eaglechild:
Looks like Enugu finally grew on you.

i love my capital city......

BuddahMonk: You people dont understand how igbo live and go about their development, igbos dont cramp like shrimps in one cesshole while other places rot away.
Its only in igboland that you dont have citystates like those of North and West.

Kano and Ibadan are big because everybody cramped themselves in one place, no breathing space, no room to swing a cat, no serenity, no urban renewal, no building regulation, yet their rural areas are rot away.

Ok check this Eastern States settings and development.

In Anambra we have Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka as big cities, outside them places like Ekwulobia, Ihiala are still developing at their own pace.
Bring all these places together and see how usless your will kano be.

Go to Imo, we have Owerri, Orlu, Okigwe developing at their pace, with other rural areas like Oguta and Mgbidi being semi urban areas...bring all these cities together and see them dwarfting Kano.

In Abia, we have Aba, Umuahia and Igbere developing at their pace, with middleclass and rich people living together, bring them together and see a mega city.

The same to Enugu State with Enugu City and Nsukka to develop,

Ebonyi with Abakiliki and Afikpo to develop.

In Anioma they have Asaba, Agbor and Kwale developing.

Go to every Igbotowns or villages you must a bank branch there.
I was in my villa Okija in Dec and saw one big mkt they built there, i was told last month that Diamond Bank and Fidelity is now operating in my villa.
When i was there i saw trailers offloading building materials while a guesthouse and some filling stations are opening up.
My town have a University, now one guy Obijackson have opened a worldclass hospital at Okija, his construction coy have its yard along the Onitsha Owerri Expressway before the Orasi River, opposite the yard is where FG will site a power generating plant, we are not cramping ourselves In Onitsha, Nnewi or Awka that are developing at their pace.
-This is even development

Kano and Ibadam have been developing since Pope was still an AltarBoy yet they are still looking like buried ancient ruins.
All their universities, churches, mosques, industries, banks etc are clamped in one place, why cant it develop abeg....their wealths are not evenly distributed likewise their development unlike in Igboland where we are republican and everybody develop at his own pace.

Abeg stop the overated Kano abeg, imagine where criminal Abacha that looted Nigeria money came from.

Use google map and see how urbanized SE is not a Kano of bungalows and thatched houses.

dia is no slum in kano city. Its not lyk ibadan. Infrastructure, urban renewal, high rise, arabic architecture. Kaduna is wia u find bungalows squeezed 2geda as u described. Sabon gari alone is anoda onitsha (3-5 storeys and huge market). Linked 2 d rest of world by air for decades, linked 2 lagos (economic capital wit most of d ports) by rail, hv some consulate, hv liason office of sm fed uni eg unilag, a gud population of foreigners (chinese, lebanese, turkish, indians etc)Etc etc plz ask sm one who has lived dia

basilo101:
dia is no slum in kano city. Its not lyk ibadan. Infrastructure, urban renewal, high rise, arabic architecture. Kaduna is wia u find bungalows squeezed 2geda as u described. Sabon gari alone is anoda onitsha (3-5 storeys and huge market). Linked 2 d rest of world by air for decades, linked 2 lagos (economic capital wit most of d ports) by rail, hv some consulate, hv liason office of sm fed uni eg unilag, a gud population of foreigners (chinese, lebanese, turkish, indians etc)Etc etc plz ask sm one who has lived dia

^^^I think Kano is seeing the effects of boko haram, and a feeling by some (myself included) that it's not a place where anyone but moslems can settle and invest in peace! This is the advantage Lagos has over it! If things were as they should be (provision of electricity, everyone being tolerant and welcoming, and no boko attacks), then Kano could easily rival Lagos!

I feel safer in Sokoto than kano sef!......Go figure!

basilo101:
dia is no slum in kano city. Its not lyk ibadan. Infrastructure, urban renewal, high rise, arabic architecture. Kaduna is wia u find bungalows squeezed 2geda as u described. Sabon gari alone is anoda onitsha (3-5 storeys and huge market). Linked 2 d rest of world by air for decades, linked 2 lagos (economic capital wit most of d ports) by rail, hv some consulate, hv liason office of sm fed uni eg unilag, a gud population of foreigners (chinese, lebanese, turkish, indians etc)Etc etc plz ask sm one who has lived dia

Kano,The pride of North.

