My, O My! There I was, humbly seated, overawed and overwhelmed. The venue was Westin Hotel, Guangzhou (pronounced gwan-jo), China, last Monday. The man overawing and overwhelming me was Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways. He was briefing local and international media on the airline's latest route, Doha to Guangzhou, which witnessed its inaugural flight on March 31. But that was not what overwhelmed me.
Qatar Airways, owned 50:50 by the government of Qatar and private shareholders, started operations with two aircraft in 1994. Re-launched in 1997 with Al Baker taking over as the CEO, the fleet had four aircraft. By December 2003, the fleet had expanded to 28. Today, the airline operates 60 Boeing and Airbus aircraft. It has ordered 32 Boeing 777 aircraft ?a mix of the Long Range and Extended Range versions ?together with other aircraft types, including 60 Boeing 787s, 80 Airbus A350s and five Airbus A380 super jumbos. But that was not what overwhelmed me.
Qatar Airways is the national carrier of Qatar ?a country of less than one million people out of whom only about 200,000 are Qataris. Qatar Airways flies to 82 destinations across the world and it continues to expand. Guangzhou is the airline抯 fourth destination in China ?after Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. And then one interesting fact: Nigerians are among the biggest customers on the Doha-Guangzhou route. But that was not what overwhelmed me.
Al Baker spoke loftily about the present and the future of the airline and how Doha was going to be the hub in the Gulf Region. He updated us on the New Doha International Airport which is being built as part of the vision of placing tiny Qatar as a giant on the world map of travel, trade and tourism. He made a powerpoint presentation on the new airport, which is expected to facilitate Qatar Airways?huge expansion. It will be the first airport designed and built specifically for the largest passenger aircraft ever built ?the Airbus double-decker A380. But that was not what overwhelmed me.
Sixty per cent of the airport is built on a land reclaimed from the sea. Both runways are taking shape and terminal infrastructure is under construction, he said. The airport will open in 2010 with an initial capacity of 24 million passengers a year, rising to 50 million during the final development phase from 2015. The airport is too modern and too beautiful to be described. The architecture, the technology?it's incredible.
The new airport, he said, would have a total of 80 contact gates, including 25,000 square metres devoted to retail space, comfortable lounges and multi-story short-term and long-term parking facilities. The complex will house a 100-room hotel within the terminal for the convenience of visitors and transfer passengers? Other facilities include a free trade zone and a business park, and a suspended monorail to transport passengers through the terminal. The airport, which is obviously aimed at displacing Dubai International Airport as the hub in the region, will cost $9 billion, according to Al Baker.
Good for you,?I murmured. You've got a lot of petrodollars to play around with and your population is not up to that of Egbeda. Why wont you build this kind of airport??BR>As if he was reading my mind, he said: And all the funds are being sourced from the commercial market, with a sovereign guarantee.?BR>Why was I overawed and overwhelmed? Al Baker kept saying, at every turn of the paragraph, 揳ccording to the vision of our rulers? He would say one thing about the airline and end it with 揳ccording to the vision of our rulers? He would make another point about the New Doha International Airport and end it with according to the vision of our rulers? I could bear it no longer. It was hurting me deeper and deeper. The vision of the rulers of Qatar is that they want to overthrow Dubai as the centre of travel, trade and tourism in the Arabian Gulf. The vision of their rulers is that they want to transform the desert into a forest of commerce. What is the vision of my own rulers in Nigeria?
