irynterri:
for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, even the paracetamol we take has a negative reaction on our liver,when Dubai was building an artificial island in far back 1975 the world called them crazy and all sorts of names for doing such in a desert,but they had a vision and did not lose focus,now the world is trooping to the city,let Lagos gov. continue with the eko Atlantic and not lose focus before the problems will commence they would have gathered enough investors and money to tackle it, those 'analyst' complaining about the project will see themselves going there for excursion

So how is building in a desert the same thing as building on the Atlantic ocean?

Besides, based on 50 plus years of evidence, what makes you think this country can "tackle" any problem?

LRNZH:


Did you read the article at all?

It is not the Eko Atlantic that is at risk but the surrounding islands (Lekki and Snake Islands for e.g.).
The investors won't care.much about that so long as Eko Atlantic is protected.

Ogun river flooding was caused by eko Atlantic project bah? I think VI that is adjacent to the project should have been submerged before the shanties you showed nah. I think Ogunpa flooding in Ibadan too was caused by Eko Atlantic. "Ode Oshi" enemy of progress.

PapaBrowne:
This is an entirely private development. Run by private money, not public money. So your notion that "Lagos"should have focused elsewhere doesn't cut it as Lagos is not focused on Eko Atlantic. Chaugory & his Southern Energyxteam are the ines focused on It.

The same story we were told about the Lekki Concession company until they bought back the rights prematurely.
The same story we were told about the Sunborn yacht before the Association of ProgreTHIEF Criminals, APC were forced to admit it was a bad business deal.
How much longer before JagaBandit & co will admit the scam that is Eko Atlantic

anonimi:
[img]http://3.bp..com/-0cjSRaVqdv4/TWEJI4eES7I/AAAAAAAAAO8/nZkAaHlM5IE/s1600/sunbornyatch2C.jpg[/img]


Lagos N8bn Sunborn Yacht deal, bad business — APC

The All Progressives Congress, Lagos State Chapter, has said the Lagos State Government has quit the Sunborn Yacht Hotel. The party said it was a bad business and the government had abandoned the deal.

The controversial yacht, valued at about N8bn, is an inshore boat hotel.

The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party had recently accused the state government of corruption. It challenged the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, to speak out on the whereabouts of the yacht and the two helicopters bought by his administration for security surveillance of the state.

The state Chairman, PDP, Mr. Tunji Shelle, while addressing party faithful during the General Assembly of the chapter, had said, “After floating miserably on the Marina water for so long, the controversial Sunburn Yacht, which cost the Lagos State Government, under (former Governor) Bola Tinubu, a whooping N8bn suddenly disappeared, only to be sighted at Thames in England.

“Now, the question is: who orchestrated this 419 and who were the beneficiaries of this waste of public fund. This is certainly a fraud and (Governor Babatunde) Fashola must tell us something he knows about this fraud, failure which he remains an accessory after the fact in the fraud.”

While reacting in an online interview with our correspondent on Saturday, the state Interim Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the state government took a bad business decision on the yacht and had done away with it.


More from: http://www.punchng.com/news/lagos-n8bn-sunborn-yacht-deal-bad-business-apc/
https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/133455/4/lagos-n8bn-sunborn-yacht-deal-bad-business-apc.html

Man2utd:

Because the other states are vision less, especially ogun state who is not taking advantage of its proximity to lagos state. If the roads were in good shape and the hours you spend on the road is reduced, ogun state will see a surge in development and the government will become richer.

not forgetting Oyo state with focus on Ibadan...I was in Ife sometime last year and was so disappointed..no development at all just low key lifestyle..and sincerely I came to the conclusion that people build places. But what would make people migrate to a place..promise or likelihood of better living. Akwa ibom and Abuja are testimonies to this. So you keep wondering why other state govts aren't doing the best they can no matter how little to develop their own states.nobody says it has to be like Lagos,but make it eco business friendly. I feel politicians are just wicked if u ask me..it's a whole lot of work yes but isn't that why you aspired to be there in the first place...

mmsen:


Nigerians are very quick to think the worst of themselves as a collective.

Notice all the 'when will Africans learn' comments.

Self-hatred is Nigeria's most popular creed and biggest curse.

Learn to love yourself and you will stop self-harming.

this is the comment I was looking for on this thread.... I thought am the only one who noticed that...I see Africa not progressing.. Not because of anything but that word you mentioned "SELF-HATRED"

we always quick to turn down our things..bro imagine if a Japanese makes a small gadget even if its useless we as Africans praise it and even go extra miles to purchase it.. But if someone from any Africa country does same, the first thing an African will think of is the bad side of it.. And will do all sort of things to bring it down...

