Eko Hotels & Suites Celebrates 50 Years With Africa Legacy Summit On Culture, Tourism, Hospitality – THISDAYLIVE

Yussuf Ebiti

For two days over the weekend, the atmosphere at Eko Hotels & Suites was far removed from the routine rhythm of conferences and ceremonial speeches. Inside the Eko Convention Centre, the room glowed under dim lighting, while bright spotlights remained fixed on the stage where policymakers, diplomats, business leaders, creatives, hoteliers, aviation executives, students, and tourism stakeholders gathered not simply to celebrate 50 years of Eko Hotels and Suites, but to wrestle with a larger question: what would it take for Africa to finally own its story and turn culture into economic power?

The Africa Legacy Summit, organised to commemorate Eko Hotels’ golden jubilee anniversary, carried the theme, ‘Reimagining the Future of Culture in African Hospitality, Tourism and Travel.’ From the carefully curated cultural performances to the panel discussions and keynote speeches, the summit attempted to position Africa not as a continent waiting to be discovered, but as one already shaping global culture and influence.

The event, which ran for two days, opened on Friday with the Nigerian national anthem, followed by a cultural performance that immediately set the tone for the conversations ahead. As guests settled into the convention hall, the event unfolded less like a corporate anniversary and more like an ambitious attempt to redefine how African hospitality, tourism, culture and business are perceived globally.

Among the dignitaries present were the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, renowned Pan-African scholar Patrick Lumumba, the Honorary Consul General for Antigua and Barbuda to Nigeria, Wallace Williams, the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, government officials, diplomats, traditional leaders and executives from across industries.

But beyond the dignitaries and corporate executives, one section of the hall stood out deliberately. There were rows reserved specifically for students and young professionals. Their presence reflected one of the summit’s recurring themes: that the future of African hospitality, tourism and culture belongs to the next generation as much as it does established institutions.

Throughout the day, speakers repeatedly returned to the importance of investing in youth, mentoring young entrepreneurs, and ensuring African talent is nurtured rather than exported abroad. From the beginning, one message echoed repeatedly through keynote speeches and panel discussions: Africa’s culture is not ornamental, it is economic infrastructure.

Chairman of Eko Hotels, Christopher Chagoury, captured that sentiment in one of the summit’s defining moments. “We are not gathered here merely for a conference,” he declared. “We are gathered to challenge an idea — the idea that culture is ornamental rather than foundational.”

For Chagoury, the future of African tourism lies not in imitation but authenticity. The music, festivals, cuisine, fashion, storytelling, and hospitality that define African identity, he argued, are assets capable of shaping economies and repositioning nations globally.

“The world is exhausted by imitation,” he said. “What people seek now is authenticity, identity, meaning, connection and Africa remains one of the richest reservoirs of all these.”

Throughout the summit, speakers returned repeatedly to the idea that Africa’s greatest advantage may not be buried beneath the ground in oil reserves, but embedded in its people, creativity and culture. That point was driven home by Allen Onyema, who said: “Tourism is one area that has not been toured in Nigeria. We are so dependent on oil.”

Comparing Nigeria with Caribbean nations and countries like Singapore, Onyema argued that Nigeria’s dependence on crude oil had blinded it to other economic opportunities capable of generating jobs, prosperity and global relevance. But beyond economic arguments, Onyema’s speech reflected frustration with weak airport infrastructure, poor transit systems, and what he described as a culture of undermining local businesses.

He painted vivid images of foreign travellers navigating multiple security checkpoints and inadequate airport facilities, questioning how Nigeria hoped to position itself as a tourism hub under such conditions. “There’s no hub infrastructure in these airports. How do you want to encourage tourism?” he asked.

Yet Onyema also delivered an unapologetically patriotic defence of Nigerian aviation and indigenous businesses, while insisting Nigerian carriers continue to operate under some of the world’s toughest oversight standards. More importantly, Onyema urged Nigerians to stop demeaning their own institutions and begin selling their strengths to the world.

The summit’s broader intellectual framing, however, came from Ambassador Wallace Williams, who challenged African leaders to rethink culture as diplomacy and influence. “For far too long, Africa’s image has been narrated away from Africa by outsiders,” he said. Williams argued that while the world often associates Africa with poverty, instability and dependency, the continent has in reality shaped global fashion, music, cuisine, literature, spirituality and entertainment for generations.

He described culture as one of Africa’s most powerful export tools, insisting that global perception is often shaped long before trade agreements or investments arrive. “Long before investors arrive, culture arrives,” he said. Williams particularly highlighted Lagos as a microcosm of Africa’s possibilities, a city where visitors could experience “36 countries for the price of one,” referencing Nigeria’s cultural diversity and the economic influence of Lagos itself.

The summit also focused heavily on the next generation. Managing Director of Eko Hotels, Ghassan Faddoul, stressed that the future of African hospitality would not be built by legacy institutions alone but by young Africans bringing fresh ideas and perspectives. For him, the anniversary was not simply about looking backwards. “As we mark 50 years, this is not only a celebration of the past, but a point of transition,” he said.

Faddoul spoke about sustainability, innovation, environmental responsibility, and the need for hospitality businesses to embrace technology and artificial intelligence while remaining rooted in African identity and heritage. By the second day, the summit shifted from broad reflections on culture and identity to more practical conversations around mentorship, standards, local communities, and the future of African tourism. The programme featured debates on culture versus technology in hospitality, panel sessions on training and mentorship, discussions on connected tourism experiences across Africa, and a youth pledge segment that reinforced the summit’s strong focus on the next generation.

One of the standout moments came during a keynote session by global tourism strategist and Chief Executive Officer of Fura Collective, Stella Fubara, who urged African countries to become more intentional about tourism development. According to her, tourism is far bigger than hotels and travel alone, describing it as an ecosystem connected to transportation, entertainment, healthcare, infrastructure and storytelling.

“You create the product, you create the narrative, and you speak the narrative in the voice of the person to whom you want to listen,” she said. Drawing from her experience working with Dubai’s tourism sector, Fubara explained how destinations succeed when they deliberately define their identity, target specific audiences, and consistently market themselves globally.

Her comments tied closely to many of the conversations that had defined the summit from the first day, which is that Africa possesses the culture, talent and creativity needed to compete globally, but requires stronger coordination, infrastructure, investment and storytelling to unlock its full tourism potential. Still, beyond the speeches and policy discussions, the summit itself embodied the vision it sought to promote.

There were spoken cultural showcases, conversations about sustainability, tourism investment, Pan-African collaboration, and the future of African storytelling. Videos tracing the evolution of Eko Hotels and its corporate social responsibility projects played between sessions, reinforcing the idea that hospitality today extends beyond accommodation into culture, memory, entertainment and experience.

As the summit drew to a close, one idea lingered stronger than any keynote quote or panel soundbite — that African hospitality may no longer need foreign benchmarks for validation. Perhaps, as Chagoury suggested, the benchmark itself is beginning to shift towards Africa.