Babangida may have no longer felt safe causing HIM to move but there was already a massive construction going on which was accelerated because the Gulf war created an unexpected windfall of Cash in 1991.

Your thinking is OilOilOil
The reality is Nigeria was not a poor country before oil.In fact it was one of the richest Colonies of Britain. We had already established several Universities across the Country,with a seaport in Lagos Carter bridge built and Eko Bridge started in 1965 and completed in 1975.
Ikoyi,Tafawa Balewa Square and Marina were completed as was the rail line to Iddo.

How many railines have been built since we had oil.
Reality is we have to give credit to the British for how they ran things and the records they kept

http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1905_lagos/3064634_1905_lagos_opt.pdf

To your own thinking your people are a victim and everything else happened because of oil .

Nigeria had a population of 54 million at independence and the truth is you cannot compare where Lagos was developmentally in terms of infrastructure to Port Harcourt now.This is not a boast.All credit to the British but the trains were working as were street lights etc. So this
oiloiloil mentality is boring and wrong. DO you have any figures of Federal government budget for even one year showing what was spent in Lagos

Wallie:

I think you missed the bigger picture of my post. Yes, I did focus on ports but ports could have easily been replaced with consumers, mineral resources, or skilled workers.

Here are different development cycles that could spur economic development:

Cycle 1
Consumers in an area
Businesses go where the consumers are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

Cycle 2
Goods in an area due to access (ports, mineral resources)
Businesses go where the goods are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

Cycle 3
Skills in an area (college towns)
Businesses go where the skills are especially if the businesses do not need to directly interact with consumers
Workers go where the businesses are
Different type of businesses goes where the consumers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life


What differs between Cycle 1, Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 is the size and diversity of the market created.


To answer your question, I don’t know if other ports were given a level playing field or not but for one reason or another, the Lagos ports may be preferable to shippers.

Ports without adequate access (in or out) will be underutilized. Also, if an alternative port is friendlier (cheaper, more accessible to bigger ships, more organized, provides better roads inland, closer etc), shippers will tend to use that port.


The real problem with Nigeria and her states is that we have governments that fail to recognize a particular location’s potential. There’s no doubt that some states will be economically bigger than others and some will even find it easier than others to survive but the mere fact that the state is populated, it should be able to stand on its own to feet. It is only when people fail to come to your state even with availability of jobs that one has a major problem. (See Canada excluding Ontario some parts of QC).

For example, take a state in the US, Delaware, with land area smaller than Lagos. Delaware really has nothing going for it but do you know what they did?

1. They created business friendly corporate laws that made 50% of all traded companies in the US incorporate their businesses there. Mind you, the incorporation address is just an empty office with nothing in it and I’m not exaggerating. I have one and I registered the company over the internet with no hazzle!

2. The state sits on the major highway connecting the East Coast to the South. They set up a toll booth just before you enter their tiny state and another just before you exit – extorting exorbitant tolls from interstate travelers.

3. On that same stretch of interstate highway, they reduced the speed limit to 50 mph from 65 mph and then station aggressive cops on the road ticketing all the speeders.

4. They built a casino for gamblers when neighboring states didn’t allow gambling.

My point is that they do everything they can from the very little they have. The same cannot be said for almost any state in Nigeria!

You forgot to add the cycle that worked in the case of Lagos

Cycle 4
Govt invest heavily in infrastructure, siting all ministry and govt agencies HQs in a location
People flock into location looking for opportunities and population increases rapidly
Increased population creates opportunity for goods
Businesses go where the goods are
Workers go where the businesses are
More businesses go where the workers are
More people in an area create demand for all the necessities of life

This is also now working in Abuja

DaLover:

For examples of cities that had access to he sea but no oil money, check Cotonou lol

Correct.
Some don't even know that Cotonou is triving without oil.
They also forgot that Lagos is sacrificing her natural resources(crude oil) for commerce.

We can argue from now till Jesus comes. But the truth remains that the oil industry which is our mainstay services everything you see today. take away oil and many industries will collapse and the ones that will remain will be fighting for their survival.

