some more---

[img]http://C:\Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1229.JPG[/img]

keeping it coming---- outside pics----

[img]http://, \Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1235.JPG[/img]

I'm sure you guys are beginning to get a "feel" for the place now, but are not satisfied---so here goes---

[img]http://C:\Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1235.JPG[/img]

[img]http://C:\Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1241.JPG[/img]

[img]http://, \Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1243.JPG[/img]

[img]http://, \Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1243.JPG[/img]

[img]http://, \Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1246.JPG[/img]

OK, I think i have just finished my first folder of pics (omitting those of my mate of course). will try and load more later---

[img]http://, \Documents and Settings\ade_f\My Documents\My Pictures\tinapa\TP\100_1247.JPG[/img]

Someone mentioned these are probably the first pictures on the web,  you're absolutely right. I'm surprised the official website has not been updated. How sloppy is that? I think after I complete loading all my pics "we" should pick another new development and attempt to get pictures for it. In time we'll have enough pictures to look at a range of new developments in Nigeria,  especially for those of us that havent been for a time and half,  what think you all?

Thanks you so much, I hope you dont mind I posted some of these on www.skyscrapercity.com, its all in the Africa forum!!

what looks like a glorified mall to those of us in places where there are malls is the closest to "heaven" that some pple will ever get. I have had pple write me to say they wept (including an inlaw who was visiting from the states) cos they couldn't believe that they would ever see such a thing of beauty, in their neck of the woods, in their lifetime.

Remember, what you see everyday and take for granted is what some pple at, say, Idundu (those who know where that is, raise your hand ), would probably never see in 10 lifetimes if Duke hadn't taken the initiative.

and of course, I reply in "devil's advocate"-tense

@My2cents

Your point is well made and taken.

So where is Idundun?Is it another Tinapa?

I'm raising up my hands for Idundu, it will soon be transformed like Ekorinim with lots of scramble for land there. An aerial view of Idundu can be seen here. http://www.airport-images.com/city_1840449_Idundu

Idundu is a village in what could be termed Calabar Metropolis (outskirts of Calabar).

Why that name of all other names (like Ikot Omin, Urua 8 miles, etc - again, if you know these areas, raise your hand pls ) came to mind, I really can't say

na wah oo, abeg please, is it a mall or wat?, abi hotel pls, i'm too lazy to read from the begining and search

In my opinion, it is an infrastructure that will single-handedly revoke all stupid, negative, stereotypical thoughts that Nigerians have had about the south-eastern part of the country

huh!! and wat does it cater

Da owo@my2cents, stereotypes could still exist in the minds of some hard core tribalists, education or no education. Living in America, I am sure that you are shocked to know that despite the racial progress attained in the country, some racists are still opposed to interracial relationships.

Tinapa fine well well oh.

@ndipe, u seem so bitter about it, i still dunno the reason why theres still opposition, gosh!!! its sad sha and believe me its the best, God bless my dad, lol

Support Ades motion,

I am looking for  more Le meridian Golf Resort  Akwa ibom images  (here are some pictures below).  Attah FINALLY finished it after 8 years in office.   I guess its still better than Ibori/Odili and others.


Trust that there are now plans to capitalize on tinapa.   15 minute boat ride and you land at TINAPA,

"One other high point of the course is the jetty access to the course which, the state governor says, is a 15-minute access to the TINAPA business facility. And definitely it is expected to be one of its highest patrons including the five star Le Meridien Hotel that is the icing of the resort."

I could be wrong for saying this but I would rather Attah had spent his political capital implementing something that "the common man" could have at least been able to enter. How much is it per night at the hotel? How many of our pple have even heard of the word "golf" (I say this seriously. Remember, there are those who can't even put meat in their soup, then you expect them to care about playing golf)? Some things to think about. Between golf and soccer, which is more popular.

At least, even if the "common man" can't affor tinapa prices, they can at least window shop. Either way, someone is paid (be it the taxi that takes you there, or the merchant in the shop, or the petrol station where you bought your fuel to drive you to the place, etc) and the visitor to tinapa at least gets to walk around, take pictures, window shop, etc.

Ndipe, true talk. No matter how idealistic one may want life to be, realistically, we have a loooong way to go. At least sha, if such pple would drop a few naira notes at the place, it's all good. All we want is their money abi? LOL

My2cents, there are many Golf courses, in Naija Ofcourse the common people know what golf is. I lived in Jos, and I went golfing a lot there(There are 2 golf courses in Plateau state), the courses are pratically filled with people of all demography. Nigeria has professional golfers that are moving up in the world, so why shouldn't golf courses be built. It is ignorant to say that Nigerians cannot enjoy golf, or afford it. I really dopubt that the average Nigerian lives in less than a dollar a day, when Nigerians GDP stats do not take into account the Unofficial Market(Which is where 60% of Nigeria's population earn a living).

