Travel/Tourism
I Spent One Week in Calabar, But Didn’t Want To Go Back Home—Traveller Reveals
By Olukayode Kolawole
I had completed the official assignment I went for. It was time to go back to Lagos after spending a week long in the heart of Cross River. My flight had already been booked. For the first time in my life, I was away from home and yet didn’t miss home.
Tinapa Lakeside hotel was good to me. The hotel staff were the friendliest people I had ever met. The hotel facilities were 5-star rated even though it was a 4-star hotel. But none of this was responsible for my willingness not to return home to my family.
It was something else. And I was warned. I wish I had listened. Let me tell you why I wanted to make Calabar my new home.
The business pitch lasted four rigorous weeks. It was a juicy business deal from the then Minister of ICT. The ministry wanted to launch an ICT hub where young minds can be given a platform to learn how to develop mobile and web applications.
There were a number of burgeoning smart individuals who needed a platform to thrive. The minister’s blueprint provided the opportunity. I was to draft a communications strategy that will help implement the project. Lagos and Calabar were the two pilot states.
Eventually, the news reached us that we won the business pitch. We kicked off with the Lagos launch – it was easy and fast-paced. Two weeks later, I got a brief to move to Calabar for the launch. All-expense-paid trip!
The first three days were lonely and boring. Meanwhile, I had been warned by friends not to socialize with the folks over there for fear I might get carried away with the pleasurable atmospheric condition in the capital to the extent that I might forsake going back to my family. I would say I was a very curious person – and I still am. So, I turned down the advice.
By the fourth day, I was already reaching out to the hotel staff and complaining bitterly about how dry the town was. My repeated complaints reached the right quarters. And help in form of a tourist guide was dispatched to me right away.
My amiable tourist guide took me round almost all the bars and clubs – from Jaspers to Mayfair lounge at Channels View hotel to Pinnacle club at Mirage hotel and finally to Base Bar at Diamond Hill.
By 3am, I was already wasted. But not too wasted for extras anyway. Partying in Calabar was quite different from Lagos. I also found that the hotels were exceptionally different and always willing to help in whatever form.
At 6.30am, I was certain I didn’t want to return home. Maybe it was the different party experience. Maybe it was the courteous approach of the hotel staff. Or perhaps the friendliness of my tourist guide. All I want is to go back to Calabar again. And I want to go alone because in Calabar you will always find new and interesting friends who would be willing to tour you round-the-clock and even go extra miles until you tire out. Now, I understand why Calabar is called ‘Come and Live and Be at Rest’. I really rested!
Olukayode Kolawole works with the PR & Marketing team of Africa’s number one hotel booking portal, Jumia Travel Nigeria. His travel experience is part of the company’s weekly employees’ articles.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 14.12 per cent stake in Ikeja Hotel Plc has been acquired by Honeywell Group Limited, a notice on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has revealed.
Honeywell Group took up the part of the hospitality firm through one of its affiliates known as HGL Real Estate Limited.
Ikeja Hotel, in the disclosure filed with the NGX on July 2, 2026, said the stake comprised 305,323,525 units of its equities.
“Ikeja Hotel hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public that it has received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, that it has acquired 305,323,525 units of Ikeja Hotel Plc’s shares, representing 14.12 per cent shareholding in the company,” the notice stated.
Ikeja Hotel is one of Nigeria’s leading hospitality investment and hotel management companies with premium hospitality assets.
It operates two leading hospitality organisations in Lagos, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Balmoral Convention Centre.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 10 hospitality establishments, including hotels and restaurants, were sealed on Wednesday by officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The affected businesses are located in different locations in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the metropolis, Business Post learned from a statement from the agency.
It was stated that they were sealed by LASEPA for persistent violations of environmental regulations despite repeated warnings, abatement notices, and several opportunities to comply with the agency’s directives.
According to the notice, the enforcement exercise was carried out in line with the directives of the Lagos State government to ensure strict compliance with environmental laws and to safeguard public health.
The affected facilities were said to have breached various environmental regulations, including noise pollution, air pollution, unlawful discharge of untreated effluent, obstruction of official duties, among others.
LASEPA closed the premises of Granduer Meridian at Obasa Akiniyi Street, Oluwaga, Ipaja for non-compliance with the agency’s directives; Lasola (Spazio Bar), located on Ipaja Road, Fatolu Bus Stop, Ipaja, was sealed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives; Millennium Restaurant, located at Gate Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo, was shut down for non-compliance with directives; O2 Exquisite Suites & Tower on Jimoh Akinremi Street, Jimoh Bus Stop, Akowonjo, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; and Chirozz Hotel & Suites, located on Samuel Street, Akowonjo, by Vulcanizer Bus Stop, Egbeda, was closed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives.
In addition, House 7 Hotel, located at Remi Akande Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with LASEPA’s directives; House 48 on Isiba Oluwo Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; Exclusive Hotel, located at Ishan Kimishe, Akesan Bus Stop, was shut down by non-compliance with directives; Sabola Ventures Limited, Iocated at Km 11, LASU–Isheri Road, Igando, was shut down for operating without evidence of an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), and discharging untreated effluent into public drains; and City Int’l Motel, located at Chief Olu-Adegbite Street, off Oladun Street, Council Bus Stop, Idimu, was sealed for non-compliance with directives.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Emirates has become the first airline cargo carrier to deploy the Boeing 777-300ERSF passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft.
The aircraft (A6-EBK) will enter commercial service with a flight from Hong Kong to Dubai carrying over 100 tonnes of cargo, a statement from the airline operator stated.
The converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF offers 100 tonnes of payload capacity and 811 m³ of cargo volume, representing a 25 per cent increase in cargo volume over the Boeing 777-F production freighter.
At 47 pallet positions, the converted aircraft also accommodates 10 additional pallet positions when compared with the Boeing 777-F production freighter, making it ideal for transporting volumetric cargo such as e-commerce goods, which currently constitute around 20 per cent of global air cargo tonnage with further growth projected in the next few years.
The converted Boeing 777-300ERSF is the sixth new freighter, following five Boeing 777-F production freighters, to join Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet since March 2026.
As part of its ambitious expansion strategy, Emirates SkyCargo will also be taking delivery of five additional Boeing 777-F aircraft as well as one additional converted Boeing 777-300ERSF by December 2026.
Emirates SkyCargo will also be introducing three additional converted Boeing 777-ERSFs into its fleet in 2027.
“The induction of the first converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF into operational service represents the next step in the expansion of our fleet and operational agility.
“We are optimising our fleet assets by converting older Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity to transport goods rapidly across the world,” Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, Badr Abbas, commented.
“Combined with our growing fleet of Boeing 777-F production freighters, we have already been able to scale our global freighter network from just over 40 destinations in February this year to 62 destinations currently and growing.
“We are providing our global customers with scalable cargo capacity and ultimate flexibility and connectivity when moving cargo to and through our hub in Dubai,” Abbas added.