I also wish the FG will allow for resource control and let's see how things will go down. With resource control, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta state will witness a mass exodus. The population will double in a very short time. The power of oil is out of this world. Go to the UAE and see what they're using oil to do over there.

aribisala0: http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1905_lagos/3064634_1905_lagos_opt.pdf

This report on financial statement will give you an idea of where Lagos Colony was in 1905

From the link, one of the major exports tru lagos then was palm oil from the nigerdelta...
So first it was palm oil, the later crude oil...
Nigerdelta una tooooo muchhhhh

In 1960 the population of Cotonou was 70000
Lagos was 60000 in 1872
In 1886 Lagos had established Telephone links with Britain and street lights in 1898.The first bridge,Carter was built 3 years later.
Over a hundred years later many Nigerian towns would wish they are now where Lagos was then in terms of infrastructure.
I do not see this as a city built on OIL as some would have us believe but one built based on its strategic location in a Larger more prosperous territory

aribisala0: In 1960 the population of Cotonou was 70000
Lagos was 60000 in 1872
In 1886 Lagos had established Telephone links with Britain and street lights in 1898.The first bridge,Carter was built 3 years later.
Over a hundred years later many Nigerian towns would wish they are now where Lagos was then in terms of infrastructure.
I do not see this as a city built on OIL as some would have us believe but one built based on its strategic location in a Larger more prosperous territory

Once again, you're limiting it to OIL. Even before oil, Lagos has been developed with our commonwealth.

I know you're a Lagos indigene and i see why you keep defending the obvious. Imagine if many years down the line, the capital of Nigeria is moved to asaba from Abuja and the indigenes of Abuja starts claiming that oil money or our national wealth did not develop Abuja, how will you react to that knowing the history of Abuja?

Jealousy go kill una!!!

Let us compare Lagos and Calabar.

Lagos was Capital before oil, Calabar was Capital before oil

Lagos has access to sea, Calabar has access to sea.

Lagos never got oil producing state fund, Calabar got oil producing state fund.

Lagos had allocation withheld by for 3 or 4yrs, Calabar never experienced this calamity.

What is stopping Calabar from being like Lagos? Cross River used to get the 13% allocation. What happened?

Una never start ooo!!!! Na wash una dey so lol...

Afam4eva: We can argue from now till Jesus comes. But the truth remains that the oil industry which is our mainstay services everything you see today. take away oil and many industries will collapse and the ones that will remain will be fighting for their survival.

I also wish the FG will allow for resource control and let's see how things will go down. With resource control, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta state will witness a mass exodus. The population will double in a very short time. The power of oil is out of this world. Go to the UAE and see what they're using oil to do over there.

That is your perception.Agriculture accounts for a lot more in our economy and employs more people.ery few of our people outside government see oil money.
We fought a war for 3 years and emerged without debt and even paid some bogus bank account claims £20 each.Was that paid for with OIL MONEY?? Noooo.The oil industry collapsed in the 80s with prices extremely low and this happened again under Abacha.The nation survived. UAE are not doing much with oil other than building monuments they do not understand and if we are looking for lessons we would do better to study NORWAY.
Intellectual capital is the most important because one day oil will finish and it is only brain power that will solve our problems .In that regard UAE have nothing to teach us beside Praying 5 times a day. Even now those with better brains enjoy Nigerian oil more than Nigerians. You measure the TRUE WEALTH of a country by how much oil they consume not how much they sell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_consumption

emmatok:

Correct.
Some don't even know that Cotonou is triving without oil.
They also forgot that Lagos is sacrificing her natural resources(crude oil) for commerce.

Cotonou is not thriving without oil,
I meant lagos would have been like Cotonou without oil money spurring the developments in lagos today...after all Cotonou has a sea port, so why isn't it as big as lagos?

If oil had not been discovered in nigeria, the developments the British made in lagos would have remained as any normal sea port city on the west coast of Africa. The oil money made lagos grow differently, especially as the fG placed every hook line and sinker there...

But funny enuf, even he economy of Cotonou is sustained indirectly by oil money from nigeria

aribisala0:
That is your perception.Agriculture accounts for a lot more in our economy and employs more people.ery few of our people outside government see oil money.
We fought a war for 3 years and emerged without debt and even paid some bogus bank account claims £20 each.Was that paid for with OIL MONEY?? Noooo.The oil industry collapsed in the 80s with prices extremely low and this happened again under Abacha.The nation survived. UAE are not doing much with oil other than building monuments they do not understand and if we are looking for lessons we would do better to study NORWAY.
Intellectual capital is the most important because one day oil will finish and it is only brain power that will solve our problems .In that regard UAE have nothing to teach us beside Praying 5 times a day.

I think you're quoting the wrong person. I'm not having an oil argument with anybody. My argument is that Nigeria's COMMONWEALTH developed Lagos and not just oil. Lagos has always been given preferential treatment from time immemorial.

0lumide: Jealousy go kill una!!!

Let us compare Lagos and Calabar.

Lagos was Capital before oil, Calabar was Capital before oil

Lagos has access to sea, Calabar has access to sea.

Lagos never got oil producing state fund, Calabar got oil producing state fund.

Lagos had allocation withheld by for 3 or 4yrs, Calabar never experienced this calamity.

What is stopping Calabar from being like Lagos? Cross River used to get the 13% allocation. What happened?

