emiye:
For those asking "why Ibadan?"

Ibadan was the capital of the former western region, 11 local governments out of the 33 local governments in Oyo State are in Ibadan, the 2006 census puts Ibadan population at 2,338,659 out of 5,591,589 in Oyo state.

The 2006 population census of Ibadan was grossly underestimated. Ibadan's population should be in the neigbhorhood of 5 million. In short the opportunities in Ibadan is under exploited.

Guy, we all know this but some will never accept it. They are programmed to be the only ones always raising illogical and 'bad belle' arguments , as we see here, regarding anything to do with the SW.

emiye:
For those asking "why Ibadan?"

Ibadan was the capital of the former western region, 11 local governments out of the 33 local governments in Oyo State are in Ibadan, the 2006 census puts Ibadan population at 2,338,659 out of 5,591,589 in Oyo state.

The 2006 population census of Ibadan was grossly underestimated. Ibadan's population should be in the neigbhorhood of 5 million. In short the opportunities in Ibadan is under exploited.

Abeg free those those village akpu boys, they can't understand.
Ara oko, ajokuta mamumi

Gbawe:

Clannishness told him that. No "Yoruba City" is of priority to some even when logic show how terribly flawed their reasoning is. Thankfully, those advancing the loans still work with economic facts, geographical necessity and reality rather than delusions and fantasy.

I won't engage you in any argument as far as this project is concerned but just learn to give credence to those responsible for it when it's done because it's the handiwork of the people you love to deride so much.

A-town:


Lagos to ibadan is not 200 miles!!!!
Roughly 100 or less

Well, good.

My estimate of 200 is considering the start point in Lagos may not be from the major roads we are used to calculating from since this is rail, and it may reach further into Oyo than we know but a good 200 miles is not a bad stretch to have.

Eko Atlantic:

Oderinde

Eko...one thing that was not pointed out in that link is that Oyo city (NOT even Ibadan) has a higher population than both Enugu and Onitsha...let people look at that fact. Now, when you add Ibadan, the population is 3 TIMES greater than the population of Onitsha and Enugu (the biggest cities in iboland). Igbos are inherently stupid and have a permanent inferiority complex since they were bitch-slapped into submission in the civil war. ojukwu ran away and started behaving himself better since he was allowed to return to Nigeria!

oil suop: Hurrraaayyyyyyy hope is true! this one,by the time we the SW can see this project live with our two eyes hope cars wont be flying by then in 2030

Useless yiboe cannibal....it doesn't matter what you think anyway! This government is surely a corrupt and useless one so nothing will surprise anyone if they don't complete it. But you can be sure if that were the case the SWesterners are the most sophisticated people of Nigeria (I don't claim to speak for them, just my opinion) and would probably take ownership of the project even if all the Feds do is 50%. They will complete it on their own...even Lagos generates tens of billions of dollars a year, so a pact between Lagos, Ibadan and Ogun will easily come up with another $1 B dollars to complete the project and own it NOT the Feds. Then, you ibo urchins can go and take their trains for a fee!

afam4eva:
I won't engage you in any argument as far as this project is concerned but just learn to give credence to those responsible for it when it's done because it's the handiwork of the people you love to deride so much.

Sharrap !!! Because I criticise the FG, then I must never expect it to do any work whatsoever?

Gbawe:

Sharrap !!! Because I criticise the FG, then I must never expect it to still perform it's duty?

Why you dey vex? did i hit a nerve? We all know that you never see anything good in the FG but just about everything is right with ACN. Abeg, park well jo. It's your kind that are taking this country back to the stone age when you can't be constructive in your criticisms. At the end of the day people like you will still count as educated. smh.

afam4eva:
Why you dey vex? did i hit a nerve? We all know that you never see anything good in the FG but just about everything is right with ACN. Abeg, park well jo. It's your kind that are taking this country back to the stone age when you can't be constructive in your criticisms. At the end of the day people like you will still count as educated. smh.