Thanks for that observation.. Am glad am not the only one..

Man2utd:

Because the other states are vision less, especially ogun state who is not taking advantage of its proximity to lagos state. If the roads were in good shape and the hours you spend on the road is reduced, ogun state will see a surge in development and the government will become richer.

This is very True. Ogun state government have not been responsible, not that Lagos is perfect, but the roads in Ogun are worse. A lot of companies, estates and big churches are built in Ogun, just because they can't get land in Lagos and the government is sleeping, they can't see how to keep pace with Lagos and increase their development faster.

Wow! This brings back goosebumps.

I did my BSc thesis on the implications of climate change along the eti-osa, ibeju lekki axis. I remember viewing this project as a potential environmental disaster.

Good intentions, but shouldn't be a priority.

hahn:
INteresting

I always wondered why they didn't consider developing Lagos, like fixing the drainage system, instead of this project.

But what do I know?

God bless you. All Lagos needs is to fix the roads, add underground drainage with accompanying sidewalks on every street, and have a working waste disposal system. Finish. You have a world class city right there. Eko Atlantic just feels like they are running away from their problems.

hardbody:


All I know is that in the fullness of time, water go find hin former level. I know nothing about Oceanography or even Geography but I have always rationalized that water occupies a certain volume space. If we keep compressing that space (as we are doing with reclamations) a time will come when the water will burst at the seams to find its former space. I only pray i wont be drinking beer around bar beach that day. It will come with such a burst and fury that everything on its way will go down, i mean everything.

Guy, you must love horror film, why are you scaring us Na!

LRNZH:


While I commend the Lagos State Government for having the initiative to take on massive projects like this, it was obvious to me that the Eko Atlantic project had a fatal flaw.

We in Africa are not ripe for reclaiming an ocean. Not even cities like New Orleans that are around sea level take on sea reclamation projects. The Dutch who excel at this are world masters in marine engineering.

Another venturesome thing in Lagos is the sandfilling of the Lagoon for housing projects like Orange Island, etc.
Water is being drained through these areas that we humans are now distorting without understanding the long term impact.

Lagos should have focused on completing the 4th Mainland Bridge and on how to build a new set of cities on land in areas that will be connected by the new bridge instead of trying to dominate its waters.

Cc: Lalasticlala; Mynd44

Bro you speak plenty sense.

The challenge with the 4th mainland bridge being prioritised ahead of Eko Atlantic is that the latter has great potential for kickbacks/bribes than the former (which has reportedly been signed off and will cost a lot less to execute). Also the 'smoke and mirror's' element to it, also makes it more attractive to the most influential stakeholders; effectively the thinking is 'style over substance'. Hopefully, the long-term effect isn't disastrous.

Amberon:
It was said at the opening ceremony of Rio Olympics last year. Lagos was among the four sinking cities mentioned.

Lagos is sinking n we are drilling for oil.

beatzone:


Exactly!!! If they had seen this done in Ghana, these same people will here putting down there own govt.

It is just pathetic, the present minds that call themselves EDUCATED YOUTHS...

True. If Ghana was the one building this thing, many here would be praising them to kingdom come, and condemning Naija. We grow up in this culture that says we can't do anything right as a nation. Time to ditch that culture.

obailala:
The main purpose of Eko Atlantic was to prevent the ocean from swallowing the entire VI; a disaster which was rapidly unfolding prior to 2006. Eko Atlantic in itself is a barrier wall to prevent the ocean encroachment. I wouldn't know, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the land being reclaimed today is previous land which was eroded by the ocean over the years because there wasn't a proper embankment; and with the current embankment put in place, it somehow gets to divert the ocean surge away from the city (as should have always been the case).

I'm not an expert but dont you think your concerns must have been exhaustively considered during the conceptual and detailed design phases of this project?... Would investors just sink billions of dollars without giving these things a thought?

I wonder o. Who would leave such a massive project to mere chance, considering its hefty financial benefit?
I learnt that a 25 year research projection had been carried out to determine the safety of the island, given worst conditions of ocean surge.
Leave the American journalist to be dabbling into the unknown waters of civil engineering. They really don't like good news from this part of the world though.

scachy:
Cities with dry lands like Dubai are constructing artificial water canals to attract tourists and beautify their city. But Nigeria that has land in abundance ignored it n instead they're chasing after "white elephant project" in the name reclaiming lands from the sea. When we have lots of pressing issues to address. "Misplaced priority"

You know in 9ja when you criticise, you're called hater.