Oya show us your own kano

Bishop42:

Kano,The pride of North.

Oya show us your own kano

If Nigeria were Afghanistan, Kano would have been Kandahar! Bigger slum in a slum nation

It is true that since Independence billions of dollars have been cornered away from other parts of Nigeria and given to Kano! Yet, Kano has been a sick man principally because it had been governed by rogue governors from the time of Hassan Katsina to Barkin Zuwo toeven Head of state Sani Abacha to present Kwankwanso. All these so called rulers need to do is incite religious and tribal hatred and their people will be preoccupied with that while they rob them blind.

If Ibadan received the type of funds still being pumped into Kano for just 5 years, it would at least look like Accra. Mind you, Kano still cheats the rest of the country claiming it is the most populous state and Nigeria... And screams blue murder if anyone ever attempt to say Nigeria should have a proper credible census to know the true numbers.

Kano ooni baje ooooooo!

I will support basilo on this!because I have stayed in kano and also because I have the same mind set about the place like Bishop and IgboSon. Then whenever I see the governor speaking, I will say look at this 1 that their state is backward. I was wrong, when I came to kano around march this year and lived with my uncle in NIGER ROAD SABON GARI or when ur coming from FRANCE ROAD just stop at ZENIT BANK.
Listen, seriously I was shocked at what I saw, because I came in from MINNA NIGER STATE. So I got to kano around past three. The GLO towers, UNITY bank headquarters and other high rise buildings that I saw was mind blowing. when I told my uncle that my view about kano have changed! He said that I have not seen any thing. That he will take me to SHOPRITE and other beautiful places in KANO CITY. My uncle have a shop in KUFAR RUWA, that is for motor cycle spare part and that is where you will find IGBO mostly in kano. I move From FRANCE ROAD to KUFAR RUWA everyday and I think this place is developed by all standard.
I am no longer in kano because this BOKO HARAM stuff and most IGBO are planning to leave by DECEMBER finally.

Jeez! I believe here is 9ja, talkless of igboland "coal city". but what made it naive was the open drainages "It sucks"...Sullivan Why nah? Haven't you been to Asaba (Anioma state), Benin,PH and see cover up? I pray the next guy should pavenment and slab it up.... Mosquitoes from the gutters want finish me.... "Cover it up and you see mosquitoes no more "

basilo101:
enugu is nt close 2 kano by any yardstick. I mean d cities not states. Enugu, aba and onitsha wen combined cn den be compared wit kano. If u kw anybody dat has lived in kano ask him. Btw i am frm enugu state.

that's what I mean by Kano has the size, but it's a 'big for nothing' size. Most of the inhabitants are very poor even by nigerian standards and many of the dwellings are mud huts

the problem most of you all have is downloading old internet pictures to represent some cities. If you haven't been to Kano and rely on old net pictures, u know nothing.

Nedu09: Jeez! I believe here is 9ja, talkless of igboland "coal city". but what made it naive was the open drainages "It sucks"...Sullivan Why nah? Haven't you been to Asaba (Anioma state), Benin,PH and see cover up? I pray the next guy should pavenment and slab it up.... Mosquitoes from the gutters want finish me.... "Cover it up and you see mosquitoes no more "

Wetin bring the beautiful jungle called Anioma come here . I go manage benin sha because of those beautiful buildings wey dem concentrate for roundabout. Other places for benin resemble anarchy. Old rag tag men and women every where! Benin is 2% city, 98% slum. Anioma is 2% town,98%bush. Na port.H make sense.

Many Igbos surprise me with their views despite my believe that we are the most widely travelled. Kano is a developed modern city and the GRA is finer than all the GRAs in the Southeast. It is also far more cosmopolitan in both ethnic and racial mix than all parts of Nigeria except Lagos, Rivers and Abuja.