Look, stop turning this into FG/ACN argument. Simply return to your original foolish argument that this project is not priority and deal with the attack you are receiving for that viewpoint. Stop trying to hold on to my abgada to use me for leverage. Abeg, face your front and stop the mischief. Go and lobby your Senators to propose 'priority' projects to the FG.

afam4eva: I want to join the school of thought who believe that this project is not viable and a total waste of fund. is there a rule that says that this railway cannot extend to Abuja? Lagos is no doubt the economic and commercial capital of Nigeria but why Ibadan? What happens there? What population of Nigerians live there? I even heard someone saying that Ibadan is the largest city in west Africa. Is that now a criteria for citing a project? I will favour a Lagos-Ibadan-Abuja rail project or a Lagos-Benin-Asaba-Onitsha-Enugu than this one. The amount also sounds astronomical to me. smh.

It can always extended to Abuja another day. You choose, if you were to initiate such project and you have the fund that can construct just the first 100 miles, will you start from Abuja and take it to say Lokoja or start from Lagos and link Ibadan up first? When you factor in the fact that Lagos residential areas has been exhausted and is rapidly expanding into Ogun state . . .then it becomes even clearer why lagos-Ibadan coming first isn't such a bad idea.

CyberG:

Useless yiboe cannibal....it doesn't matter what you think anyway! This government is surely a corrupt and useless one so nothing will surprise anyone if they don't complete it. But you can be sure if that were the case the SWesterners are the most sophisticated people of Nigeria (I don't claim to speak for them, just my opinion) and would probably take ownership of the project even if all the Feds do is 50%. They will complete it on their own...even Lagos generates tens of billions of dollars a year, so a pact between Lagos, Ibadan and Ogun will easily come up with another $1 B dollars to complete the project and own it NOT the Feds. Then, you ibo urchins can go and take their trains for a fee!

I tire for those erosion ridden village ibo boys. Ignorantly boasting of what they don't know. Why must we blame them self? When they inherited it from their proud fool ojukwu, who think he's smart but doesn't know he'll be leading his blind followers into a dark bottomless pit. Now, they're taking his footstep.
Local Igbo people

Projects like this will help improve the way we travel.

Well they should build it all the way to Abuja. So that Abuja will be the central hub where other regions are connected to. . [size=2pt]no need to give boko easy access[/size]

For those who are questioning the importance of Ibadan as a commercial city, please see Harvard Business Review June 2012 article - When All The World's a City where it states and I quote 'The Ibadan-Lagos-Accra urban corridor, spanning roughly 600 kilometers in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana is the engine of West Africa's regional economy'.

See also

The 500 km Greater Ibadan Lagos Accra (GILA) corridor spans key cities across the four Western Africa countries of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.
The GILA corridor has a combined population of more than 18 million people with Lagos accounting for more than 50 per cent of the total.
The GILA urban corridor is the engine of regional economy and contributes the major share of the Nigerian and Ghanaian combined GDP of US$127,592,000.

http://exportreachout.com/?p=158

And

Urban conurbations are another lens worth looking through. The continent’s five largest consumer markets by 2020 are likely to include Cape Town and Johannesburg (South Africa) and Lagos (Nigeria).

Additionally, urban corridors, for example, are viable markets in themselves and are often missed in straightforward country-based comparisons. So, for instance, while Nigeria and the broader West African region may look daunting in terms of market development, the Greater Ibadan-Lagos- Accra (GILA) urban corridor has a population of about 25 million consumers, and has the potential to become the real economic engine of Africa.

http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Industries/Consumer-Products/Growing-in-Africa--Prioritizing-your-investment-in-Africa

Kats, this is poison. You just wanna kill them dead!

How are okrika people gonna sleep tonight o, knowing that everything Nigeria relies on the Yoruba people o.

Katsumoto: For those who are questioning the importance of Ibadan as a commercial city, please see Harvard Business Review June 2012 article - When All The World's a City where is states and I quote 'The Ibadan-Lagos-Accra urban corridor, spanning roughly 600 kilometers in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana is the engine of West Africa's regional economy'.

