Renowned estate surveyor and valuer, Bode Adediji, has said the growth of golf sport in Nigeria is a reflection of the nation’s socio-economic progress.
Adediji, who stated this in a chat with journalists in Lagos, said professionals, artisans and businessmen will soon converge on the Smokin Hills Golf Resort in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, for the 2026 Business Network Golf Tournament, scheduled for February 21.
According to him, the event, sponsored by Bode Adediji Partnership and Kontinental Developers Limited, aims to bring together businessmen, professionals, and artisans worldwide.
Adediji, a great lover of the game of golf, explained that the tournament is a way to contribute to the sporting community
He said, “It is our little way to contribute to the sporting community. There is a school of thought that seeks to establish a link between the growth in the number of golf players and the provision of infrastructural facilities, on the one hand, and the overall socio-economic progress of a nation, on the other hand. It is an index of development.”
Making reference to countries like Japan, China, South Korea, the United States and Italy, where the game of golf thrives, he says, it is not possible to have this game in an environment of backwardness and poverty.
Adediji added, ‘’There are two major reasons why we are promoting the game of golf.
The main reason is that it falls within the aspect we call leisure and recreation management, which is an integral part of business and professional developments worldwide.”
On the choice of the Smokin Hills Golf Resort for the business networking, he says, Elizade Golf Resorts, ‘The Smokin Hills’, in Ilara Mokin, Ondo State, was developed by Ondo-born High Chief and Chairman of Elizade Motors, Chief Michael Adeojo.
According to him, “the 18-hole golf resort is the latest addition to Nigeria’s list of growing golf courses”.
The course, which is just about 20 minutes from Akure, the Ondo State capital, is located in a university town and is the first and only golf facility in cocoa-producing Ondo State.
Adediji pointed out that it is one of the best courses in Nigeria currently, saying its sheer aesthetic value surpassed first-time visitors’ expectations, as golfers who have hit the course are quick to compare it with IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja and Le Meridien Ibom Golf Resort, Uyo, the only Nigerian courses with world-class attributes.
