When I read that Six Flags was actively working on a new park to add to their current 21 park lineup, I initially did not pay attention. Then I saw the location of this new concept – Nigeria.
The 250 acre Nigerian Six Flags is going to be built in Calabar, a city on the southeastern border, about 1000 miles from the nations capital.
A couple of things come to mind – the first is that Six Flags is currently in bankruptcy protection, but I’m guessing that expansion is one of the ways they plan to recover. The second is the location – Nigeria is a troubled country, and even the oil companies of the world are having a hard time keeping their investments safe. How Six Flags plans to keep its park and staff safe is bound to be source of major headaches.
I’m also curious how the Nigerians got the attention of Six Flags. Perhaps they emailed them out of the blue and told them the story of their previous president who had left them $250 million in a secret bank account, that could only be accessed if someone built them a roller coaster? (I kid, I kid!).
If the park does indeed become a reality, it’ll be the first theme park in Nigeria, and the first Six Flags park outside the US, Mexico and Canada. In the late nineties, Six Flags attempted to conquer the European market, but pulled out after a couple of years to focus on their home market.