From Eight Months of Construction to …
For Chief Robert Ayalla Enogha, popularly known as Ayalla, the inauguration of Ayalla Hotel was more than the opening of a hospitality facility. It was the culmination of a difficult business journey, a bold decision to invest in his home state, and a statement that Bayelsa entrepreneurs could build enterprises capable of competing beyond their immediate environment.
Behind the celebration was a story of financial pressure, uncertainty, determination and a personal conviction that indigenous businesses should have a stronger place in the economic future of Bayelsa State.
The hotel’s inauguration brought together Governor Douye Diri, former Governor of Bayelsa State, Retired Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah, Dr Azibapu Eruani, former Deputy Governors, traditional rulers, members of the state legislature, government officials, captains of industry and other distinguished guests.
Their presence reflected the significance attached to the investment and the broader conversation about how private enterprise can help Bayelsa diversify its economy beyond its traditional dependence on oil and gas.
For Ayalla, however, the achievement carried a deeply personal meaning.
“My life journey, I cannot express it here. It has not been too smooth, but not also too rough. I had a widow mother to start with,” he told the gathering, reflecting on his humble beginnings.
Looking around at the personalities assembled to celebrate him, he expressed gratitude to God for bringing him to a point he once could not have imagined.
“To God be the glory,” he said.
The decision that changed everything
Ayala’s investment in the hotel followed years of involvement in business, including ventures in the oil and gas sector.
He spoke candidly about the financial risks he had taken and the substantial sums he had invested in other projects, including NNPC Towers.
Looking back, he wondered whether some of those resources might have produced a different outcome had they been invested in a hospitality facility of the scale he was unveiling.
But the hotel was not simply the product of spare money or a straightforward business calculation. It emerged from a difficult decision about the future of a property and the opportunities available to indigenous investors.
According to Ayalla, an offer of about ₦500 million had been made for the property. He said he eventually decided against selling and instead chose to demolish the existing structure and build a more ambitious facility.
It was a decision that carried considerable risk.
The question was whether he could replace an existing business facility with something better, particularly at a time when investment required substantial financial resources and sustained commitment.
“I knew that Bayelsans would hold me accountable,” he said, explaining his determination to ensure that the demolition would lead to a more valuable development.
The project soon became a race against time.
From excavation and foundation laying to completion, Ayalla said the hotel was built in eight months.
“We worked day and night,” he recalled, explaining that he remained closely involved in the construction process and often stayed on-site to monitor progress.
He attributed the achievement not simply to money but to the commitment of the workers and contractors who participated in the project.
For him, completing the hotel was proof that ambitious projects could be delivered in Bayelsa when people combined determination with practical action.
Keeping the investment at home
One of the aspects Ayala emphasised was the project’s reliance on local resources.
He said the labourers and contractors engaged in the construction were sourced from Bayelsa State, while building materials were purchased locally. The elevators were imported from China because they were beyond the immediate capacity of the local market.
The arrangement, he explained, helped circulate money within the state and created opportunities for local businesses and workers.
His argument went beyond the hotel itself: investments should generate benefits for the communities where they are established.
When construction materials are purchased locally and residents are employed, the economic benefits can extend to traders, artisans, transporters, suppliers and households.
That is the wider opportunity presented by private investment in a state seeking to strengthen its non-oil economy.
Ayala urged the government to continue creating conditions that allow indigenous businesses to grow, particularly through appropriate policies, reliable infrastructure and support for local entrepreneurs.
He also stressed the importance of security, recalling a period when moving around Yenagoa at night could be frightening.
He credited improvements in the security environment with making business operations more comfortable.
Electricity, however, had remained a serious challenge.
Ayala disclosed that there had been periods when the hotel’s operations generated virtually no profit for three or four consecutive months because a substantial portion of its working capital was spent on diesel.
His account illustrated the difficulties facing businesses that must maintain operations while dealing with high energy costs.
For a hotel, reliable electricity is essential to lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning, water supply and other services expected by guests.
Without it, operating expenses rise and profitability becomes harder to sustain.
Diri: Bayelsa cannot afford to lag behind
Governor Douye Diri used the occasion to challenge entrepreneurs and young people to embrace modern technology, including artificial intelligence, as part of the state’s economic transformation.
The governor said the inauguration followed an event focused on the oil and gas industry, making the hotel opening another opportunity to showcase investment in a different sector.
“Yesterday was oil and gas, with the former President of Nigeria as the key guest. Today, we are now looking at the hospitality side of business. So, who says Bayelsa is not growing? We are growing steadily,” Diri said.
He acknowledged that the pace of development might not yet meet expectations but expressed confidence that the state would continue to make progress.
“It may not be the way we had expected to grow, but gradually we will get there,” he added.
The governor praised Ayala for identifying opportunities rather than surrendering to the challenges associated with doing business.
He also urged Bayelsans to move beyond traditional economic activities and explore more productive and technologically advanced methods of earning a living.
Recalling a childhood experience in which an older man criticised young people for being unable to climb palm trees and cut palm fronds, Diri described how one of the young men responded that his generation would use machines to do the work.
The governor said that exchange illustrated how technology changes the way people live and work.
“Now it is artificial intelligence. And as a state, we cannot go and lag behind. We must key in, even in the hospitality business,” he said.
He urged hospitality operators to explore automation and other digital systems that could improve customer service, increase efficiency and make their businesses more competitive.
Diri also emphasised the need to train young people in relevant technological skills so they could participate in an evolving economy.
Eruani and the importance of private enterprise
Dr Azibapu Eruani also featured in the wider discussion about the importance of investment, power supply and the private sector in Bayelsa’s economic development.
The argument advanced at the event was that government cannot be expected to provide every job or drive every aspect of economic activity. Instead, it must create an enabling environment in which private businesses can invest, employ workers, innovate and expand.
Reliable electricity is central to that objective.
When businesses spend less on alternative power sources, they can redirect resources towards staff development, improved services, expansion and other productive activities.
For hospitality businesses in particular, lower operating costs can help improve profitability and support employment.
The presence of former Governor Gboribiogha John-Jonah, Dr Eruani and other political and business leaders added to the significance of the gathering, bringing together figures associated with the state’s public life and economic development.
Their participation also highlighted a broader question confronting Bayelsa: how can the state translate its natural resources, human capital and growing infrastructure into sustainable opportunities for its people?
A challenge to the next generation
Ayala’s story offers one response: investment must involve risk, patience and a willingness to build even when the outcome is uncertain.
Yet individual determination alone cannot solve every structural problem facing businesses. Access to finance, dependable electricity, security, skilled workers and consistent policies remain important to whether investments survive and grow.
That is why the hotel’s inauguration should be viewed as both a celebration and a challenge.
For government, the task is to sustain conditions that encourage investment and allow indigenous businesses to compete.
For entrepreneurs, the challenge is to identify opportunities, develop viable enterprises and create jobs.
For young people, the message is to look beyond the limitations of traditional economic activities and prepare for new possibilities in technology, hospitality, manufacturing and other sectors.
Ayala’s eight-month construction story demonstrates what determined investors and local workers can accomplish together. Whether the hotel becomes part of a wider transformation will depend on the sustainability of the business and the economic environment in which it operates.
As the celebration ended, Ayala expressed gratitude to the governor, former deputy governors, traditional rulers, government officials, his wife and the guests who had gathered despite the weather.
His final wish was simple: that God would honour everyone who had honoured him.
For Bayelsa, the larger hope is that the investment will represent more than a new hospitality destination—that it will contribute to a future in which loc
al entrepreneurs have greater opportunities to build businesses, employ their people and participate meaningfully in the state’s prosperity.
