PhysicsQED:

So is Bayelsa richer than Oyo and Enugu? 

This is why we can't take lower poverty level to mean "richness" although it obviously correlates with "richness" in the grand scheme of things.

There are few wealthy Nigerians (0.000000000001 % of the pop ). But there are many not so poor Nigerians (some 30-40 % or more of the pop). Herein lies the power of Bayelsa, Anambra and Abia. Many Bayelsans I know have been financially empowered since 1998 when Niger Delta emancipation began,

Thus, I completely agree that but for oil money Bayelsa will likely be the poorest in the south. Edos, like Igbos and Yorubas are hard working people and can stand their own any day.

[size=24pt]Where again is the Edo line thread[/size]??

The way Edo line was ran can only be comparable with the best in the organized world,infact better but because politicians want to appease their collaborating supporters and give them opportunities to loot the system,they appoint useless board of directors that are not needed who in turn will suck the company funds dry like vacuum cleaners and leave the system more in a backward slide into oblivion.

It is the way nigeria is going,stripped of all moral ethics and responsibilities.

Edo line was like EkeneDilichukwu line,Edegbe line.Organized movements and logistics,in line with time.

Lovely how this post about Edo line turned into an intelligent discussion on the place of Edo state in Nigeria courtesy of PhysicsQED [/b]and [b]igbobuigbo.
Thanks for the quality of your arguments.

Anyways you guys asked that I provide facts to substantiate my claims. I usually don't like doing that on NL, but this time I'll do it nonetheless one-by-one with links and diagrams.

Point 1- √ Benin Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the country after Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Here is a link to butress my point.
http://www.faannigeria.org/downloads/statistics/2009-Annual-Passenger-Traffic.pdf
As at 2009, Warri and Calabar were the 4th and 5th busiest airports. Benin was 6th. Benin had a growth rate of 32% while Calabar had 11%. With that, by 2010, benin definitely surpassed Calabar. As for Warri, many of the flights are charter flights by oil companies, so if you count commercial flights only, Benin would be placed as the 4th busiest airport in 2010. As for Enugu Airport, it is closed down for 2010.

Point 2- √ Benin City has the highest number of Bank branches after Lagos and Port Harcourt.
This is correct minus the fact that I omitted Abuja. Abuja actually has more branches. No other city has more bank branches than Benin. Mind you I stated Benin city and not Edo state. You can check it yourself by visiting websites of Banks or better still use the document attached below.

Point 3-√ Edo State produces one of the highest number of graduates in the country.
This is not debatable. I don't think I need to provide proof as there are many references to this fact even here on Nairaland. The states with the largest number of graduates are Imo, Edo, Delta and Ogun.

Point 4-√ Edo State produces the highest number of doctors in the country.
Edo state is the only state with 3 medical schools in the country- UNIBEN, Ambrose Alli and Igbinedion. The only oither state with 2 medical schools is Lagos- UNILAG and LASU. Everyother State in the Country that has a Medical school has just one. Infact many states have none.
Here is a link: http://www.mdcnigeria.org/MedSchools.htm

Point 5-√ Edo state has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the country.
From available data, Edo State is the 7th richest state in the country by GDP(PPP).
Here is link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nigerian_states_by_GDP

Point 6- √ There are 7 universities in Edo state. xxxx
5 accredited and a host of others in the works.
UNIBEN,Ambrose Alli, Igbinedion, Benson Idahosa, Wellspring University.

Point 7-√ Edo state has the second highest inflow of foreign remittances after Lagos state.