Una never start ooo!!!! Na wash una dey so lol...

My friend stop pretending to be daft

DaLover:

Cotonou is not thriving without oil,
I meant lagos would have been like Cotonou without oil money spurring the developments in lagos today...after all Cotonou has a sea port, so why isn't it as big as lagos?

If oil had not been discovered in nigeria, the developments the British made in lagos would have remained as any normal sea port city on the west coast of Africa. The oil money made lagos grow differently, especially as the fG placed every hook line and sinker there...

But funny enuf, even he economy of Cotonou is sustained indirectly by oil money from nigeria

That's what i was trying to put to Aribisala that if indeed Lagos grew because of it's location, how come those cities on the west African coast will similar strategic location did not grow as much as Lagos.

Afam4eva:
Once again, you're limiting it to OIL. Even before oil, Lagos has been developed with our commonwealth.

I know you're a Lagos indigene and i see why you keep defending the obvious. Imagine if many years down the line, the capital of Nigeria is moved to asaba from Abuja and the indigenes of Abuja starts claiming that oil money or our national wealth did not develop Abuja, how will you react to that knowing the history of Abuja?

You keep saying LAGOS
I am not an indigene of Lagos Island but of Lagos state.
I have corrected you severally
LAGOS STATE WAS NOT THE CAPITAL
Lagos state is quite different. Many parts had no electricity in the 80s
So quit yapping what you do not know

YOU ALWAYS MAKE CLAIMS BUT OFFER NO PROOF
What commonwealth and how did it work exactly ??

HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS??

aribisala0:
YOU ALWAYS MAKE CLAIMS BUT OFFER NO PROOF


HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS??

Is this rocket science?

Didn't the British use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

Didn't the federal government use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

How come our major Airport is in Lagos?

How come our Major seaport is in Lagos?

How come our capital was in Lagos?

How come all government parastatals were in Lagos?

If you have any proof that proves that our commonwealth was not used to develop Lagos pls present it.

Afam4eva:
Is this rocket science?

Didn't the British use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

Didn't the federal government use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

How come our major Airport is in Lagos?

How come our Major seaport is in Lagos?

How come our capital was in Lagos?



How come all government parastatals were in Lagos?

If you have any proof that proves that our commonwealth was not used to develop Lagos pls present it.

Where should your major seaport be in KANO ?
There is an airport in Abuja why is is not the major airport
Is is quantum physics?
Define commonwealth.I do not know what that means exactly

Afam4eva:
That's what i was trying to put to Aribisala that if indeed Lagos grew because of it's location, how come those cities on the west African coast will similar strategic location did not grow as much as Lagos.

In the link he posted, palm oil from the Niger delta and east was one of the major earners for lagos, even more than cocoa in 1905. Niger delta resources have been building lagos ....nor bi today matter!

Lagosians should doff their hats for Niger delta and the rest of nigeria that they are not like Cotonou today instead of bragging about how much hey have achieved..

DaLover:

Cotonou is not thriving without oil,
I meant lagos would have been like Cotonou without oil money spurring the developments in lagos today...after all Cotonou has a sea port, so why isn't it as big as lagos?

If oil had not been discovered in nigeria, the developments the British made in lagos would have remained as any normal sea port city on the west coast of Africa. The oil money made lagos grow differently, especially as the fG placed every hook line and sinker there...

But funny enuf, even he economy of Cotonou is sustained indirectly by oil money from nigeria

Lagos can not be like Cotonou without oil simply Lagos was already a developed state before oil. Oil or no oil, Lagos was already developed. The only thing the federal government added to Lagos was their barracks in Obalende, eko and 3mb, MMA and seaport which they replicated in other states so they did nothing special in Lagos state.

Lagos state thrived because of it's industrial estates and general commerce that the federal government did not build or have anything to do with before the federal government declared Lagos state it's capital.


Oil has nothing to do with development especially without good leadership. Or how do you explain states with just 2-5 million people with real oil money and the same budget numbers like Lagos state and they are still trailing Lagos in terms of visionary leadership ad infrastructures.

Many of these African states were calling Lagos little London before oil.

You can help us with your argument by stating exactly what the federal government did to develop Lagos.

DaLover:

In the link he posted, palm oil from the Niger delta and east was one of the major earners for lagos, even more than cocoa in 1905. Niger delta resources have been building lagos ....nor bi today matter!

Lagosians should doff their hats for Niger delta and the rest of nigeria that they are not like Cotonou today instead of bragging about how much hey have achieved..