That said Kano probably has the highest number of absolute poor people in Nigeria and has so many slum districts that encourage spread of diseases, Religious violence and extremism. Enugu all round is more liveable than Kano but never as developed.

HappyJoe: Can we keep to the topic of this thread - developments in Enugu please?

No distractions.

I am begining to fear o. Like my presence here has stop Spyder from upload images. I am taking a break from nairaland . Will be commenting again in one week time

abagoro: Many Igbos surprise me with their views despite my believe that we are the most widely travelled. Kano is a developed modern city and the GRA is finer than all the GRAs in the Southeast. It is also far more cosmopolitan in both ethnic and racial mix than all parts of Nigeria except Lagos, Rivers and Abuja.

That said Kano probably has the highest number of absolute poor people in Nigeria and has so many slum districts that encourage spread of diseases, Religious violence and extremism. Enugu all round is more liveable than Kano but never as developed.

Pls post pictures of so called GRA in kano we need evidence. Can you bodly show an oyibo man kano as a city you are proud of?Define developed. I am shocked you mentioned portharcourt because i find that place too choatic some places are ok though. I lived in Npkogu,close to mmiri Nwaja, Trans amadi. Does kano have CCTV like enugu? If kano is that developed why did shoprite first came to Enugu before kano.

It's probably a good thing to compare and compete and try to outdo or learn from one another.
That said u have to give it to kano. It has been a commercial nerve center from time immemorial and our brothers have made fortunes there.

Once thing struck me from basilos post and that is that Unity bank has their head quarters there.
This shows they believe in themselves.
Now has no one ever asked why Fidelity bank is headquartered in Lagos and not Anambra ? Or even zenith bank in Delta?

These are questions the igbos should ask themselves

Bishop42:

Pls post pictures of so called GRA in kano,when need evidence. Can you bodly show an oyibo man kano as a city you are proud of?Define developed. I am shocked you mentioned portharcourt because i find that place too choatic. I lived in Npkogu,close to mmiri Nwaja, Trans amadi.

I'm not in Kano but a simple satelite view should give a hint.

abagoro:

I'm not in Kano but a simple satelite view should give a hint.

First imagine looks like Nsukka
2nd looks like Soweto

abagoro:

I'm not in Kano but a simple satelite view should give a hint.

Are u musiwa in disguise?

apart from kano does any other city, urban, semi-urban, town or village exist?

Kano is alpha and omega, despite all the oil money dumped there its far cry from what a reasonable person should called a developed city.

Apart from Enugu the is Nsukka and 9th Miles corner with industrial Estate.

Rmbr Onitsha, Nnewi, Abakiliki, Nsukka used to part of old Enugu state, getting their own attentions but Kano had never had any rival since the time Adam.

abagoro:

I'm not in Kano but a simple satelite view should give a hint.

Please can we put this Kano debate to rest.

1. Kano is probably the 2nd largest city in Nigeria.
2. But understand that apart from Kaduna, Kano & Maiduguri - there isn't any really large city in the far North.
3. In contrast, the Southeast has Enugu, Aba, Nnewi & Onitsha - important economic centers in their own right.
4. Our governors have ignored some of our key towns, this should be addressed.
5. The Southeast/South South urban cluster in unmatched in Nigeria - we just aren't utilizing it fully - Aba, Warri, Asaba, Onitsha, Benin, Enugu, Nnewi, PH and Uyo - all in close proximity.
6. In terms of economic activity; please note that even though Kano has a massive Shoprite facility, it's size is 24,000 sq.m compared to 22,530 sq.m in the Enugu mall. If Anambra alone can support 3 large shopping malls (Onitsha, Aba & Nnewi) it means there's A LOT of economic activity going on in the Southeast.
7. Kano absorbs a LOT of the business from at least 12 Northern states, this isn't like the Southeast/SS where many business centers exist.
8. So Kano is big, but we should understand why.

Let's return to the topic of this thread - this should tell you about Enugu's potential.