See also

The 500 km Greater Ibadan Lagos Accra (GILA) corridor spans key cities across the four Western Africa countries of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.
The GILA corridor has a combined population of more than 18 million people with Lagos accounting for more than 50 per cent of the total.
The GILA urban corridor is the engine of regional economy and contributes the major share of the Nigerian and Ghanaian combined GDP of US$127,592,000.

http://exportreachout.com/?p=158

And

Urban conurbations are another lens worth looking through. The continent’s five largest consumer markets by 2020 are likely to include Cape Town and Johannesburg (South Africa) and Lagos (Nigeria).

Additionally, urban corridors, for example, are viable markets in themselves and are often missed in straightforward country-based comparisons. So, for instance, while Nigeria and the broader West African region may look daunting in terms of market development, the Greater Ibadan-Lagos- Accra (GILA) urban corridor has a population of about 25 million consumers, and has the potential to become the real economic engine of Africa.

http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Industries/Consumer-Products/Growing-in-Africa--Prioritizing-your-investment-in-Africa

afam4eva: I want to join the school of thought who believe that this project is not viable and a total waste of fund. is there a rule that says that this railway cannot extend to Abuja? Lagos is no doubt the economic and commercial capital of Nigeria but why Ibadan? What happens there? What population of Nigerians live there? I even heard someone saying that Ibadan is the largest city in west Africa. Is that now a criteria for citing a project? I will favour a Lagos-Ibadan-Abuja rail project or a Lagos-Benin-Asaba-Onitsha-Enugu than this one. The amount also sounds astronomical to me. smh.

Peeps pls dnt argue with him. He's definately insane.

afam4eva: I don't know when states like Ekiti will start getting their priorities right. Wetin concern Ekiti with technology. they should focus on Agriculture and stop fooling themselves and NIgerians.

he said the same thing about ekiti state on technology, few days ago.

Dotman01: Peeps pls dnt argue with him. He's definately insane.
he said the same thing about ekiti state on technology, few days ago.

Hehehe...see okrika people consoling themselves. This is comedy, i tell ya!

Mr. Globe:
what a waste of funds. I Railway from Lagos to Ibadan cave. how economic viable is it? I see China has some funds to throw away here and there in Nigeria

you see ur life? see how people dey bash ur commet. guy, you no get sense at all

anytime dem bring issue on nairaland, na nonesense and stupid arguiment huna go dey argue. yeye people ... al of huna.

mbhs139: anytime dem bring issue on nairaland, na nonesense and stupid arguiment huna go dey argue. yeye people ... al of huna.

plus including you join na? Abi you sef no write put this thread?

Desola:

Hehehe...see okrika people consoling themselves. This is comedy, i tell ya!

he doesnt see any good thing in the SW.
#biafrasyndrome

Having read the entire thread up to this point, I consider that sometimes the truth can be so bitter. Hence the bashing of the poster who said the project is a Not viable one. He should have been more civil in his expressions giving clear reasons why he thinks so.

Firstly completing the project may be an issue - bribery and corruption
Maintaining rail and trains is costly, may collapse the project later on. It
It has to charge a low rate to compete with road transport to survive. The distance is too short for any economic advantage.
The logistics of eternal delays could put passengers off.

There had been other rail projects that are doing very poorly , how is this going to be different?

Perhaps luxurious buses to support private indivudual who could take them over would have been better. A new ibadan Lagos road is being built.

This money would have been better used to support fhe intercity Lagos light rail project or the maritime, boat transportation project of fashola (but FG will not want to glorify acn) if transportation is a boiling issue the FG considered for the SW. Only time will tell.

Solozzo: Having read the entire thread up to this point, I consider that sometimes the truth can be so bitter. Hence the bashing of the poster who said the project is a Not viable one. He should have been more civil in his expressions giving clear reasons why he thinks so.

Firstly completing the project may be an issue - bribery and corruption
Maintaining rail and trains is costly, may collapse the project later on. It
It has to charge a low rate to compete with road transport to survive. The distance is too short for any economic advantage.
The logistics of eternal delays could put passengers off.

There had been other rail projects that are doing very poorly , how is this going to be different?

Perhaps luxurious buses to support private indivudual who could take them over would have been better. A new ibadan Lagos road is being built.