It would be a good futuristic idea if only we were used to doing things up to the standards of other countries. But we cut corners at every level.

Lagos does not lack land. There's plenty of land around Ikorodu. Lagos & Ogun could have partnered to create space for a new city on dry land, bringing private investors.

The amount of money used to reclaim land in the ocean alone, imagine what it would do in dry land.

An embankment to protect old Lagos could have done in phases.

I think our leaders in 9ja are obsessed with elitism. They want an exclusive posh area for themselves. Because how many Lagosians can afford to live in Eko Atlantic city? Once the construction is over most of jobs generated initially will reduce drastically.

It will be Like Ikoyi/VI/Banana Island for the elite, with 90% of workers commuting to work for them from the Mainland.

Rossikk:
God bless you. All Lagos needs is to fix the roads, add underground drainage with accompanying sidewalks on every street, and have a working waste disposal system. Finish. You have a world class city right there. Eko Atlantic just feels like they are running away from their problems.

@ emboldened couldn't closer to the truth

Why not invest in places like Ajegunle, Ikorodu etc build world class drainage systems, remove agberos from the street, invest in tech etc instead of this white elephant project

obailala:
The main purpose of Eko Atlantic was to prevent the ocean from swallowing the entire VI; a disaster which was rapidly unfolding prior to 2006. Eko Atlantic in itself is a barrier wall to prevent the ocean encroachment. I wouldn't know, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the land being reclaimed today is previous land which was eroded by the ocean over the years because there wasn't a proper embankment; and with the current embankment put in place, it somehow gets to divert the ocean surge away from the city (as should have always been the case).

I'm not an expert but dont you think your concerns must have been exhaustively considered during the conceptual and detailed design phases of this project?... Would investors just sink billions of dollars without giving these things a thought?

Yes you're definitely right in that the imperative for the Great Wall of Lagos was to mitigate the ever-increasing risk of flooding, owing to Lagos being a coastal city.

Nevertheless, whether one is a marine engineer/versed in the subject or not, it doesn't take much to work out that the excess water which would have led to flooding, has to be displaced to another location.

The expert from OP's extract may well be right in that depending on the flow of excess water, this could be displaced to another part of Lagos (think Ibeju-Lekki axis/Ajah/parts of Lekki etc.) or even other parts of Nigeria (gulf of Guinea- Rivers state, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa etc.) and if Nigeria is unaffected, consider other African countries that may be affected like Ghana (Accra backs off onto the Atlantic Ocean), Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Angola etc.

With regards to assessing the potential pitfalls, whilst a considerable sum of money has gone into this project, there are no guarantees beyond reasonable doubt that this project will work.

I had a meeting with Ronald Chagoury Jr (the son of Ron Sr, not his brother as the report erroneously suggests) back in October 2015 in London. I was trying to hustle funds to make an investment in one of the units, I believe in the Eko Tower and I was doing my due diligence to be sure of whether or not it would be a worthwhile investment. Ronald himself said that he can't give a 100% guarantee of the project being effective in the very long-run, but by his estimations (from a non-expert perspective) he thinks that all residents on Eko Atlantic and VI will be safe for at least 70 years. Beyond this period, he can't be sure.

Without rambling on anymore, I'll say to anyone that is willing to listen that many of these expert/non-expert opinions should be taken with a firm pinch of salt. I have been involved and privy to a number of Nigerian projects over the past 5 years and I'll tell you that there are many, many people that are making mouth about their level of insight and expertise. When all is said and done, many have been made to look like idiots, and many so-called experts have been found out. Many a person is "making it up as they go along".

Make of the above what you will.

LRNZH:


While I commend the Lagos State Government for having the initiative to take on massive projects like this, it was obvious to me that the Eko Atlantic project had a fatal flaw.

We in Africa are not ripe for reclaiming an ocean. Not even cities like New Orleans that are around sea level take on sea reclamation projects. The Dutch who excel at this are world masters in marine engineering.

Another venturesome thing in Lagos is the sandfilling of the Lagoon for housing projects like Orange Island, etc.
Water is being drained through these areas that we humans are now distorting without understanding the long term impact.

Lagos should have focused on completing the 4th Mainland Bridge and on how to build a new set of cities on land in areas that will be connected by the new bridge instead of trying to dominate its waters.

Cc: Lalasticlala; Mynd44

Don't condemn a well thought out project because of a single write-up.

Listen everyone,

Real-life experiences that one can allude to being a direct / indirect impact of this project exists.

Go to Elegushi Beach and Alpha Beach, they practically have no more beach and all the buildings that were initially way in are now threatened.

