South Korea's Abandoned Airports: A Warning To Nigerian State Governors

@ kobojunkie

u see Akwa ibom has a lot of potentials and the state needs critical infrastructure, key infrastructure that encourages investors to invest in the state. the economy of the state is being operated in port harcout and calabar leaving the state at the mercy of the crumbs that trickle in, so the truth is  that those things have to be built. Thank God the present government in the state is really serious in the provision of roads in the state. people are talking of obudu cattle ranch and all that , the reason is because , govt provided the infrasturcture long time ago, at obudu, we have the bebi airstrip and a good hotel without these odu would not be what it is today, so please i would like people to leave akwa ibom state alone, it is a very peculiar state, we the people were with cross river state they developed the facilities there, so now it time to build their own where they can acces it at will and use it to propell the economy of the place, today it is the highest producer of oil, and they  cannot even boast of an airport. That distance to calabar is far for an investor who needs to get his goods or raw material or business trips done on time. Akwa Ibom has to move forward, i am sorry we cant wait.

@babatony
I disagree with your 26km figure. From a map plot of the route (using major roads), the distance to the Ndon Ebom/Okobo airport, from the center of uyo is 39.5km, and from Oku is 32km

When you say critical infrastructure, are you saying an airport is CRITICAL here? I can tell you for sure that that is not the case. I lived in a state that had no airport of its own. Well, apart from the one on the airforce base which was used for military purposes and that was about it.


Do you have proof of this or are you just assuming running an airport will build the local economy?


Oh Lordy!!

where is becomerich when you need him,,

please can you provide us with accurate map of nigeria showing population density and airports 

Good one from Ikeeymann00. I agree with you.

I was just curious. Is the Airport in Akwa Ibom in the current Governor's hometown? If not, how far is it from his hometown?

LOL, no its not in his hometown! it is significantly far from his homeplace!

the airport is a good distance from both of their places, strangely!

Why r u comparing Cross river created in 1976 with Akwa ibom created in 1987,its just like comparing port harcourt with yenogoa,very unfair, calabar  you are praising today is what it is today because of the infrastructure built long ago by akwa ibomites,from the governors down to the civil sertvants, back then they were labelled rogues by people like you that never see anything good in akwa ibom people (remember clement isong, uj esuene). just wait for the akwaibom airport to be complete, then u will know what the akwa ibom communmity is contributing  to the calabar economy,rome was not built in a day ,so will uyo or akwa ibom not be like calabar immediately,but meanwhile apart from calabar ,can u boast of any other town in cross river.Absolutely none!!!!!!. In akwa ibom u have eket, ikot ekpene, oron, abak etc, it just needs time and these cities will integrate into a large economic block. you said akwa ibom people are less polite, and aggressive, we need these two to drive away marginalisation from any quarters and a strong spirit to develop our state.if you dont like it stay in calabar!!!!!

i would like to ask all of you to compare the distance between eket or ikot abasi to calabar and the distance between these places and akwa ibom airport, be reminded akwa ibom is NOT a one city state,other cies have comsiderable population. you will appreciate why akwa ibom needs an airport, these are the economic hubs of the state because of ALSCON and Exxonmobil. we will not be intimidated by anybody not to develop if we can. i can remember vividly when attah tried to build the 5 star hotel at nwaniba, a lot of ignorant people were crying foul, today, the whole of that axis has become the choice location for estate develpers, jobs are created,that i say is the power of critical infrastructure.take it or leave it, i know most of you on this forum have lodge there. you might call it elistist but i tell you the development will trikkle down to everybody either directlt or indirectly.Akwa Ibom will there!!!!

u cannot compare where u stayed with akwaibom, akwa ibom needs an airport period!!!!! Strictly for economic reasons.it is already built anyway,so please next time u come dont use it

Seaports and Airports have a history of sparking off economic development ,go and find out!!!!

Going by all your aguements, i dont think akwa ibom would have built anything, univerities, hospitals, and tv stations,etc because b4 now we had all these within reach from other states.that wont work!!!!!i will say it again its for economic and skills developments.period!!!!

Babatony:

Even if you have Atlanta Airport and Chicago Airport combined in Akwa Ibom, I will still use the Calabar Airport. All the Airports in the world cannot solve your serious crime problems. In Calabar, you can leave your Hotel Room and at 10:00pm and take a stroll to a nice Fish Joint that will serve you a large fish with potatoes and pepper that can feed 3 people for around N800.00. If you forgot your bag with your laptop in it at the Calabar Airport and came back 4 hours later, it will still be where you left it.