This money would have been better used to support fhe intercity Lagos light rail project or the maritime, boat transportation project of fashola (but FG will not want to glorify acn) if transportation is a boiling issue the FG considered for the SW. Only time will tell.

"The distance is too short for any economic advantage."

Can you please explain this to us?

Point 1
That the FG decides to do a rail project from Lagos to Ibadan is not an issue of Yoruba or Igbo or the problem of Ibadan or Lagos it is the FG problem if its a waste of resources and not viable. i dont see the reason for bashing ourselves over FG waste as if it does not happen in all FG projects all over Nigeria whether East West, South or North. In my own opinion i see nothing wrong in a rail project from Lagos to Ibadan afterall in Geography classes in secondary school we were taught that Nigeria did have such a rail network which is part of a greater rail network running from South West up North so the people coming on here saying such a network should not exist need to cross check their facts. Like i said that the project is overvalued is the FG problem not Ibadan or Lagos problem so if you have qualms with the viability of the project maybe the FG should be called up on that.

And to those that like showing pics of brown rooftops in Ibadan, we are proud of it (yes i am from Ibadan) and i see nothing wrong with it. it is part of the heritage of the city and if i must let you know many cities have across the world still have their old quarters that made the city standing. Examples Marrakech in Morrocco still has the old Madinah standing with its old architecture still intact. Colorado Springs in Colorado US still has Old Colorado city with its buildings having the old architecture standing. My point is it is part of the history of this cities. Anyone familiar with the history of Ibadan knows that these quarters with the brown rooftops were the nucleus of the city and from there the city spreads out in all directions. Agreed it might be an eyesore to some of us raised in the era of colored plastic or ceramic rooftops but pulling them down is not the solution. Every household you see in those pictures has a name, a background and a story destroying and renaming places like Isale Ijebu will likely erase the history to why such a name in Ibadan in the first place. Yes this might not be the best areas in Ibadan but they tell the city's story. Yes it might need renovation and rebuilding but not to completely destroy.

kq: Point 1
That the FG decides to do a rail project from Lagos to Ibadan is not an issue of Yoruba or Igbo or the problem of Ibadan or Lagos it is the FG problem if its a waste of resources and not viable. i dont see the reason for bashing ourselves over FG waste as if it does not happen in all FG projects all over Nigeria whether East West, South or North. In my own opinion i see nothing wrong in a rail project from Lagos to Ibadan afterall in Geography classes in secondary school we were taught that Nigeria did have such a rail network which is part of a greater rail network running from South West up North so the people coming on here saying such a network should not exist need to cross check their facts. Like i said that the project is overvalued is the FG problem not Ibadan or Lagos problem so if you have qualms with the viability of the project maybe the FG should be called up on that.

And to those that like showing pics of brown rooftops in Ibadan, we are proud of it (yes i am from Ibadan) and i see nothing wrong with it. it is part of the heritage of the city and if i must let you know many cities have across the world still have their old quarters that made the city standing. Examples Marrakech in Morrocco still has the old Madinah standing with its old architecture still intact. Colorado Springs in Colorado US still has Old Colorado city with its buildings having the old architecture standing. My point is it is part of the history of this cities. Anyone familiar with the history of Ibadan knows that these quarters with the brown rooftops were the nucleus of the city and from there the city spreads out in all directions. Agreed it might be an eyesore to some of us raised in the era of colored plastic or ceramic rooftops but pulling them down is not the solution. Every household you see in those pictures has a name, a background and a story destroying and renaming places like Isale Ijebu will likely erase the history to why such a name in Ibadan in the first place. Yes this might not be the best areas in Ibadan but they tell the city's story. Yes it might need renovation and rebuilding but not to completely destroy.

The brown rooftops should be taken as a badge of honor. A clear evidence that Yorubas were and still city dwellers, even at a time when others were still hopping around in the forest.

Solozzo: Having read the entire thread up to this point, I consider that sometimes the truth can be so bitter. Hence the bashing of the poster who said the project is a Not viable one. He should have been more civil in his expressions giving clear reasons why he thinks so.

