https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EV4QtZEuJo

What exactly happened to the beautiful, attractive and popular tourist attraction known as Tinapa Resort Calabar should be a question every well meaning lover of tourism especially in Nigeria should be worried about.

I made a visit May, 2022 to this once beautiful centre of attraction that use to be a hub of great and captivating activities in the city of Calabar and it was clearly an eye sore, save for the beautiful and lush green environment and nature left to be admired, there was nothing else out of the ordinary to make it really worth your stay.

Here is a link to a beautiful video on my YouTube I made of the surroundings while driving through....

It was all just beautiful nature with little or no activities going on around the resort.

A brief information about the resort as it used to be from way back;

Tinapa Resort was built and designed according to plan to be a business and leisure resort located North of Calabar Municipality in Cross River State Calabar, Nigeria. The resort is under the area allocated as the Calabar Free Trade Zone which is the north area of the port in Calabar. The area is designedly assigned to companies engaged in manufacturing, trading, provision of services and oil and gas activities.

The resort located by the Calabar river was commissioned on 2nd April 2007, and was built to be a hub of business and recreational functions and activities with duty free shopping available to tourist and visitors. The resort approximately occupies 80,000 square metres, made up of small shops, warehouses, an entertainment strip which includes a digital cinema, casino, children's arcade, a mini Amphitheatre, restaurants, night clubs and pubs.

The resorts also has an open trade centre for exhibitions and other events, a movie production studio, a water park and parking space, a three star hotel facilities known as the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel and an artificial tidal lake from the Calabar river.

So, what exactly happened to this beautiful resort? Why has it become a deserted and abandoned place? While driving through we decided to stop at the reception by the entrance to the waterpark. We could see a swimming pool inside the park close to the water slide but I would dare not jump in that pool even if it's for free as it was crowded and looks dirty.

We were told we had to pay 1500 each to have access to an abandoned water park ride, a crowded swimming pool, and a few working restaurants offering local dishes. Well, we thought there was no need for that as it was not fascinating enough so we left and rather just drive through to observe the beautiful natural surroundings.

The Resort has been abandoned for long and during the End SARS Nationwide protest it was further vandalized and the few shops and mini malls that were still operating were robbed and destroyed, the hotel was also vandalized leaving carcass of a once beautiful resorts left to ruins.

The theatres, studios and most other facilities here are no longer functioning and mainly no events or exhibition goes on here.

I really hope this place is properly looked into and restructured to get it going and live up to its designed expectations as it is a big source of tourism income for Cross River State and the Nation.

Have you been here before ? Recently or way back? What was the experience like for you ?

I would really love to read from people who were here when the place was still well functioning and vibrant.

Read more travel stories and write-ups on my blog @ www.travelwithdemmy.com

**cheers**

Ayade happened to cross river the same way Buhari happened to Nigeria...both of them are synonymous to failure.

Went to calabar earlier in the year and couldn't believe my eyes...the dirts, garbages are in competition with each other.

One of the hardest things in Nigeria is sustainability.

Calabar used to be a tourist destination during Donald Duke days as governor. Liyel Imoke didn't do badly also but you see that 'professor' that churns out various forms of 'quagmiric budgets' he's one of the worst things that happened to Cross River state.

There was this Nigeria equivalent of US Camp David where the president goes on annual vacation. I wonder if Buhari has ever gone there. (I forgot he prefers International vacations).

Of a truth, most Nigerian establishments are done without any long term plans!

I was thinking Yeye Bello took the most non-performing cum useless governor title but when I look at Cross River state, I prefer to cut Bello some slacks.


Ayade as a governor has stalled the progress of this once Paradise State, Cross River is now retrogressing.

Obudu Cattle Ranch is now on life support, Tinapa Leisure Park is in coma, Calabar municipal city is now an advanced landfill with litters of waste smearing the beauty of the once Green Paradise ...



Search for Steven Nduku on YouTube and watch his latest video on Calabar, Obudu and weep

May Ayade or anything that looks like him never happen to Cross River State again!

