Ikogosi Warm Springs and Conference Centre has an enviable history of being a haven where nature and environment offer a healing balm to its inhabitants and visitors. This gift of nature forms the bedrock of what the current operators of the resort is building upon to offer top-notch hospitality services to its growing clienteles. General Manager, Glocient Hospitality Limited, the hospitality arm of Cavista Holdings, and operators of the Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort and Conference Centre, Mr. Lanre Sharafa Balogun disclosed that despite the initial huge challenges at the resort, the on-going development at the resort is guided strictly by the need to preserve the peoples’ heritage and their environment. To achieve this, Balogun said no tree is allowed to be cut in the resort because ‘we want to keep the balance of the ecosystem. In fact, if you look at some trees, they just die a natural death because you will be arrested if you cut down any tree. Everywhere around here, you see trees growing.’ Balogun who spoke recently with The Nation recalled that when he and his team arrived Ikogosi years ago, they were met not by promise but by ruins. “When we started, it was challenging. There was no technical assistance, no architectural or electrical drawings, nothing to work with. The entire place was rundown. We had to sit down and study everything from scratch, from the power systems, infrastructure, and terrain,” he said. But most importantly, preservation of nature and environment was at the core of each level of development. ‘‘That principle now defines every structure at Ikogosi. From the design of the Tree-House, built around standing trees without cutting a single one, to the careful bamboo trimming instead of indiscriminate clearing, nature is not displaced; it is respected. “You will be arrested if you cut down a tree here. ‘‘The Ikogosi Warm Spring, the heart of the site, was not rerouted or altered during the upgrade. Instead, it was reinforced with protective lining to prevent erosion and maintain its natural flow. In the evenings, monkeys still roam freely, a sign that, unlike in many other locations, wildlife continues to feel at home here,’’ In furtherance of the sustainability of the ecosystem, the management of the resort also gives priority to agrotourism. According to Balogun, the team grows its yams, watermelons, and pumpkin leaves (ugwu), which are all consumed fresh on-site. “We don’t buy what we eat here. It’s part of our model to live off the land, responsibly,” he noted. Read Also: Excess Van Gives Back: Supports Less Privileged Students in Ayobo, Donates Books to Springs Primary School “If you observe that at the Tree-House, no tree was cut down. We actually built the Tree-House around the trees without cutting any tree. That way, we want to keep the balance of the ecosystem. In fact, if you look at some trees, they just die a natural death because you will be arrested if you cut down any tree. Everywhere around here, you see trees growing. “We have that a lot. What we do is to trim it so we don’t have bamboo falling all over. They grow very, very rapidly. We have them in abundance and we preserve them. Even our spring, we still maintain the path. At night, you see monkeys come around. In fact, part of our goal in the long run is to have a mini zoo around for people to see wild animals around here. We are also having what we call an agro-tourism space where all the vegetables that we eat are being grown here. We have a yam farm already. We have watermelons. The yam is grown and harvested. We do not buy the yam that we consume,” he said. Balogun stressed that every development at the resort is in line with the master plan. “We have a master plan. And we approach, religiously and intentionally approach the master plan step by step. Our first focus is to provide accommodation, a living area, and a conference. We have a MICE business. What we focus on is accommodation and the conferencing area. “Largely, bringing people here, they have space to stay, they have a restaurant to dine, and they have space for their banqueting and conferencing facility. Next up is to do the high traffic area, entertainment area, where, like the tree-house, the foreign bar, the pool enhancements, the environment, the amphi-theatre for people to get engaged. And it’s been a heavy investment that has been put in here. And it’s going to continue. This is still a construction site,” he assured. According to Balogun, the goal of the resort is to have 50 percent of its projected rooms ready by December as it is getting to the point that the rooms available may not be enough for the demands. “We intend to complete about 16 rooms of the 32 rooms by December 2025. For us, that is a given. Then, by the middle of next year 2026, our goal is to have completed the other 16 rooms. So, in all, we have 92 rooms. Recalling last December’s experience of turning back customers due to lack of rooms, he hoped the resort could have up to 150 rooms this December to be able to take advantage of Detty December. “People are ready to pay heavily but you are turning them down. It is quite frustrating. So, I want to be able to accommodate more people as much as we can for them to experience this nature’s gift to Africa,” he added. On the implementation of the resort’s master plan, he said: “We are a strategic organistion. We have a master plan, which we religiously and intentionally approach step by step. Our first focus is to provide accommodation, the living area, and the conference. If you are in MICE business, what you focus on is accommodation and the conferencing area. That way, when you bring in people here, they have space to stay, they have a restaurant to dine, and they have space for their conference facility. “Next up is to do the high traffic area, entertainment area, like the tree house, the forest bath, the pool enhancement, the environment, the amphitheater, for people to get engaged. After doing all that, it will be the upgrading of the kitchen and others. The reception is not up yet, but before mid-2026, we would have completed the reception, and it is going to be a world-class reception. After that, we will move to the golf range. We have a space for the range, which will be cleared after we have enhanced and transformed those areas that I just mentioned.”