My familiarisation trip to China, via Doha, at the instance of Qatar Airways, was an eye opener for me, in a sense. My travel experience had been limited to Western countries ?although I spent about a week in Saudi Arabia three years ago. Anytime I visit Europe or United States and see the level of development, I hardly get too worried. I usually tell myself: Hell, they've always been ahead of us. No news in that.?Even though I would want my country to look like France or Germany, I often feel the gap has always been there, so there is no need to shed tears.
However, my trip to China has turned me into a sad man. I reflected, not for the first time, on how Nigeria had been ahead of most Eastern countries, in term of development, as at independence in 1960. I reflected on how Dubai was a plain desert as at 1960. I ruminated over Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and even Thailand. These were countries that Nigeria was like a role model to in the early 1960s. I took one long look at China and saw a country that is going somewhere. They are not yet there, but you can see clearly that they are in the right direction. According to the vision of our rulers, as Al Baker would say.
United Arab Emirates is a recent creation. It was not God that created Dubai. It was created by human beings. It was not like they just woke up one day and found a city neatly packaged by God and dropped in the desert. No. Human beings sat down, said they were going to make the desert city a centre of global attraction and mapped out a plan on how they would go about it. Today, Dubai is a destination of choice. It is the place where Nigerian looters go to buy property now. Our 搇ootocrats?and their cohorts have found a haven. Instead of turning Nigeria into a Dubai, they have chosen to take our common wealth away and buy themselves portions of the city created by human beings like them.
On my way from China, I had a seven-hour stop-over at the Doha International Airport. The First Class/Business Lounge is out of this world. It's more like a five-star hotel. It was too good to be true. It has dedicated check-in counters for First Class and Business Class passengers. It has a spa, a Jacuzzi, a cocktail bar, a play area for children, Muslim praying rooms for men and women, and a business centre. The floor was being cleaned at regular intervals. The walls were being polished every minute. The toilets and bathrooms are unbelievable. 揂ccording to the vision of our rulers?
I read through the Arab newspapers and garnered a lot of information. Abou Dhabi, the oil-rich region in United Arab Emirates, is working hard to outshine Dubai. They are working on a project that would transform Abou Dhabi into a bigger Dubai. There is serious competition. Doha has also joined the fray. Meanwhile, the Dubai people are not resting on their oars. They are expanding too. In fact, Dubai has attained just 70 per cent of the master plan. According to the vision of our rulers?
What is the vision of our own rulers? I don't know. But reliable rumour has it that they are waiting impatiently for the transformation of Abou Dhabi and Doha so that they can go and buy choice property there. They are already stockpiling the resources, resources that should have been spent on transforming Nigeria and inviting the outside world to come and buy property here! If, for instance, the resources that have gone into the Niger Delta in the last nine years had been handed over to the Dubai Investment Company, you would not believe it is the same Niger Delta in a few years' time! That is the difference between love for country and greed. Our own resources go into financing cults, breeding thugs, rigging elections and fertilising greed. That is why Nigeria is still where it is.
What is the vision of our rulers? As I arrived Nigeria from Doha and stepped out of the aircraft last Wednesday, you could smell the air of hostility. The airport was so stuffy. The air-conditioning system was a disaster. I waited for my luggage for over one hour, sweating profusely ?the same luggage that took me just 10 minutes to retrieve in another country. The Public Address System was sounding as if the speakers had burst. Toilets? No, dont try using them. No tissue paper, no water. Nigeria? Landgrab. Health budget scam. Witch-hunting. Protecting treasury looters. Scams. Scams. Scams.
That is the vision of our own rulers. And, please, dont laugh.