ENUGU: NEXT FRONTIER FOR REAL ESTATE GROWTH IN NIGERIA!

What makes Enugu a growth frontier for real estate development? More to the point, why should we be looking at this second tier city? The answer is relatively straightforward – look at the data.

Despite the megacity hype, in the coming decades the vast majority of urban Africans will live not in sprawling urban centres like Lagos but in small and midsize cities like Enugu. The United Nations projects that by 2050, seven out of 10 people will live in urban environments and that roughly two thirds of this global urban growth will happen in Africa. Yet by 2025, only seven percent of the continent’s city-dwellers will live in Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa – the continent’s megacities. Add the projected populations of popular capital cities like Johannesburg, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam to the total and the headcount remains far below the overall figure for Africa. That is because much of the growth will happen in smaller cities and towns.

In 2025, nearly half of Africa’s urban- dwellers will reside in towns of fewer than half a million people, with cities of one to five million people accounting for 27 percent of the overall urban population – the second-largest slice of the pie. Despite how we think of their larger and more distinguished cousins, these smaller cities are the dominant spaces for urban experience.

Many smaller African cities that lie just off the radar are experiencing a quiet transformation, largely unnoticed by the press and outside the purview of big business and foreign investment.

Take “Coal City” Enugu as an example. Enugu is by most measurements an ordinary city. A landlocked town of less than four million people, it does not make the list of important Nigerian cities – an honour generally reserved for Lagos, oil-rich Port Harcourt and the capital Abuja.

Yet in less than three years, rental rates in Enugu have more than doubled; in some cases, the value of land has tripled. Local estate agents confirm that the annual rent for a standard three-bedroom flat in the city’s New Haven enclave – a medium-to-high density area – is around $3,078, up 150 percent since 2011. Residential properties that were acquired at $7,850 are now valued at $48,300 – less than half a decade later.

So what has fuelled the rapid transformation in Enugu’s Real estate sector?

Strong Government Investment:

The city’s land and real estate market took off in 2011, the year its current administration, headed by lawyer-turned-politician Sullivan Chime, began an unprecedented and aggressive infrastructural development programme. Some 350-odd kilometers of road have been repaired and resurfaced in Enugu city and nearby Nsukka, and just under $120.8 million awarded in contracts to do the same for 250 kilometres of roads in outlying areas. Unsurprisingly, works and infrastructure received the highest allocation of any area in Enugu’s 2014 public budget – a total of $94.2 million.

A Growing Regional Focus:

Beyond the increased investment in transforming Enugu’s infrastructure, Enugu is also the focal point of a renewed interest by many from Eastern Nigeria. As the former administrative capital for Eastern Nigeria, Enugu has always appealed to the region’s predominantly Igbo community as a place to own a second home for vacation or retirement, especially for those in the Diaspora or living in other parts of the country. In addition, recent terrorism in Nigeria’s north and a plague of kidnappings in nearby states have driven an increase in settlers to Enugu state. Finally, a significant amount of the property demand by real estate investors and hoteliers looking to cash in on new serviced estates, a pumping nightlife scene and a budding tourism sector.

An Emerging Transportation Hub

The lack of a port or strategic waterway has limited the city’s potential as a major import base, however with progress towards an international air cargo hub in nearby Owerri and an inland seaport in Onitsha in addition to rumours of a free trade zone, Enugu is well placed to benefit from growing trade activity in the East. Apart from supporting direct flights to Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, the recent internationalisation of the local Akanu Ibiam airport has seen a significant increase in passenger traffic. Ethiopian Airlines now operates four connecting flights weekly to various destinations, including Beijing and Dubai, and KLM is also bidding hard for a hanger.



The future of urban Africa may currently be reported in the rise of megacities like Lagos, but the mostly unreported Coal city of Enugu will also have a few things to say about where the continent is going and how to get there. While investment attitudes towards African cities still display a preoccupation with the economic and political capital cities, do not overlook the “midi-cities” that make up the majority of Africa’s urban population and growth areas. Do not overlook Enugu.

http://www.lamudi.com.ng/journal/enugu-next-frontier-real-estate-growth-nigeria/

A portion of GRA Enugu.

