MAN LAMENTS THE DECREPIT STATE OF CONCORDE HOTEL, OWERR
I visited the famous Imo Concorde Hotel Owerri yesterday, and I wept.
The place has been shut down to the lodging public. The once bubbling edifice now wears a forsaken look.
Nobody sat at the reception. The bright chandeliers that hung elaborately in the lobby were no more. Chairs looking so drab occupy the space.
The elevator is comatose, and I had to take the stairs to one of the rooms. As I walked, I wondered when the stairs were last swept. Cobwebs and dirt stated at me with boldness.
The majority of the rooms were locked as people are no longer allowed to lodge. I was ushered into one of them. I took a tour of the room, and the luxury entrails of the Star of the East wore a fading glory. The AC groaned. The switches flicked on both function and nonfunctioning bulbs. The curtains have lost the appeal that gives a room, it’s beckoning warmth.
The structure epitomises the consequences of failed leadership. I heard stories of how government officials would lodge with their retinue of lovers, eat lavishly, and rake up unpaid bills.
Concorde Hotel still stands as the tallest hotel in Imo State despite the array of new ones all over the city. I remembered the days of old as a Rotaractor and the beautiful induction ceremonies we held at Sam Mbakwe Hall of the hotel. I wept.
At some point while weeping, your eyes and jaws start shutting up, and you can’t weep anymore. It happened to me on this visit.
©️ Emeka Nobis