My China Diary,
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=109235

nuzo:

my trip to China has turned me into a sad man. I reflected, not for the first time, on how Nigeria had been ahead of most Eastern countries, in term of development, as at independence in 1960. I reflected on how Dubai was a plain desert as at 1960. I ruminated over Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and even Thailand. These were countries that Nigeria was like a role model to in the early 1960s. I took one long look at China and saw a country that is going somewhere. They are not yet there, but you can see clearly that they are in the right direction. According to the vision of our rulers, as Al Baker would say.
United Arab Emirates is a recent creation.

It was not God that created Dubai. It was created by human beings. It was not like they just woke up one day and found a city neatly packaged by God and dropped in the desert. No. Human beings sat down, said they were going to make the desert city a centre of global attraction and mapped out a plan on how they would go about it. Today, Dubai is a destination of choice. It is the place where Nigerian looters go to buy property now. Our 搇ootocrats?and their cohorts have found a haven. Instead of turning Nigeria into a Dubai, they have chosen to take our common wealth away and buy themselves portions of the city created by human beings like them.

On my way from China, I had a seven-hour stop-over at the Doha International Airport. The First Class/Business Lounge is out of this world. It's more like a five-star hotel. It was too good to be true. It has dedicated check-in counters for First Class and Business Class passengers. It has a spa, a Jacuzzi, a cocktail bar, a play area for children, Great One praying rooms for men and women, and a business centre. The floor was being cleaned at regular intervals. The walls were being polished every minute. The toilets and bathrooms are unbelievable. 揂ccording to the vision of our rulers?

I read through the Arab newspapers and garnered a lot of information. Abou Dhabi, the oil-rich region in United Arab Emirates, is working hard to outshine Dubai. They are working on a project that would transform Abou Dhabi into a bigger Dubai. There is serious competition. Doha has also joined the fray. Meanwhile, the Dubai people are not resting on their oars. They are expanding too. In fact, Dubai has attained just 70 per cent of the master plan. According to the vision of our rulers?
What is the vision of our own rulers? I don't know. But reliable rumour has it that they are waiting impatiently for the transformation of Abou Dhabi and Doha so that they can go and buy choice property there.

They are already stockpiling the resources, resources that should have been spent on transforming Nigeria and inviting the outside world to come and buy property here! If, for instance, the resources that have gone into the Niger Delta in the last nine years had been handed over to the Dubai Investment Company, you would not believe it is the same Niger Delta in a few years' time! That is the difference between love for country and greed. Our own resources go into financing cults, breeding thugs, rigging elections and fertilising greed. That is why Nigeria is still where it is.


What is the vision of our rulers? As I arrived Nigeria from Doha and stepped out of the aircraft last Wednesday, you could smell the air of hostility. The airport was so stuffy. The air-conditioning system was a disaster. I waited for my luggage for over one hour, sweating profusely ?the same luggage that took me just 10 minutes to retrieve in another country. The Public Address System was sounding as if the speakers had burst. Toilets? No, don't try using them. No tissue paper, no water. Nigeria? Landgrab. Health budget scam. Witch-hunting. Protecting treasury looters. Scams. Scams. Scams.
That is the vision of our own rulers. And, please, don't laugh.

My China Diary,
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=109235

Do you have rulers? Please specify which countries you are referring to here so we can save our fingers from from responding.  Frankly, matters concerning Nigeria are not worth discussing.


Oh, you are quoting your diary or someone else's diary?  Go there and see the Ghanghzou for yourself. Did you see the rail system?. . .one of the fastest in the world.  We purchased first class tickets, because they were relatively inexpensive, for the trains and sat down to enjoy the luxury of the cabin only for the ticket attendant to tell us we were in the "cheapest" section of the train.  Only to get to the real first class and almost passed out in disbelief.  I have been there and let me tell you. . . that is just one more reason to hate Nigeria. . .where the people are so wicked.  Nigeria as a country full of people without any conscience. . . who will gladly sleep at night while looking at all the nonsense around them praising and worshipping. . .while others die everyday around them.

In fact. . . Ghanghzou is too far. . . just visit Dakar. . Senegal and you will weep for Nigeria!

Useless country! Who thinks that "Abuja" is the best thing that ever happened to them.

Do Nigerians travel?. . .only to roam around New York, London and Paris for 2-week vacations and come back to Nigeria and make some stupid noise.  Where you have a dunder-head of a president who goes to Germany to treat himself while the lay man on the street. . . cannot even afford fake drugs.  Yet he will still go to the mosque or what ever shitty house of prayer or wherever they all go to on Fridays or Sundays and pray for long life.

Idiots!

almondjoy:



Do you have rulers? Please specify which countries you are referring to here so we can save our fingers from from responding. Franlky, matters concerning Nigeria are not worth discussing.