Firstly completing the project may be an issue - bribery and corruption
Maintaining rail and trains is costly, may collapse the project later on. It
It has to charge a low rate to compete with road transport to survive. The distance is too short for any economic advantage.
The logistics of eternal delays could put passengers off.

There had been other rail projects that are doing very poorly , how is this going to be different?

Perhaps luxurious buses to support private indivudual who could take them over would have been better. A new ibadan Lagos road is being built.

This money would have been better used to support fhe intercity Lagos light rail project or the maritime, boat transportation project of fashola (but FG will not want to glorify acn) if transportation is a boiling issue the FG considered for the SW. Only time will tell.

We must enhance and vary our transport mix aggressively and as a matter of urgency. It is as simple as that. It seems to me you have provided a list of cons that merely panders to pessimism and not much else.

Firstly completing the project may be an issue - bribery and corruption

If everyone thinks similar then we can all agree no projects should be carried out since it is a foregone conclusion that "bribery and corruption" will ensure non-completion of projects.

Maintaining rail and trains is costly, may collapse the project later on.

Wrong. This is actually where your "bribery and corruption" is more pertinent. This would be a well-patronised route for direct or en-route travel. The profit derived should ensure there is enough available to carry out maintenance. It is corruption, as usual, that may ruin maintenance.

It has to charge a low rate to compete with road transport to survive. The distance is too short for any economic advantage.

Considering horrendous traffic and accidents , I think rail travel provide the better option for many working to time, like workers, and thinking of safety. It will be more popular than road transport if efficient. Also, how can the distance be too short "for any economic reason" when we are talking interstate travel that links two populous Cities that are important gateways to other places? Is it about distance or entities that are linked?

There had been other rail projects that are doing very poorly , how is this going to be different?

Many avoidable reasons are responsible for past failures. That is no reason at all to rule out future effort.

Perhaps luxurious buses to support private indivudual who could take them over would have been better. A new ibadan Lagos road is being built.

Once again, it is about varying the transport mix. Cities with far,far less population than Lagos and Ibadan combined are linked worldwide. This could be expanded to link other destinations also.

This money would have been better used to support fhe intercity Lagos light rail project or the maritime, boat transportation project of fashola (but FG will not want to glorify acn) if transportation is a boiling issue the FG considered for the SW. Only time will tell.

All I get from your argument above is the usual postulation that make everything, lazily, about Lagos, Abuja et al. Good transport links is one of the crucial key to developing Cities like Ibadan, decongest Lagos and ease it increasing and harmful urbanisation.

All in all, this is a good project and more of it is needed throughout the Nation as part of a deliberate and holistic effort to improve our transport sector. Nigeria's almost complete reliance on vehicular/road transport is shameful and currently represents a poor template for development.

Aigbofa:

The brown rooftops should be taken as a badge of honor. A clear evidence that Yorubas were and still city dwellers, even at a time when others were still hopping around in the forest.

This got me! GADDEM!!!

Aigbofa:

"The distance is too short for any economic advantage."

Can you please explain this to us?

He is implying that the British are stupid and economically ignorant for running train services between London and reading (29 miles) and London and Luton (29 miles) since both are significantly shorter than Lagos to Ibadan (75 miles).


Heck, I think he should state what the minimum distance that rail tracks should be run for it to be economically viable.

.

^^^ thanks for shedding more light, it seems many people have a very wrong notion about Ibadan, may be based on what they are fed with on nairaland. Ibadan has got so much potential,and presently operating way below its potential, there have been clamours for the creation of Ibadan state, which i don't support. With the right kind of governance, It should be the "next thing" after Lagos

emiye: ^^^ thanks for shedding more light, it seems many people have a very wrong notion about Ibadan, may be based on what they are fed with on nairaland. Ibadan has got so much potential,and presently operating way below its potential, there have been clamours for the creation of Ibadan state, which i don't support. With the right kind of governance, It should be the "next thing" after Lagos

Not just Ibadan...most Nigerian cities have great potentials but have not lived up to quarter of it.

Ok, that sounds like positive progress. Well done to all involved and I do hope they actually invest the amount quoted.