So, I found the number 1 tourism hub in Ogun State; Olusegun Obasan...

The end of the year creates that opportunity of some free time for many individuals. For some, it is an opportunity to visit family and friends and requires travelling far away from your base to ; in some cases, remote areas. This is common practice amongst many Nigerians.

In some other cases, it is an opportunity for individuals (or family) go get on some holiday outing to relax the mind from the workload taken in throughtout the year.

In this case, I fall into the first category of that one who has decided to spend his holiday with family but at some point has to cope with the boredom in the town.

Abeokuta is an ancient city in Ogun State Nigeria. The name of the town was coined from the prevalent rocky nature of a larger part of the state. Most importantly, the was especially picked because the rocky nature stood as a shield for men of old when they were almost going to be conquered during a war in the city. The inhabitants hid under a rock and were protected from being seen by their enemies who eventually left thinking they had conquered the city.

In counclusion, Abeokuta literarily means "under the rock". This is to eulogise the saving grace the rock gave to them during the war.

Truth is an holiday in Abeokuta could be rather boring as there are not much of holiday reservations or sites around. The only major one is the rock in which the ancestors hid during the war called "Olumo rock" which I happened to have visited some while ago. Now, I was faced with the boredom and was in need of a relaxation/tourism spot.

I made a word out of my challenge, and the newly completed Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Complex was recommended. Although I had known about and even visited the spot some 7 years ago (when it was still very much under construction), it was a good feeling to hear of the major progress that had been made in the construction of the site and a joy of visit was ignited. To make the trip more interesting, I invited our next door neighbors (family of pretty young girls to come with us).

Follow me in this fun adventure where I share the beautiful pictures from this holiday destination.

Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.

Just Like the name of the city, the topography of this site depicts the rocky nature of the town. This feature is however well incorporated into the planning and design of the site.

The site is well and perfectly zoned. The intention of the owner of this resort is to have a presidential library that is all encompassing and so, it has a differentiating feature from other presidential libraries in the wold. The site has a children playground with modern facilities, religious centers (church and mosque), a place to get your local indigenous Adire fabrics, a hotel,zoo, halls for events, cinema and then the Museum itself. A ride in , one is greeted by the religious and children section of the site wit the church , mosque and the children recreational centers.

The Mosque
__

The Church

Local Fabrics sales point

Next is the children play zone

The Hotel

At the center of the resort is a 153 rooms hotel accommodation with standards to fit personal and specific accommodation needs. Our visit was not aimed at taking an accomodation so , we only took a walk round the hotel just to get some sight of it and for sure, take some cool selfies. The hotel also has a standard size pool with a grillehouse barbecue strategically located at the center of the accommodation. The arrangement obviously speaks volume of a well planned environment.

A view of the plains as you check into the reception of the hotel.

The Pool Side

This navigation chart belowcame in handy in helping us plan our movements. The first was the Bamboo groove which is purely a relaxation spot completely detached from the hotel environment and could be accessed by a one day tourist who doesn't have any business in the hotel section. As the name implies, it is an spot wherein a small bamboo plantation is put up to give that feel of nature while you take on your relaxation. As said earlier, the topography of the site is well utilized as close to the left end of the groove is a brook of water gently spilling it's content and giving a soothing feeling.

Bamboo Groove

At the zoo

After the short relaxation at the groove, we proceeded to the zoo wherein I was amazed at the retinue of animals found there. Perhaps my main high point was seeing the Lions. One could count the numbers of zoos in Nigeria that has a Lion in them. The zoo houses not one; not two, but four Lions. We were told they are all Lionesses (Obvious from their look) and a male Lion was going to be coming soon to the zoo. One other thing that caught my fancy was the fact that christening were done for some of these animals too just as is done for humans in this part of the world. Infact, one the youngest of the Lions was named after the owner of this reserve as he bears "Aremu". We were told that this gesture was open to any tourist or animal lover. You could choose to take any of the animals and give it a name you wish and then, you take responsibility for the upkeep of the animal. Isn't that an awesome idea?

The Boat ride

A part of the well utilization of the topography of the beautiful site is the establishment of a dam which retains some amount of water good enough to have a confortable boat ride. For someone like me, and many of us, it was an opportunity for us to "test the waters" on a smaller scale before we probably have the opportunity of getting on the high seas sometimes in the future (if the opportunity comes). The park has two options of boat rides, the manual and the engine driven one. The manual ride is done with one or two people deciding the course of the boat through a pedal while the other is a speed boat. Owing to our number, we opted for the speed boats.

alt

The Rock of Inspiration

If I may ask. Where do you get your inspiration from? Well, get that answer in your mind. This location is at the highest point in the premises. It serves both as a place of prayer as well as a point of relaxation. In short, individuals could climb this plain and get whatever and however inspiration comes to them. There is a telescope station here for tourist to appreciate their view from the mountain top. Also talking about a perfect plan for this tourist destination, the power generating area which powers the whole site is located on the other end of the mountain, making it secluded from the general view.

Dorth Creations, [09.01.18 11:33]

The Museum

Our adventure then took us to the museum but unfortunately, we weren't allowed t take pictures. The Museum is actually the most important part of the buiding. However, we were told by the tour guide that the Obasanjo Presidential library complex is one of its kind. Out of the 14 Presidential libraries available in the world, this is the first of its kind in Africa and also the only one that has all other facilities like church, Mosque, hotel accomodation, zoo, e.t.c incorporated into its layout and eventual construction. The Museum is made up of two major buildings; the smaller one which is the arrival pavillion is closer to the dam and entrance and it houses some of the "in-service" paraphernalia of the former president while in active service. It has in it his car, an Helicopter, an armoured tank, e.t.c, all depicting his times as a soldier.

The main Museum building faces the dam and built on a higher ground such that the top has the highest point on the site. It has in it things that depicts the histories of Africa and Nigeria. It halso explains the life of the former president; how he moved from being a farmer to the prison and then a president. It was really great fun learning about Africa. There are also records of luxury gifts received by the former president; hangers having on his uniform while in service and one of his favorite native attire, the "Agbada" amongst many other things. I must say it is a site to behold and you should have it in mind anytime you're visiting Africa or Nigeria.

The car that took us on the tour.

The arrival Pavillion

The main Museum building.

At the Cinema

We found out the complex just recently launched her cinema and we decided to end the adventure with a movie. The Cinema is located at the upper end of the site and the building houses a small relaxation center with a table tennis table for those who'll love to play. We saw the movie titled "Bright".