Alpha Beach coast from 2012 to 2017 has lost as much as a kilometer stretch.

Last year alone (2016) there were 4 ocean surges into Atlantic View Estate, Okun Alfa village up to Admiralty estate that displaced thousands of people. one life was lost in Atlantic view Estate fro Drowning in the sea water that surged in.

Pictures are online. Grief and suffering and loss still remains with the people neighboring the sea reclamation projects; people like you and I.

More pictures...

more pictures...See for yourself and sermonize.

DeKen:
I would prefer to be optimistic. I love this project and I believe it's being handled by professionals/experts.
At worst, govt (which is a stakeholder in this) would be compelled to build a wall to protect the other islands if they are threatened.

And do u really think our government is ready to take the proactive step of building the walls before a dark cloud looms?

heo88:


Yes you're definitely right in that the imperative for the Great Wall of Lagos was to mitigate the ever-increasing risk of flooding, owing to Lagos being a coastal city.

Nevertheless, whether one is a marine engineer/versed in the subject or not, it doesn't take much to work out that the excess water which would have led to flooding, has to be displaced to another location.

The expert from OP's extract may well be right in that depending on the flow of excess water, this could be displaced to another part of Lagos (think Ibeju-Lekki axis/Ajah/parts of Lekki etc.) or even other parts of Nigeria (gulf of Guinea- Rivers state, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa etc.) and if Nigeria is unaffected, consider other African countries that may be affected like Ghana (Accra backs off onto the Atlantic Ocean), Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Angola etc.

With regards to assessing the potential pitfalls, whilst a considerable sum of money has gone into this project, there are no guarantees beyond reasonable doubt that this project will work.

I had a meeting with Ronald Chagoury Jr (the son of Ron Sr, not his brother as the report erroneously suggests) back in October 2015 in London. I was trying to hustle funds to make an investment in one of the units, I believe in the Eko Tower and I was doing my due diligence to be sure of whether or not it would be a worthwhile investment. Ronald himself said that he can't give a 100% guarantee of the project being effective in the very long-run, but by his estimations (from a non-expert perspective) he thinks that all residents on Eko Atlantic and VI will be safe for at least 70 years. Beyond this period, he can't be sure.

Without rambling on anymore, I'll say to anyone that is willing to listen that many of these expert/non-expert opinions should be taken with a firm pinch of salt. I have been involved and privy to a number of Nigerian projects over the past 5 years and I'll tell you that there are many, many people that are making mouth about their level of insight and expertise. When all is said and done, many have been made to look like idiots, and many so-called experts have been found out. Many a person is "making it up as they go along".

Make of the above what you will.

Of course no prediction on the forces of nature is 100% accurate so therefore, no engineering project which depends on the prediction of the forces of nature can be 100% guaranteed. From earthquake resistant high-rise buildings to offshore oil and gas structures to subsea pipelines etc, the design of all these make use of historic natural data (seismic data, metocean data etc) and at the end of the day, whatever results the engineers get from their analysis is nothing more than just 'intelligent guesstimates.' Even the 70 years which the Chagoury guy told you may turn out to be 70 months, or maybe 70 days, or even 70 hours. But then, we can't really say because we dont have 100% assurance, then we wouldn't embark on these projects; we can only work within the limits of our knowledge while we remain optimistic.

Regarding the Eko Atlantic project again, the entire V.I which is Nigeria's commercial and economic powerhouse was under a rapidly unfolding threat; something had to be done, and it had to be done urgently. Whilst this may sound unreasonable, I can assure you the stakeholders/powers that be would be much more willing to sacrifice Ibeju-Lekki or Ajah to the 'sea gods' than to sacrifice the already developed economic hub V.I.

obailala:
The main purpose of Eko Atlantic was to prevent the ocean from swallowing the entire VI; a disaster which was rapidly unfolding prior to 2006. Eko Atlantic in itself is a barrier wall to prevent the ocean encroachment. I wouldn't know, but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the land being reclaimed today is previous land which was eroded by the ocean over the years because there wasn't a proper embankment; and with the current embankment put in place, it somehow gets to divert the ocean surge away from the city (as should have always been the case).

I'm not an expert but dont you think your concerns must have been exhaustively considered during the conceptual and detailed design phases of this project?... Would investors just sink billions of dollars without giving these things a thought?

Perfect analysis. Eko Atlantic is actually a barrier.

mmsen:


Calabar > Lagos.

A lot of meaningful projects have been built in Cross River state.

And it is more secure than Lagos.

With the way people do business online there's no reason why you need to be in Lagos 7 days a week.