You should check oout the airport underconstruction. Do not under estimate Akwa Ibom

dblock,

obviously, you must have caught a wiff of the aussie dust to be attacking me like that

Before you reply, barking like a brisbane chihuahua, read my post, word by word, again please. Based on what I wrote, I doubt you qualify as "the common man (or in your case, based on the photo on your profile page, woman )". Who said anything about "living off of $1 a day?". Are you trying to impress me with your knowledge of economics? Though that quote is a topic for another day, I will say that even if we lived off of $1 a day, we sure can buy a lot more, on an item-by-item basis, for N128 than I can buy for $1 (which seems so small when you are trying to put down an entire continent) living in the states. Just a quick example: I used to cut my hair in the states for $12. For that amount in Naira, even with no light, I can pay the barber N100 per hair cut and still hv enough for another 14. Don't get sucked in by oyibo rhetoric. Don't get me going off on this tangent please, cos I will soak you, blue you, wash you, starch you and dry you

Nigerians can sure enjoy golf, but how many realistically can? Do you know why soccer is popular there, compared to golf? It all has to do with equipment. Why build something that a few can enjoy when you could spend the money on something a majority of the masses can enjoy? Again I ask: Per square feet, how many will be able to utilize the hotel per unit time, compared to Tinapa? Another question (directed at another post)? Why boast of being able to transport people by boat to Tinapa when we could have, with all our resources, transported people by boat to a tourist attraction in Akwa Ibom State?

Though I don't have the stats to prove this, but I can guarantee you that if you were to ask a cross-section of the state (by that I mean "the common man" in say, Ikot Obio Itong, and not in the cities) what golf is and if they would like to play it and then ask the same question about soccer (of course, you would say the word "football" ), they would ALL go for soccer.

dblock, hopefully with you, it's not all in a name. I know you are at least 12 hours ahead of New York Time (about 9am currently). Make sure you are totally awake before you post your next response. When it boils down to it, I can bet my next 10 pay checks that I am more patriotic with respect to Akwa Ibom than you are. Feel free to YIM me for proof as I don't want to bore people and distract from the main point of this thread

As far as the airport is concerned, again different topic, but I don't have to go physically see the airport under construction when I can visit the website (which I seriously doubt you knew existed): http://www.akianigeria.com/akwaibom/home/ai_state - we live in the internet age, I don't need to actually be there, just like in the case of Tinapa, to see it.

Again, **read** my post again and answer intellectually and not emotionally. I am impressed with your knowledge of economics sha. As long as you can back up what you have said (especially the 60% part. I am curious as to where you got those figures. Hopefully it's not based on what you read from some oyibo article as I am sure you know, they don't have our best interests at heart), keep it up!

Thanks,

@dblock,

did you get permission of those ladies before using them in your profile?


With Lemeridien in Uyo and easy boat ride to Tinapa; thats a nice combination!

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1936&localeoverwrite=

arike77:

Trust that there are now plans to capitalize on tinapa.   15 minute boat ride and you land at TINAPA,

"One other high point of the course is the jetty access to the course which, the state governor says, is a 15-minute access to the TINAPA business facility. And definitely it is expected to be one of its highest patrons including the five star Le Meridien Hotel that is the icing of the resort."

Its nice that other State Governments are riding on the Tinapa bandwagon to implement their own Tourists policies albeit Akwa Ibom did not make any financial contribution to its development unlike Rivers State Govt that contributed N1billion in equity investment. However, I do not agree with the "SPIN" (or what Sir Winston Churchill would call TERMINLOGICAL INEXACTITUDES) that the proposed jetty access is a 15 minute stride along the River to the Tinapa Resort. Even if the jetty were to be placed by the Calabar-Itu bridge border along the Cross River/Calabar River axis it can never take 15 minutes.Its an intentional lie to create commercial capital from the Tinapa success. To access Tinapa Buiness Resort by sea from Akwa Ibom ,it can only be done from the Oron Boat Jetty (which takes around 1 hour) or from Itu (which would create navigation problems because of the winding route up the river-the same route used by Mary Slessor).

