park is expected to be fully completed in the first quarter of 2025.
