- Pelican, where nature meets luxury

The envisaged Smart City, the emerging Dubai of Nigeria, has berthed in Masa, a community off Kobape junction of the Abeokuta-Sagamu Expressway in Ogun State.

It is the Pelican Ecostay Apartments, where nature meets luxury. Its story could be likened to the folklore of Olene, a legendary novel city within a city. As told by the people of ancient time, when the location was being cleared of weeds, shrubs and trees to make way for the Olene, nothing gave the inhabitants an inkling that what was coming to their neighbourhood was not what they were familiar with. They kept going about their daily engagements, occasionally taking passing glances at the site as they walked by while the builders continued to build Olene.

As days rolled into weeks and weeks into months and years, the Olene villagers woke up one day to discover a new Olene is born. Beautiful to behold and covet. Kept clean always and illuminated. As they struggled with wonderment how a masterpiece could emerge in their midst devoid of any antecedents, some of them began to ask questions after questions. How was it possible given that the location was hitherto their uncharted forest? How did it become this beautiful city?

As they kept asking, someone among them who could easily pass for the Greek philosopher, Cicero, retorted: Eka dozi Olene (It is the great mind and creative hands that built and beautified Olene). This, according to legend, is the origin of the common aphorism "Eka dozi Olene," among members of a certain distinct ethnic nationality in Nigeria and they often deploy the saying to teach their young ones that good things do not come by chance but by deliberate and diligent efforts, planning and execution.

The concept of Ecostay Apartments which began as an extension of Pelican Brief Estate is the initiative of Ambassador (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, a top-notch real estate firm behind Pelican Valley Estate Laderin, Abeokuta where unusual home happens and Pelican Greenish Acres Farm Estate, Kobape, located a few metres away from the Pelican Brief Estate.

The search for location free from government acquisition and other encumbrances took him to Masa, home to the project. Its beauty and cosiness were parts of the concept to effectively meet the taste of its upwardly mobile and high end clients. It is a testimony to the ingenuity, perseverance, focus, diligence, commitment and integrity of Ambassador Adeyemo.

The first 10 sets of the apartments will be launched and commissioned Wednesday, September 11, where the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is expected to grace the event as a Special Guest of Honour while a former governor, Aremo, Olusegun Osoba, is also expected to be the Father of the Day. Also, the Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and many other stakeholders in the built industry are expected to be in attendance.

The feat did not come by happenstance. From the groundbreaking to the finishing, it is an attestation of commitment to deliver amid spiraling inflation that tripled, if not quadrupled, the price of every item of construction.

On May 6, Adeyemo and his team literally relocated their routine management meeting from the Corporate Headquarters at Laderin, Abeokuta, to the Ecostay Apartments site to ensure close project supervision and monitoring to enhance the chances of meeting the September 11 commissioning date.

Clients are already overwhelmed with joy and excitement for all the trappings the Smart City offers, particularly the recreational facilities to enhance their physical and emotional well-being.

The four-in-one facility comprises a standard swimming pool as well as basket ball, badminton, lawn tennis and volley ball courts. There is also a provision for table tennis. The over N40million recreational facilities were built by a contractor - firm, Prime Pythagoras. The facility will also be inaugurated alongside the first sets of apartments in the Estate.

Besides, it boasts of armed security guards, 33 KVA/500 KV public power energised to provide 18 hours light and supported with 100% industrial solar street lights. It enjoys full government approval, has zero carbon emission, zero interest payment plan and zero price variation. All of these are meant to ensure that the residents enjoy the comfort, peace, serenity, luxury and well-being promised them by Adeyemo, the adjudged 'real estate poster boy.'

There are equally a purpose-built lounge/bar, mini - club and mini zoo, where animals like camels, tortoise as well as peacocks are available for tourists while a nearby Greenish Acres Farms Estate will provide organic and fresh meals for patrons of the short-let apartments.

Ecostay Apartments also enjoys the vantage of being strategically located. It is a 15-minute drive to the Ogun State Central Business District (CBD) Abeokuta and 50 minutes drive to the Lagos State Government Secretariat Alausa, Ikeja.

Already, an air of excitement surrounds Masa and its environs as all eyes are set on the September 11 commissioning of the first sets of Ecostay Apartments. Everywhere wears colourful sight and preparations are also in top gear to ensure a huge success.

Commenting, the Pelican Valley CEO said the rationale behind the project is to build an estate where nature meets luxury, to promote a healthy lifestyle in an eco-friendly environment and take clients away from the life of hustle and bustle that Lagos and Abeokuta metropolis have become.

Adeyemo said, "The comfort and well-being of our clients are of paramount importance to us. All these modern infrastructures and recreational facilities are part of our mantra for Ecostay Apartments, where nature meets luxury. It is our brand unique selling points (USP).

"Many of those living abroad, we want to help them convert these facilities to short-let apartments. Some of them are not here and once they are out of the country, we convert it to a short-let for them where people will come in and relax while our clients earn rental incomes. However, when the home owners are around, we will not bring clients to the apartments.

"The Pelican Ecostay Apartments are meant to take our clients away from the hustle and bustle of Lagos and Abeokuta metropolis, bring them to a serene area which is hundred percent eco-friendly. We are not going to have anything like a generator, there is already a step down 33KVA, we have a 500KVA transformer fully energised and at the same time, solar inverter panels will be available to back up for shortfalls in public power supply.

"By the grace of God, we are looking forward to having former governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba to commission the facilities and apartments for us by September 11 and we also looking forward to having the Ogun State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tpl Tunji Odunlami, who is one the brilliant executors of the master plan of Ogun State.

"Interestingly, we have received another approval for the extension of the Pelican Brief Estate. We are extending it by another 600 plots and even with the extension, we are planning a closure of land sales, soonest at Pelican Brief Estate. We want to start adding value and building more apartments for sales instead of selling lands. Hopefully in about a month or two, we will soon stop selling lands in Pelican Brief. We will concentrate on building for sale. That is why we drive this multi-million naira facility to this environment.

"We won't wait for clients to fix our Estates basic infrastructure, we are continuously producing interlocking stones to fix our roads in the Pelican Brief and Ecostay Apartments. We want those coming in to feel the aura of nature and luxury here. We want to make this place the next Dubai, God willing," Dr. Adeyemo added.