A prominent business man and hotelier, Engineer Jonathan Odega has died. According to available details, Odega, the Chairman of Orchid Hotels Lekki, Lagos slumped and died while playing tennis at his hotel with members of the Orchid Tennis Club which he founded. His death occurred on Monday, March 18, 2024.
He was aged 65 and hailed from Ubulu Okiti, Aniocha South Local Government area of Delta State. Odega was a professional civil engineer and a successful entrepreneur with interests in the food, hospitality and real estate industry. He is the Chairman/CEO of the Orchid Hotels Group which I has 4-star hotels in Lagos and Delta state
Apart from being a successful businessman, the late Jonathan Odega was a philanthropist and strong pillar of sports. He was a foremost promoter of chess in Nigeria. He was a passionate chess lover who made a big impact on Nigerian Chess. His love for chess was clear to everyone. He started the Orchid-Lekki Chess Club (OLCC). Under his leadership, the OLCC organized chess tournaments with theNigeria Chess Federation (NCF).
He consistently hosted the annual Nigeria Chess Championship in the last four years through the Orchid Chess Club. Odega was actively involved with Nigeria staging the African Individual Chess Championship in Lagos in 2022 when top African chess players contested for honours for nine days over the chess board which the continental body, African Chess Union, considered one of the very best-staged events in recent time.