CFCfan:
Are u musiwa in disguise?

Oh My Gwad!
Musiwa has finally entered this thread!
The next pictures will be that of himself and Gani Fawehimi asking you to spot the difference!

Biko, any satellite imagery in the thread must be ONLY Enugu!
picshures are the only acceptable uploade for other places outside Enugu.

http://www.google.com/earth/ or http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=6.472309&lon=7.551169&z=15&m=b
are not acceptable here!

spyder880: A portion of GRA Enugu.

This must be a new part of GRA.

Seems to be a lot of money in Enugu, but in real estate. Not much business.

How is work going on in the airport?

Orji, Elechi, Chime, Eze Madumere and Nkem Okeke.

HappyJoe:

This must be a new part of GRA.

Seems to be a lot of money in Enugu, but in real estate. Not much business.

How is work going on in the airport?

Airport work moving smooth, may see the place at the weekend.

spyder880: Orji, Elechi, Chime, Eze Madumere and Nkem Okeke.

Peter Obi was probably the only guy with a little understanding for the need for integration. Elechi & Orji couldn't be bothered and Sullivan is a bit of a lone ranger. Okorocha is busy playing to the gallery, doesn't even attend meetings.

spyder880:
Airport work moving smooth, may see the place at the weekend.

Do you think the airport will be finished this year at this rate?

HappyJoe:

Peter Obi was probably the only guy with a little understanding for the need for integration. Elechi & Orji couldn't be bothered and Sullivan is a bit of a lone ranger. Okorocha is busy playing to the gallery, doesn't even attend meetings.

Elechi is too old for this position, we need young and vibrant indefatigable governors in this region. Okorocha, well I did not say anything, before people will e-slap me

Another reason why your the most hated in NL, must you comment insult igbos and their views...many people that are saying good of Kano here are Igbos why some that are in the opposing view are also igbos.

Why must you drag igbos to your stupidty and idiocy?

Besides who is taking you clown seriuos anymore?...i used to think your nemesis was wrong trying to exterminate you but your stinking attitude justifies his craziness.

The official NL Persona no grata

abagoro: Many Igbos surprise me with their views despite my believe that we are the most widely travelled. Kano is a developed modern city and the GRA is finer than all the GRAs in the Southeast. It is also far more cosmopolitan in both ethnic and racial mix than all parts of Nigeria except Lagos, Rivers and Abuja.

That said Kano probably has the highest number of absolute poor people in Nigeria and has so many slum districts that encourage spread of diseases, Religious violence and extremism. Enugu all round is more liveable than Kano but never as developed.

spyder880: A portion of GRA Enugu.

Looks new.
I love the grass.

Unemadu: It's probably a good thing to compare and compete and try to outdo or learn from one another.
That said u have to give it to kano. It has been a commercial nerve center from time immemorial and our brothers have made fortunes there.

Once thing struck me from basilos post and that is that Unity bank has their head quarters there.
This shows they believe in themselves.
Now has no one ever asked why Fidelity bank is headquartered in Lagos and not Anambra ? Or even zenith bank in Delta?

These are questions the igbos should ask themselves

Is Unity Bank making money? Ndigbo are into business to make money, not to do "nwanne". The biggest clients and stock market is in Lagos - so that's where your HQ should be.

Unity Bank was formed by Northerners when they got afraid that Igbos, Yorubas & Delta folks were totally taking over banking.

HappyJoe:

Is Unity Bank making money? Ndigbo are into business to make money, not to do "nwanne". The biggest clients and stock market is in Lagos - so that's where your HQ should be.

Unity Bank was formed by Northerners when they got afraid that Igbos, Yorubas & Delta folks were totally taking over banking.

And who says they are not making money?

Are you inferring that southeast/southsouth isnt viable economically?

Unity bank is head quartered in kano and to me thats smart thinking.

if everyone thought like you then Anaigbo will be empty.