I would urge you to read and understand the link is for the Colony of Lagos and the Protectorate of Southern NIgeria. Please read it and understand.That link is from 1905.Amalgamation took place in 1914. Lagos already had street lights in 1898
why not ask someone to interpret it to you

aribisala0: In 1960 the population of Cotonou was 70000
Lagos was 60000 in 1872
In 1886 Lagos had established Telephone links with Britain and street lights in 1898.The first bridge,Carter was built 3 years later.
Over a hundred years later many Nigerian towns would wish they are now where Lagos was then in terms of infrastructure.
I do not see this as a city built on OIL as some would have us believe but one built based on its strategic location in a Larger more prosperous territory

Cotonou is ,in population terms very small,with a population of about 1 million it is doing as well as any Nigerian city with a similar population

Afam4eva:
Is this rocket science?

Didn't the British use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

Didn't the federal government use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

How come our major Airport is in Lagos?

How come our Major seaport is in Lagos?

How come our capital was in Lagos?

How come all government parastatals were in Lagos?

If you have any proof that proves that our commonwealth was not used to develop Lagos pls present it.

How was you common wealth used to develop Lagos before oil?

Afam4eva:
Is this rocket science?

Didn't the British use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

Didn't the federal government use our commonwealth to develop Lagos?

How come our major Airport is in Lagos?

How come our Major seaport is in Lagos?

How come our capital was in Lagos?

How come all government parastatals were in Lagos?

If you have any proof that proves that our commonwealth was not used to develop Lagos pls present it.

Which your common wealth? For your unnavigable land? Which common wealth? Shay na your common wealth also give Western Nigeria highest GDP since the inception of Nigeria to now? Na your common wealth?

When you talk oil, Yorubas have oil tooooooooooooooooo!!! Itsekiri and Ilaje oil donation to FG nko? Those ones no count? Lagos is not dependent on anyone but the Yorubas common wealth. Go and die! All oil producing states get more money than Lagos, why haven't they developed faster than Lagos? OOOO It's Lagos that using Oodua intelligence agency to infiltrate their government and installing illiterates in power.

This liks from Wikipedia clearly say lagos experienced rapid growth because of oil, else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lagos
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos

I hope his ends all arguments about how lagos came o be how it is?

Look at page 5 of this report from 1898
http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1898_lagos/3064634_1898_lagos_opt.pdf

emmatok:

Correct.
Some don't even know that Cotonou is triving without oil.
They also forgot that Lagos is sacrificing her natural resources(crude oil) for commerce.

Is it the one they said Obj grabbed from NigerDelta?

DaLover: This liks from Wikipedia clearly say lagos experienced rapid growth because of oil, else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lagos
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos

I hope his ends all arguments about how lagos came o be how it is?

It is talking of population growth

and it does not say ;

else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port those are your words

and wikipedia is NOT the Bible or Quran so I do not have to swallow wikipedia.If I like I can go to wikipedia and change that so leave that story please

aribisala0:
It is talking of population growth

and it does not say ;

else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port those are your words

and wikipedia is NOT the Bible or Quran so I do not have to swallow wikipedia.If I like I can go to wikipedia and change that so leave that story please

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos_Colony

This link makes it very clear why the population of lagos grew rapidly in the early years,
The fight against slavery by the British, not even he sea port as you claimed..

seanet01: The 2.3 trillion FG generates from Lagos ports will become Lagos money and viola, Lagos will survivie.

Was't it the oil that build the Lagos infrastructures, that includes the ports and maintained it? Just asking!

aribisala0:
It is talking of population growth

and it does not say ;

else it wold have been like any other city on the west African coast with a sea port those are your words

and wikipedia is NOT the Bible or Quran so I do not have to swallow wikipedia.If I like I can go to wikipedia and change that so leave that story please

So there was oil boom in he nigerdelta and people just started rushing to lagos? Na wa ooo, don't you think some arguments are not necessary.

aribisala0: Look at page 5 of this report from 1898
http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/3064634/3064634_1898_lagos/3064634_1898_lagos_opt.pdf

Please go on to study about plans to build a bridge on page 7. If only our own government kept such records

In 1898 There was no NIGERIA or OIL . Look at how much they were making from Customs and Wharfs.

Afam4eva: We can argue from now till Jesus comes. But the truth remains that the oil industry which is our mainstay services everything you see today. take away oil and many industries will collapse and the ones that will remain will be fighting for their survival.

I also wish the FG will allow for resource control and let's see how things will go down. With resource control, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta state will witness a mass exodus. The population will double in a very short time. The power of oil is out of this world. Go to the UAE and see what they're using oil to do over there.

Critical factor! Those who mean 'well' will never allow.

aribisala0:
Please go on to study about plans to build a bridge on page 7. If only our own government kept such records

In 1898 There was no NIGERIA or OIL . Look at how much they were making from Customs and Wharfs.

The money they were making then is the not the kind of income that can make Lagos what it is today.