The Present state of Tinapa is the product of a very Useless and Clueless Governor who arrogantly sees himself as all knowing.
Governance is a sustainable process. At least sustain the momentum if you cannot build on what your predecessor left behind.
Everything Donald Duke built and did to take CRS to a glorified height has been trampled and destroyed by that Olympotic Clown called Ben Ayade. I don't know who dash that Buffon Professorship.
Tinapa aside, what of Obudu Cattle Ranch? That Smooth criminal of a Governor keeps lying to the world that Obudu Cattle Ranch has an airport and state airline. That only exists in his olympotic kinestic mind. Obudu Cattle Ranch is a dead zone just as Tinapa.
The remaining glory from Donald Duke tenure that remained - The Calabar Cannival that has made CRS cynosure of Tourism; didn't that Buffon cancelled it last year?
Calabar under Clownish Ben Ayade is an eyesore.
All the idiot of a Governor knows how to do best is to Christen budgets absurd names to hide his incompetence and make the state a laughing stock.
I blame Liyel Imoke for bringing that calamity of a Governor on CRS.
And the idiot even look at himself in the mirror and told himself he is worthy to be President of Nigeria and he clownishly went to pick Presidential form!!! What manner of foolishness?
EFCC pls I take God beg una, there is a prime candidate in CRS Gov House for your visitation. Pls do the needful.
Nothing go sweet me to see that Buffon behind bars.

The government is not clueless, he did a great job. But the problem is advertisement, that's why things like this suit private investors more, there are estates like this in Lagos, and this people know how to attract customers, you will see some hotels as big as Eko hotel, but there will be no space.

For a governor to think of this, it's cool, improve your security, and the few people trying to force others to sit at home because of the 5 plots of land they were promise they get when the country divides, eliminate them, they are fighting for nothing but themselves. Because you can't be fighting for someone and be killing the person , and this people think they are wiser than everyone, like less than a thousand people think they can control millions of people to do what they want or die, you think you are wiser than everyone.

Government should just sentence Nnamdi Kanu to death by hanging, if not then Abubakar Shekau should have been taken to court instead.

The difference between both of them is one fool was enjoy life abroad, buy 350k Fendi up and down, sleeping with Ashawos, hid all his children abroad, that only few of his supporters know he has children, while the other fool was in the country with his children

....I was corper dere back in 2012/2013.. tinapa is collecting 150k/250k.. at times close to 400k per week from those shop at t mart.. how do u expect dose shops to survive.... Am saying PER WEEK NOT MONTH

Nigeria and poor maintenance culture

Money

Lack of continuity and poor management.

Noted

Lack of continuity in government. The tinapa vision died immediately Donald Duke left office. Every governor comes in and starts one jumbo project they won't complete just so they can siphon their own share of the treasury. This Ayade's administration is the worst, Calabar is now like assistant Aba. He has succeeded in destroying everything

G

Lack of good management. Typical Nigerian

Bbsharon:
Have you been here before ? Recently or way back? What was the experience like for you ?

I would really love to read form people who were here when the place was still well functioning and vibrant.

Read more travel stories and write-ups on my blog @ www.travelwithdemmy.com

**cheers**

Went way back in 2011 and it was honestly one the best interstate vacations I’ve ever been on in the country. T-Mart was still being finished then so they didn’t even have any ventilation besides standing fans in the aisles, the arts and crafts center was bubbling and the water slide and pool were very much active.



Sad to see it’s a shadow of its former self

For those of us who made a living and lived some of our memorable moments in Calabar all those years ago, it is difficult to suppress the temptation to hang Ayade naked on a stake and throw darts at his protruded stomach.

Bad governors happened!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgqPiK-twdE

Nigeria happened to it..

Repent now of your sinful evil ways to avoid spending your eternity in hell fire after you die. Jesus Christ love and warns you to repent and convert now to Christianity to avoid hell fire. Only Jesus Christ can save you by his death on the cross and his blood which washes away your sins, any other ways ( Islam, paganism, Hinduism, atheism, etc) can not save you. Be wise while you still have the chance accept Jesus Christ now and save your soul from hell. Be wiser than Satan and follow the one true God. This is the eternal truth from the spiritual realm.

This question should be directed to Liyel Imoke...
Dat is one of d impacts of bad leadership: it takes everything and everyone backwards.

Kalaba

Nothing happened to TINAPA except the inherent idiotic stream of thought of Africans in general and Nigerians in particular.

Nigeria happened to Tinapa resort. Nothing more.

Have you asked yourself where the hell is Nigerian airways, NIPOST, National Theatre, All the Four Refineries, Ajaokuta Steel industry, NigerCem etc

Fear who no fear Nigeria. Nigerian constitution needs to be amended so that some governors can recontest maybe after 8 or 12 years from the first time they governed and handed over. Same way coaches sacked by their clubs can be hired again much later

The only thing that will save Tinapa and the entire cross River state is the return of Donald Duke. Imagine Sullivan Chime returning as Enugu Governor to fix the Ugwuanyi madness
Imagine Jonah Jang coming back to govern Plateau State again. Or Akapbio coming back to Akwa Ibom...honestly some governors need to come back