Once a beacon of hospitality in Northern Nigeria, Gusau Hotel—originally known as Gusau Motel—stood for over half a century as a testament to the region’s rich history. Built during the vibrant era of the first republic, this iconic establishment witnessed the ebb and flow of time until 2020, when former governor Bello Matawalle initiated its grand transformation, marking the end of an era and the dawn of a new chapter.
On a breezy May morning, everywhere was silent and quiet: building materials, grasses, gravel, sand and the contractor’s vehicle were the only visible things in the vicinity.
The demolition of the historic hotel and abandonment of the project shocked and disheartened many residents, crippling several small businesses that once thrived around the hotel.
Ahmad Salisu, 25, is one of the many who have been affected. He narrated that initially, the hotel was bustling without any problem. People came to lodge there, and other people carried out their small businesses around the hotel. But suddenly, one day, former governor Matawalle visited the hotel’s site and directed that the old building be demolished and a new one constructed.
“I used to wash a lot of cars per day before. I was getting a lot then, but now everything is dried up. We hardly get a car to wash,” he lamented bitterly.
For Salisu, the demolition meant the end of a stable source of income and the onset of financial uncertainty.
Usman Muhammad, 55, who spent more than 40 years selling meat close to the hotel, also couldn’t hide his dismay, “Before demolition of the hotel, l used to slaughter one or two rams and sell them out in a day, but now I could spend a week without selling out even one leg of a cow,” he lamented.
He noted that his daily earnings plummeted from N50,000 to barely N10,000, a drastic decline that has impacted his livelihood.
More residents lament
Aminu Jibo, a resident of Gusau, criticized the government’s decision, calling it a misplacement of priority.
“At this juncture, the hotel is not what Zamfara state needs. The government should have renovated it and diverted the money on other human capital development”.
“Everybody knows that we have insecurity which crippled all the affairs of the state, to the extent that people couldn’t sleep with their two eyes closed and we know farming is the predominant occupation, so, had it been government used the money for improving the security of the state and food security, it would be more important than building a hotel”, Mr. Jibo recounted.
Unlike Mr. Jibo, Bello Ibrahim Gusau, who stood behind the idea of reconstruction of the hotel, expressed his concern and dissatisfaction over the status of the project despite the billions of naira released for the project.
“I was surprised when I heard that over one billion naira had been released for the project but even 250 to 300 million was not spent there,” he stated surprisingly.
Ibrahim also disclosed that he wasn’t satisfied with the work as nothing tangible had been done so far, hoping that the present administration would do the needful.
About the Project
A document UDEME obtained online through the Zamfara State Bureau of Public Procurement, shows that on 16th July 2020, the immediate past administration in the state awarded a contract for the reconstruction of catering and hotel service center Gusau motel with a sum of N1,149,288,084.2 under the state ministry for culture and tourism. The contract was awarded to 180 Circle Construction & Engr. Ltd.
To access the state and level of the project, in early May 2024, this reporter paid a visit to the project site and it was discovered that the existing building had been demolished, only the foundation, small buildings, company vehicles as well as mountain of sand and gravel could be seen in the plot of land housing the project, while the project had been abandoned for about four years, as at the time of this report.
Government keeps mum
UDEME, on 11 June 2024, sent a freedom of information letter to the Zamfara State Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism requesting information regarding the status of the project, but no response was received after 14 days elapsed.
Nevertheless, in November 2023, spokesperson to Zamfara State governor, Suleiman Bala Idress issued a statement and documents published by The Cable, in which he accused the previous administration of Bello Matawalle of Illegal disbursement of over one billion naira to the construction firm handling the abandoned project.
According to the statement, on August 27, 2020, the contractor received the sum of N344,786,425.27 as mobilization fees. On July 6, 2021, the state government also released the sum of N100,420,259.62 to the construction company. On August 27, 2021, 180 Circle Construction and Engineering Limited received the amount of N257,060,936.72.
However, on August 27, 2021, the sum of N185,250,000.00 was paid to the contractor through the Ministry of Finance. In addition, on 24th March 2022, the Ministry of Finance released the sum of N20,000,000.00 to the construction company, totaling the amount to N1,011,801,545.79 billion naira.
Despite the release of such an amount of money, the value of the project executed was about 30 percent at the site of the abandoned project.
Contractor reacts
When this reporter contacted Abdurraham Aminu Adamu, a supervisor of the company handling the project via phone call, he stated that everything regarding the project was on record with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism which awarded the contract.
He said “Any right information needed is there with the ministry; ranging from the contract agreement, date, signature, what we received and what we spent,”
When he was asked about the current state of the project, Abdurraham replied, “We are not arguing, we were given a contract, we received and exhausted the first payment, we, however, requested for the second but we didn’t get”,
He therefore directed the reporter to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism or Ministry of Works as all the documents concerning the project were therein, including police reports on the vandalization of their properties during the 2023 general election.
It’s a waste of money for the government to build a hotel — Experts
Professor Yahaya Tanko Baba, of the Department of Political Science, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, says that building a hotel is not the work of the government but business people.
Professor Tanko explained that Instead of wasting such an amount of money to build hotels, the government should have focused on the construction of roads, hospitals, and schools as well as providing infrastructural development that will make the environment very conducive for businessmen and attract investors.
In his words: “If the government provided a conducive environment like security, electricity, water, roads, and other infrastructure, the businessmen and investors would come in to invest, build hotels and companies that would provide job opportunities for the people, boost the social economy of the state and tourism,” he stated.
He further revealed that it is not a wise decision for the governments to build a hotel because they can’t maintain and manage it well, as government officials would misuse it and interfere in running the hotel, except if it were handed over to businessmen because they are the ones that have ideas and strategies for managing business sectors.
By Shehu Muhammed Shehu
This story was produced with support from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