What do u mean by secure? Calabar is anything but secure. Subsequent governments after DonaldbDuke have failed woefully to develop calabar. Calabar is a place where u spend money, but no means to generate it especially for local indigenes. There has to be a balance. Calabar has near zero industrialization, poor human resource development and the natives especially the efiks mostly sold their assets like land and businesses in tge previous generation. Most rich folks in calabar are northern cross riverians or they come from other states. Then the allure of the flashy life at state housing and Marian pushes jobless youth's into crime. Even the state government has a very poor internal revenue structure, with DOPT burdening helpless drivers. Evil tax structure causing unnecessarily high prices beyond the reach of most consumers...except for the festive seasons and the poor maintenance of state facilities and security drive visitors away with visits reducing gradually each year. Imagine a headlining artiste at calabar festival kiss Daniel being robbed and almost stabbed...what does that say of the state? Calabar as a city is in a deep socio economic mess

okwyee:


Lol, you're very funny, the human race is just 1.5M years old and we are already having severe environmental problems, where as dinosaurs existed for 50M years plus.. Just so you know, we haven't gotten far and already nearing danger, from environmental degradation to terrorism, coupled with the negative effects of massive industrialization.

how does it over rule my assertion that we have been fighting nature since we arrived?

Dinosaurs couldn't fight nature, they are dead, we r still here.

Amberon:
Exactly! There's something inherently wrong Nigeria and it's leaders. Is there nobody of vision who can bring up the initiative of decongesting Lagos by carrying out meaningful projects in other states?

There are lots of them just that they don't seem to care and Lagos that cares does not want to lose.
If there is a lite speed rail from ota to oshodi/apapa towards island or connecting to the other major rail from badagry to ajah/epe, the problem is Lagos traffic is solved. Cos many people will relocate from yaba, ajao, isolo and environs to mile 2. Even if I work on the island, I see no point paying millions in rent when I could live in ota and from ota to oshodi by rail is 35-50mins.
Neither should I live in ajah or lekki and suffer when I can live in a serene and comfortable estate with little less or even owe the building self.
Well if the Govt of Oyo and Ogun especially Ogun is ready to benefit from the overflows in Lagos and steal the show in few months , she can but are they ready?

hahn:


No. Born and raised in Lagos though

Why do you ask?

you are one of the few people I admire on nairaland, so it will be a plus if you r yoruba.
Its all good sha.

Earth2Metahuman:
you are one of the few people I admire on nairaland, so it will be a plus if you r yoruba.
Its all good sha.

I grew up among Yorubas sha so I am an ibile by association

AreaFada2:


You know in 9ja when you criticise, you're called hater.

It would be a good futuristic idea if only we were used to doing things up to the standards of other countries. But we cut corners at every level.

Lagos does not lack land. There's plenty of land around Ikorodu. Lagos & Ogun could have partnered to create space for a new city on dry land, bringing private investors.

The amount of money used to reclaim land in the ocean alone, imagine what it would do in dry land.

An embankment to protect old Lagos could have done in phases.

I think our leaders in 9ja are obsessed with elitism. They want an exclusive posh area for themselves. Because how many Lagosians can afford to live in Eko Atlantic city? Once the construction is over most of jobs generated initially will reduce drastically.

It will be Like Ikoyi/VI/Banana Island for the elite, with 90% of workers commuting to work for them from the Mainland.

Nah so

obailala:
Of course no prediction on the forces of nature is 100% accurate so therefore, no engineering project which depends on the prediction of the forces of nature can be 100% guaranteed. From earthquake resistant high-rise buildings to offshore oil and gas structures to subsea pipelines etc, the design of all these make use of historic natural data (seismic data, metocean data etc) and at the end of the day, whatever results the engineers get from their analysis is nothing more than just 'intelligent guesstimates.' Even the 70 years which the Chagoury guy told you may turn out to be 70 months, or maybe 70 days, or even 70 hours. But then, we can't really say because we dont have 100% assurance, then we wouldn't embark on these projects; we can only work within the limits of our knowledge while we remain optimistic.

Regarding the Eko Atlantic project again, the entire V.I which is Nigeria's commercial and economic powerhouse was under a rapidly unfolding threat; something had to be done, and it had to be done urgently. Whilst this may sound unreasonable, I can assure you the stakeholders/powers that be would be much more willing to sacrifice Ibeju-Lekki or Ajah to the 'sea gods' than to sacrifice the already developed economic hub V.I.

I couldn't put the above any better!

Not fair.

Lalasticlala,
I posted this thread first. See here?
https://www.nairaland.com/3691449/flaw-construction-eko-atlantic-island