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Leadership (Abuja)

Nigeria: What Abuja Hilton Must Do

Abdulmumin Balogun

5 July 2008

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column

Abuja — A few weeks ago, this column wrote on the poor state of toilet facilities at the car park area of the Abuja Hilton hotel.

It is a thing of joy to attest to the fact that necessary action was taken by the hotel, and that toilet has been repaired. A senior staff member of the Public Relations Department called to acknowledge the constructive criticism made by the column, and told this writer that all repairs were carried out on a twenty-four hour basis until the present standard was reached.

Well, this writer visited the place to find out the state of things and discovered that one thing is missing. There is no tap outside the toilet facility for people who want to drink water. To drink water when you are within that environment, you still have to go into that public toilet. That is still not good enough. However, the management of the hotel has done well in responding quickly to save the image of the hotel. But there are still some worrisome issues.

The week after the publication in reference, a certain Musa called me from a pay phone and lambasted me for doing a dirty job for other hotels in Abuja that want to bring down the name and image of the Abuja Hilton. He claimed to be a staff member of the Abuja Hilton. I believe he was never sent by the management of the hotel to make that call anyway. But there is more the Hilton must do. This account, by another person who I respect because of his status, should interest the hotel's management.

This man, (I will leave out his name), went to the Hilton to see an important business contact. He narrated that he told his driver to go back home, park the car and close for the day, because the mogul they had come to see could delay them.

They did see their contact, according to him, but were surprised thereafter. The story he told me is funny. They requested for a vehicle to take them home from one of the front office staff, and had to go through a ten-minute wait before their vehicle came. When the vehicle finally came, it looked sleek enough, so they boarded it. Along the way,  my friend decided to chat the driver up. He asked why there was such a long delay before he had come. The driver responded by saying he had had to drive to the hotel from Usuma Street, Maitama. That came as a surprise to my friend. He asked the driver why the front office staff had insisted on the driver. Was he the best driver in the hotel? he asked. The driver was modest enough to say he could not  be the best driver around anyway, and that the only reason why the man called him is that the money for that ride goes back to the front officer's pocket.

My friend discovered that the doorman owned the car they were riding in and caused them the delay, because of his personal agenda. The driver, sensing that he was in good company, proceeded to tell his passengers that his boss was not alone. From his explanation, there is a syndicate made up of the hotel staff that specialises in using their own cars to carry passengers from the hotel. Now, this is a big security risk the hotel cannot afford.

In the first instance, what if the owner of the car and the driver are both ritualists, who specialise in sourcing for human body parts to satisfy fetish needs?  What if they are thieves, or armed robbers? What if they do not even understand the basic requirements of security driving? What if they do not understand the principles behind conveying VIPs? One could go on and on. But the point to note is that it may not actually be safe to just board a cab in the Hilton. The management of the hotel should investigate and change the situation. It will be shameful if one of the expatriate managers of the hotel is kidnapped by an unknown driver. Thank God Abuja is not part of the Niger Delta region where foreigners and children are kidnapped for ransom. If the car hire service in the hotel is moribund, then it should be revived. I know there are travel and tours operators in the Hilton, but there is a need to have a fully functional and registered car hire service for executive purposes, and the insistence that all passengers must identify them in a particular manner. From my investigations, there is a 'car hire service' in the hotel. I mention the service in inverted commas, because if it is functional, then it has no teeth with which to ward off the hawks poaching on their territory.

This should not be our concern much, because the hotel's management should be able to handle this. My major concern is that any day I take a cab at the Hilton, it should be one I will not be afraid of losing my head in.

Now That Nyako Will Not Be Impeached

Let us all congratulate Gov. Murtala Nyako for being able to get the top echelon of the PDP on his side. This is good  for him. It is obvious that he will emerge victorious in the impeachment saga he has been embroiled in. When the whole matter is over and done with, he should embark on a serious house cleaning exercise.

If I were in his shoes, I would replace many of my appointees, because they should have warned me of the plan to serve me an impeachment notice long before it became public knowledge.

It is unfortunate that the image of this man, who everyone who knows him has acknowledged as one of the most important contributors to the development of agriculture in Nigeria, had to be tossed around before public glare. Nyako, I am sure, has learnt some painful lessons. But he has to know where the early warning signal did not come from.

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