July 01, (THEWILL) — In a bold and unprecedented move to attract global attention and participation to this year’s edition of IPADA Celebrations 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to host all envoys in Nigeria, UN Tourism, and Ministers of Tourism, alongside Commissioners of Arts, Culture and Tourism.
Also expected in attendance are the 774 local government council chairmen, the business community, and other dignitaries. At the meeting scheduled for July 30, 2025, at the Presidential Villa, Tinubu is expected to brief and invite them to IPADA Celebrations 2025, set to be held between November and December 2025, at the La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Ikegun Village, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The platform would also be used by the project’s initiator, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, the founder and President of La Campagne and Motherland Beckons, under whose auspices IPADA Celebrations is being organised yearly, to unveil a five-year programme of events spanning across Africa.
Last September, Tinubu hosted African ambassadors, among others, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on the project. Represented by the former Minister of the defunct Tourism Ministry, Mrs Lola Ade-John, the President used the occasion to introduce the newly introduced project to the envoys, sharing with them the opportunities that the veritable platform affords the various countries to develop their economies and attract investments and tourists.
IPADA (Mass exodus of people in Yoruba parlance) Celebrations debuted last year. It featured 10 days of activities ranging from carnival, musical concert and festival, theatrical performances, culinary and cultural feast to empowerment of youth and women through training and skill acquisitions, offered freely.
With support from the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Tinubu is the Global Ambassador, Chief Host and Grand Patron of the annual celebration, which is designed to develop and promote tourism and economic development of not just Nigeria but Africa, as the mega project is Afrocentric in nature, with focus on attracting Africans in the Diaspora and lovers of Africa, to visit Africa (motherland) and their ancestral home, not only to reconnect with their root, but also to contribute meaningfully to the economic development and growth of its human capital.
To this end, Lagos and Abuja have been designated as the gateways to Nigeria and other African countries, with programmes to be executed all year round. This will then be in November and December, with the grand celebration at La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort.
Speaking on IPADA Celebrations, Akinboboye noted, “The concept is all about bringing people of African descent back to their roots. We have about 200 million Diasporas across the world: 27.265 million in the Caribbean, 48.3 million in the United States of America, 112.8 million in Brazil, and between seven and eight million in Europe. We need to entice them back to add value to the entire continent of Africa.
“You know no country can develop without the Diasporas. So, IPADA is basically presenting the entire continent of Africa in a basket. We are creating an African shopping mall. The idea is to enable the Diasporas to visit all the countries on the continent.
“There are 54 African countries. So, we’re not only selling Nigeria, we’re just saying that the Diasporas can come into the continent of Africa through Lagos, through Abuja.
“For those who felt that they were left on slave ships, we’ve created cruise ships for them, so that they can land here in Lekki.
“From Lekki, they can go to our airport here in Lagos and then fly to any part of Africa they want to fly to. So, basically, we’re putting the entire continent of Africa in one basket.
Last year’s event attracted over 50 kings and royals from Nigeria and the continent, with a massive boost to the economy as different business deals were closed by individual businesses and corporate bodies.
Some of the benefits generated included approximately N251, 940 on hotel accommodation, transport, entertainment and logistics; performance fees in the region of N35 million earned by different creatives; Free AI Training for 300 attendees (Approximately $450 per participant and translated to N200 million investment in the digital empowerment of young Nigerians; with Vanuatu Government offering to undertake additional AI training opportunities to a total of 1, 500 Africans via the Ipada Initiative (This will translate to N636, 940, 000).
Building of six cruise ships funded by the African Diaspora Central Bank. The ships will transport tourists from the Caribbean to Africa through the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos. The project cost is put at N6,907,860,000,000 (N1.15 trillion per cruise ship); Construction of Ubuntu Tower in Lekki Free Trade Zone by the African Diaspora Central Bank – The Ubuntu Tower is designed to be the world’s tallest building (Valued at N4, 562, 100, 000, 000) and is expected to provide employment for at least 50, 000 Nigerians during the construction stages; Establishment of a Carnival Costume Factory in Lagos (Provide direct employment to at least 100 Nigerians) and envisaged to generate earnings of at least N60 million per annual.
Tribal Tapestry/Motherland Beckons Partnership – an initiative designed to integrate 1,000 African-Americans annually with their ancestral communities in Africa. The Tribal Tapestry Package will cost N7,675,000 or $5,200 per person, with 1,000 people targeted per annum. This will generate revenue of N7.675 billion yearly.
Construction of five African themed resorts in Taraba State through a Public-Private Partnership; Rwanda/Vanuatu Partnership on Geothermal Energy Exploration, AI Training for 5, 000 Rwandans, and Collaborative Tourism Development (Valued at $700,000,000); Partnership between Vanuatu and La Campagne Tropicana for the construction and operation of an African themed resort in Vanuatu at an investment cost of $50,000,000.
Janefrances Ebere Chibuzor is a Tourism Writer at THEWILL
