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As one walks into Maitama Amusement Park, you are likely to take a second look around to be sure you have not transcended into another country. Gazing at the main gate and appreciating the manner in which it is esthetically designed will only aroused your impatience and anxiety to get in to see what really lies beyond this palace like gate. You will be struck first by the sight of a beautiful pink gigantic tea cup. This will cause you to wonder what kind of amusement it will offer and how many more surprises are spread on this ground. The Maitama Amusement Park is one of the many parks in Abuja as well as one with a unique identity. In so short a time of its inception it has made a lasting impression on the minds her visitors especially with the just concluded extreme sports activities with the Canadian crew.
Ambassador Saidu Pindar, the brain behind this gigantic project told Weekend Magazine that it was his passion for entertainment and his experience while in Italy motivated him to invest in amusement park. "It is my passion for entertainment, my passion for relaxation and my experience while I was living abroad in Italy with my children. We lived near an amusement park. The torture of having to take them out to the park every weekend as well as how much money I was spending. This got me thinking as I guessed there were many other parents going through the same ordeal and I thought we could do something like this in Nigeria. The idea was planted about 10 years ago in 1998/1999. I kept thinking about it and working on it and at every opportunity I had to sell it, I used judiciously. Primarily the major instrument towards the realisation of this project was the restoration of the Abuja master plan. A year or two ago when it was announced that the FCT authorities wanted a development of the green areas and invited interested investors to bid, I was one of those who did for three of them. This was allocated to me. We started work in 2006. We thought we could open in 2007 but it was not possible because of the infrastructural development we had to go through. It was an uphill task and we were determined to achieve." On the challenges he surmounted to realize his dream, he told Weekend Magazine 60per cent of the resources available have been invested in the project. "Our biggest challenge was lack of infrastructure. This particular park was not developed or reclaimed from anybody. A lot of people did not know it existed. It had been laying fallow for years as most people thought it was a drainage area. What you see here is what we have built from the very beginning. When we moved in here, it was not habitable at all. 60 per cent of our resources have been expended so far on infrastructures alone. Another thing is that, we did not get much assistance from the government. Unlike other parks and green areas, development had started taking place before they were reclaimed due to the nature of development we were embarking upon funding became a problem. We had to turn to the banks for assistance. They were not keen on the idea of an amusement park. We persisted and had credible people selling the idea to them too. In the end two banks bought into it and rendered assistance. So we were able to start work earnestly about a year ago. Were hoped without luck that we could open for Sallah last year, then Christmas, New Year but it was not possible. We pushed ourselves harder and finally opened for Easter on Good Friday which was the 21st of March." Ambassador Pindar said, so far so good for patronage. It could be better though he says. "Well, I wish it could be better. I am an investor. I have invested a lot of money in it and there are others too who have done the same. We would not mind getting a quick return on our investments. But as we know with Nigerians, relaxation is not our culture. People will eat while they drive. They will most often not settle down to have a proper meal in a proper way. For most of us relaxation is defined by a/or some bottle(s) of beer and pepper soup in a plastic chair. This is what we would do rather than go to an amusement park. For us to come together to say we are putting together all these games for amusement, games that will take the stress away, eateries where you could go to seat to have a meal in a relaxed mood with non alcoholic drinks, an ice-cream, grills and the likes is something we consider worth exploiting. The value getting out of the house, work of place, watching your children run wild and generally spending precious time with family and friends is not one that could be estimated. You often than not get more than you bargained for. All of theses are available here for between N100 and N200. Most parents do not have time for themselves let alone their families. They are always out making money and never managing to find the time to spend it. We want to inculcate the habit of families being able to spend quality time with one another. If we don not have time for this then there is a problem. My kids have been here with for the past three hours running up and down and coming now and again to ask for a hundred naira for this game or the next. It gives me pleasure to see them happy this way and to know where and what they are up to. Much as we want returns on our investments we also want to be able to get families to bond." On whether it is ripe to start comparing the park with others in the city, he said they are just starting and by the time he is through Maitama Amusement park will be an experience of a life time. "We’re barely just starting. We have 18 hectares of land which is about 185square meters. We have developed six hectares and have 12 more to go. There is room for so much more to be done. For now 90per cent of our games and activities are centered on children. The next phase will be for teenagers and adults looking for thrill and fun. From age 15 and above. There will be extensive water rides, slides, weight pull, a beach area, roller coasters, swimming pool, a ferry’s wheel big enough for riders to see the whole of Abuja. We are now trying to set up a mini zoo that will house exotic animals. We will also have an animatronics’ section we will call the Jurassic Park where dinosaurs and other extinct animals will be brought back to life. We will also have a house of horror to add some tonic to the sights. Children and adults will be given tours and educated in the process apart from being entertained. There will be a small hotel with parking space that will take care of out of town guests who may like to use the facilities over night. There are games that are peculiar to us like the teacup ride, the bumper car ride and board which is not existent in Nigeria. There is the electronic Go Kart/Formula 1 car ride and our extensive video arcade with 33 games in it. There is none like it in Nigeria. The strongman is another game we have that is not in Abuja. As we go on, more games and activities will be created that will challenge the human mind. As you saw earlier there is the train ride is under construction. There is also an event area where parties and receptions could take place. On our plan is a skating ring that children and adults could use. There is a logo shop that sells a variety of items from t-shirts, face caps with inscriptions of the Park printed on them, teddies and other toys to sport items like Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea face caps and the likes. A vast representation of eateries in Abuja are here, like Yahooze Chicken, Mr. Biggs’, JB’s Grills, the best ice cream place Bon Café and Drumsticks which is still under construction. We are doing more each day and making progress so that in the end Nigerians will proudly say ‘this is proudly Nigerian". The staff strength according to him is about 71 but they are aiming at 500 on the long run. "At the moment we have about 71 staff directly employed by us of which 34 are graduates. Putting together the total number including ad-hoc staff we have 108 which is the total number of ID cards we have issued. There is an expatriate as General Manager from South Africa who has worked for 11 years in an amusement park. In five years we hope to have about 500 including corps members and anyone who wants to work for a couple of hours to make extra cash." He revealed to Weekend Magazine that, it was his desire to do something outstanding that made him bring the Canadian Extreme Sports’ crew to Africa for the first time during the opening ceremony of the park. "We wanted something outstanding and to be identified with a new activity particularly for the opening. So we came up with the idea of the Canadian extreme sports’ crew which is the best in the world. Coming to Nigeria was their first time in Africa and they were here for two weeks. They performed in Lagos for two days and in Abuja for four days. The turnout in Lagos was not very impressive; I guess we chose the wrong time to do it. But in Abuja it was overwhelming. There was an average of 2000 visitors everyday. Comedians and musicians were in attendance. It was a really good outing. We charged N3000 for adults and N2000 for children on the first day. On the second we dropped it to N2000 for adults and N1000 for children. As that is over we are back to our regular gate fee of N300/per head with discounts of about 5% to 10%." That vision, according to him, is to create an environment where Nigerians do not have to go abroad to enjoy these facilities. "We have given ourselves a five-year development plan to achieve this."
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