By the way, what you call an Airport is no more than a Landing strip. How many runways are there on it? Do you know that Landing strips like these in the United States are built for much less than $30m? You are on the Internet, so do your homework and checkout what the developed world spends on Airports and Landing strips. remember they include a lot more sophisticated equipment to be able to meet their FAA requirements by law.

You should be ashamed bragging that your village _(State) spent $300m on something not even worth $30m. Abeg, Kobojunkie, continue with this man jo.

No ooooooo , there is not, it is waste of public funds, we had unical, why build uniuyo, we also has metropolitan hotel why build le meridien,we had crbc,why build akbc , let me tell you, akwa ibom having these infrastructure has boosted the number of people having access to professional experience on the jobs over the years, the airport is not an exception,by thetime planes are being repaired there, the number of people that will have acces to the technology will increase.The proposed seaport will be a very big boost.i know you dont like any developmentin Akwa ibom ,the rest of us like it. thanks

South Korean Ex-President Kills Himself

By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: May 22, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — Former President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, whose reputation as an upstanding political leader had been tarnished recently by a corruption scandal, committed suicide on Saturday by jumping off a cliff near his retirement home, according to his aides and the police.
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Pool photo by Ahn Young-joon

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his wife Kwon Yang-sook voting at a polling station in Seoul in December 2007.
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Former S. Korean President Apologizes for Scandal (April 30, 2009)
Times Topics: Roh Moo-hyun
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Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press

South Koreans watch a television screen for the news on the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday.
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Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

Roh Moo-hyun, pictured in 2008, served as South Korea's president from 2003 to 2008.

Mr. Roh, 62, died while he was hiking on a hill in Bongha, a village near the southeast corner of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, Mr. Roh’s former presidential chief of staff, said during a news conference. He left a brief will for his family, Mr. Moon said.

Mr. Roh suffered fatal head injuries and was declared dead in a hospital in Pusan, the largest regional city, said Park Chan-jo, a police officer. Mr. Roh was accompanied by a bodyguard during his morning hike.

President Lee Myung-bak, Mr. Roh’s successor, found the news “difficult to believe,” his office said.

Mr. Roh, who had prided himself on being a clean politician during his term from 2003 to 2008, was questioned for 10 hours on April 30 by state prosecutors over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal that has already landed some of his relatives and aides in jail.

“I can’t look you in the face because of shame,” Mr. Roh told reporters before he presented himself for questioning by prosecutors in Seoul, who had accused him of taking $6 million in bribes from a businessman while in office. “I apologize for disappointing the people.”

In his last posting on his Web site, on April 22, he wrote, “You should now discard me.”

He added: “I no longer symbolize the values you pursue. I am no longer qualified to speak for such things as democracy, progressiveness and justice.”

His apology was typical for a South Korean politician, who is expected to take moral responsibility for a corruption scandal that implicated aides and relatives, even if Mr. Roh denied most of the bribery allegations against him. But prosecutors had been considering indicting him on bribery charges.

In recent weeks, several of his aides and relatives had been arrested or questioned on charges of taking bribes. His elder brother also was arrested in December on bribery charges.

Prosecutors suspected that Mr. Roh, while president, solicited a total of $6 million from a shoe manufacturer, payments that are alleged to have been made to his wife, his son and his brother’s son-in-law. Both his wife and son have been questioned by the prosecutors.

Mr. Roh’s case, which involves a relatively unknown businessman, appeared relatively minor in scandal-ridden South Korean politics. Former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were imprisoned in the 1990s for collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from the nation’s biggest conglomerate.

The scandal and the ensuing criticism from his political enemies dealt a devastating blow to Mr. Roh.

In his will, which was released to the news media on Saturday, Mr. Roh wrote, “I owe too much to many people. Many people suffered too much because of me.”

He added, “I have thought about this for a long time.”

A former human rights and labor lawyer considered a political maverick, Mr. Roh swept into power in the December 2002 election on the crest of nationalistic — and sometimes anti-American — sentiments among young voters. During his campaign he famously declared that he would be the first South Korean leader “not to kowtow to the Americans.”

But his efforts to free South Korea from its traditional dependence on Washington in its diplomacy alienated many South Koreans.    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/world/asia/23korea.html?ref=global-home

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With your's Leading the Way

Well, I never insulted him. I told the guy that the statements he has made in support of this project are ridiculous. He then rudely INSULTS me by concluding that I am anti-development in Akwa Ibom, for not thinking his argument valid enough reason for the airport. That is stupid/unfortunate reasoning, anyday.