Oh, you are quoting your diary or someone else's diary? Go there and see the Ghanghzou for yourself. Did you see the rail system. . .one of the fastest in the world. We purchaced first class tickets for the trains and sat down to enjoy the luxury of the cabin only for the ticket attendant to tell us we were in the "cheapest" section of the train. Only to get to the real first class and almost passed out in disbelief. I have been there and let me tell you. . . that is just one more reason to hate Nigeria. . .where the people are so wicked. Nigeria as a country full of people without any conscience. . . who will gladly sleep at night while looking at all the nonsense around them praising and worshipping. . .while others die everyday around them.

In fact. . . Ghanghzou too far. . . just visit Dakar. . Senegal and you will weep for Nigeria!

Useless country! Who think that "Abuja" is the best thing that ever happened to them.

Do Nigerians travel. . .only to roam around Newyork, London and Paris for 2-week vacations and come back to Nigeria and make some stupid noise. Where you have a dunder-head of a president who goes to Germany to treat himself while the lay man on the street. . . cannot even afford fake drugs. Yet he will still go to the mosque or what ever shitty house of prayer they all go to on Fridays or Sundays and pray for long life.

Idiots!

No be small thing.

almondjoy:



Do you have rulers? Please specify which countries you are referring to here so we can save our fingers from from responding.  Franlky, matters concerning Nigeria are not worth discussing.


Oh, you are quoting your diary or someone else's diary? Go there and see the Ghanghzou for yourself. Did you see the rail system. . .one of the fastest in the world.  We purchaced first class tickets for the trains and sat down to enjoy the luxury of the cabin only for the ticket attendant to tell us we were in the "cheapest" section of the train.  Only to get to the real first class and almost passed out in disbelief.  I have been there and let me tell you. . . that is just one more reason to hate Nigeria. . .where the people are so wicked.  Nigeria as a country full of people without any conscience. . . who will gladly sleep at night while looking at all the nonsense around them praising and worshipping. . .while others die everyday around them.

In fact. . . Ghanghzou too far. . . just visit Dakar. . Senegal and you will weep for Nigeria!

Useless country! Who think that "Abuja" is the best thing that ever happened to them.

Do Nigerians travel. . .only to roam around Newyork, London and Paris for 2-week vacations and come back to Nigeria and make some stupid noise.  Where you have a dunder-head of a president who goes to Germany to treat himself while the lay man on the street. . . cannot even afford fake drugs.  Yet he will still go to the mosque or what ever shitty house of prayer they all go to on Fridays or Sundays and pray for long life.

Idiots!

And what is the point of your venom-pouring and names calling!
Some guys can stay in the comfort of their asylum or whatever in europe or America and rather than give some hope to people who aren't as fortunate as they probably are, they write and talk as if they made the countries they emigrated to what it is!

Nigeria is in a mess, no doubt, but pray tell us:

what have you done to help in any little way?
what are you doing to help in any little way?
what can you possibly do to help in any little way?

Look and talk down on the country and its people? No, I don't think that's the way to go.

Simon Kolawole's article is, in my opinion, his own contribution to nation building, and it's so much appreciated, but your hate article, names-calling and venom-pouring certainly ISN'T.

cola:

And what is the point of your venom-pouring and names calling!
Some guys can stay in the comfort of their asylum or whatever in europe or America and rather than give some hope to people who aren't as fortunate as they probably are, they write and talk as if they made the countries they emigrated to what it is!

Nigeria is in a mess, no doubt, but pray tell us:

what have you done to help in any little way?
what are you doing to help in any little way?
what can you possibly do to help in any little way?

Look and talk down on the country and its people? No, I don't think that's the way to go.

Simon Kolawole's article is, in my opinion, his own contribution to nation building, and it's so much appreciated, but your hate article, names-calling and venom-pouring certainly ISN'T.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Anything else? Sorry no apologies. . .quench if you want to. I have exercised my right to free speech or should I say posts!