The Ibom Golf project in my view is shabby compared to TINAPA.Gov. Attah should be very ashamed to even mention Ibom Golf project anywhere TINAPA is been talked about.Now check this out!Gov Attah spent something like $50 million(state money) on the ibom golf course and I hear it took 8 years to complete.Gov Duke spent $50million(state money, the rest was private) on TINAPA and it took 3 years to complete.
The ibom project would not have anywhere close to $5 million dollars revenue both directly and indirectly in a year.Employment benefits- say 150 jobs maximum.
TINAPA on the other would bring in over a billion dollars yearly eventually and 15,000 jobs directly. Indirectly, the benefits are limitless.
Point is : Duke used less money to achieve Tinapa!!It show the difference in the quality of both leaders.
Anyways

dblock:

My2cents, there are many Golf courses, in Naija Ofcourse the common people know what golf is. I lived in Jos, and I went golfing a lot there(There are 2 golf courses in Plateau state), the courses are pratically filled with people of all demography.

Hmmm, U don seem 2 know what the average Nigerian is.If a take a survey and ask nigerians on the street how golf is played,99.99% wouldn't know.Truthfully, as "educated and aristocratic" as I feel I am, I don't even know how they count scores in Golf.Don't have the slightest idea what the game is about!!Not 2 talk of the average nigerian!

my2cents:

dblock,



I am impressed with your knowledge of economics sha. As long as you can back up what you have said (especially the 60% part. I am curious as to where you got those figures. Hopefully it's not based on what you read from some oyibo article as I am sure you know, they don't have our best interests at heart),

Hmmm, the real black market figures should be somewhere in the region of70- 80%.I did a thesis on this topic, and I must say, the figure is much higher than 60%.
Check this out, majority of the second hand vehicles coming into nigeria from Europe and USA go in thru Cotonou. Custom never records them, so it never reflects in official records.Thats how many other sectors are.SO U CAN IMAGINE HOW LARGE THE BLACK MARKET IS!

beavers007:


TINAPA on the other would bring in over a billion dollars yearly

Tinapa is a laudable project, no doubt, but a billion dollars yearly ? You sure about this ?

GNature:

Tinapa is a laudable project, no doubt, but a billion dollars yearly ? You sure about this ?

This what Donald Duke said in 2004 during the laying of the foundation stone of Tinapa,

At the project signing ceremony, Duke disclosed that the state was targeting at least N300 billion annually from the economic and commercial activities that would be generated at the Tinapa. He hinged his optimism on the calculation that from the feasibility report, at least 3 million people were expected at the Tinapa annually. If each of those visitors were to carry a minimum of N100,000 for shopping and leisure, which is by all account modest, that would translate into about N300, billion annually inflows into the state.
He said if the multiplier effect of 3.5 per cent was to be applied, then the inflows would run into trillions on naira in the first few years after the scheduled launching of the project in September 2006. From this, he said Cross Riverians would be able to take advantage of the enormous business opportunities that are likely to emerge.

GNature:

Tinapa is a laudable project, no doubt, but a billion dollars yearly ? You sure about this ?

I was just trying to be conservative with figures.Actually, the projection is for 300 billion naira($2.3billion) as Londoncool stated.
Any be aware that those projections are from the very reputable KPMG.
I think with that kind of money, Cross riverians are made 4 ever!!!

beavers007:

I was just trying to be conservative with figures.Actually, the projection is for 300 billion naira($2.3billion) as Londoncool stated.
Any be aware that those projections are from the very reputable KPMG.
I think with that kind of money, Cross riverians are made 4 ever!!!

If it was that easy,the process of development will be a piece of cake.That figure is over-optimistic and in the fullness of time, we will realise that.

This is not the first time we have had such overly optimistic revenue projection for projects in Nigeria.

Aloib, bitter about what? Do you think I have time to follow the progress made by interracial couples in the USA?

@my2cents, da abadie? Your 'brother' Attah is following in the footsteps of Duke by trying to market Uyo as a tourist city. No pain, no gain. However, lets not be quick to judge him for starting this project. True, he should have concentrated on areas that are more beneficial to the common masses, vis a vis, roads, small scale industries, electricity and the rest of them. However, with this golf course now in Uyo, perhaps, it will serve a purpose in the future when every "Okon, Edet and Ekaette" would, in a bid to rub shoulders with others would sign up for golf classes. That way, the knowledge of playing golf would not be esoteric, as it is for most Akwa Ibomites. Lets not fault him, the man, has succeeded in establishing a bridge between the 2 gateways of CRS and AKS, Calabar and Uyo.

Maybe, by then, you could even be the one imparting lessons on golf.

@Londoncool, eti-didie?