This is very accurate and and there's been a lot of research on this issue and it is a known fact that what drives the Benin economy is the inflow of foreign remitances.
Here is an excerpt from a research conducted by a rated international body.
Current housing finance requires a relationship based on trust and intergrity between the remmitance sender and the person that manages the process. Typically , the sender sends money to a friend or relative who hires a local contractor. The recipient uses the money to finance the construction and sends the sender pictures of milestones, that is, virtual updates of the progress of the construction. Benin City has the largest concentration of property development approximately 15-20% in Nigeria through remittances that originate mainly from Italy.
To see the complete document go to pages 43 on this link
[url]http://books.google.com.ng/books?id=1fy8ZK7K3ggC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=money+remittances+benin+city+largest&source=bl&ots=AuFK9-qdp8&sig=DNOZqDCZCS2W8iO8ZpM8J7f_-SI&hl=en&ei=Qc7wTK2wMIbRhAeZ6_CtDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=money%20remittances%20benin%20city%20largest&f=false[/url]

Point 7- √ The best athletes, footballers and sportspersons in the country are from Edo and Delta state.
Without having to dwell on this too much let me leave you with a poser. How come all our National soccer coaches are from Edo state.
Shaibu Amodu, Samson Siasia, Augustine Eguavon.
Or ask yourself why Delta and Edo state are always the consistent winners in National Sports Festival for over a decade now.

^^^^

Does Ogun produce more graduates than Anambra or Abia? JAMB records does not say so. To begin with where did you get that claim from because there is no record of who graduates from universities. What is easily available is who gets admitted in which case Anambra is ahead of Edo.

Is Samson Siasia from Edo/Delta? I thought Bayelsa?
Was Christian Chukwu not a former coach? Is he from Edo/Delta? How come Bendel Insurance is nowhere compared to Enyimba or Heartland football clubs, two of the best in Nigeria local leagues?

And why do you comfortably group EDO/Delta and not Anambra/Enugu or Oyo/Osun?

In your map showing remittances, notice that it is only for the UK (just 10 % of remittances), and only one arrow points at Benin city while at least 4 arrows terminate in the East. Nowhere in your google book was I able to read any statement about Benin receiving more of the remittances. The book went on to say Bennin city has the highest concentration  of property development from remittances mainly from Italy. However remittances from Italy is presumably listed among others (with only about 20 % of the overall remittances). How many Edos are abroad compared to Anambrarians, Imo[b]ians[/b] and Abians? It does appear that Edos use most of their own remmitances for housing more than other groups. However, that does not mean they make more remittances. The article is clear that more Igbos and Yorubas live in the UK than Edo and Ijaw and that should mean more remittances too. Actually according to your book, the main recipients of remittances are based primarily in the SE and SW (as the arrows indicated too). Can you comment further on this? Thanks.

@PapaBrowne
Amazing that much of al the info. you posted about Edo is correct except for the one about Sia1 who is actually from Bayelsa State. My word, Edo State is really a Giant killer! It's amazing when one looks at the all the post secondary institutions in the Edo state and only a very few states can boast of having such. Unfortnately, the state has been mismanaged for a very long time. Looking strategically to Edo state, I smell it as one of those state that will use the power force of Education to transform her economy!

How many of you guys know that the owner of Arik Air is actually from Edo State? Hmmm it also strike me hard that until recently,most of the Nigerian trained pilots were of Edo origin! The state Edo truly should have been named the GATEWAY state and not OGUN as Edo is the true link between the WEST AND MIDDLE BELT, WEST AND EAST, SOUTH EAST AND THE WEST AND NORTH TO AN EXTENT!

Those asking how many industres are in Edo state, it might surprise you that Edo has far more small to medium industeries than some of the other "loud mouth" states. Just try and research some data on Edo North where most of the minerals are and Edo South where most of the forestery related activities are located, then Edo-Central where most f the Agric feeds are located.

The sadthing about Edo state is the one sided development of the state! Edo South has a far larger proportion of the development compared to to Edo North and Edo Central.

Omo_Tier1:

@PapaBrowne
Amazing that much of al the info. you posted about Edo is correct except for the one about Sia1 who is actually from Bayelsa State. My word, Edo State is really a Giant killer! It's amazing when one looks at the all the post secondary institutions in the Edo state and only a very few states can boast of having such. Unfortnately, the state has been mismanaged for a very long time. Looking strategically to Edo state, I smell it as one of those state that will use the power force of Education to transform her economy!

How many of you guys know that the owner of Arik Air is actually from Edo State? Hmmm it also strike me hard that until recently,most of the Nigerian trained pilots were of Edo origin! The state Edo truly should have been named the GATEWAY state and not OGUN as Edo is the true link between the WEST AND MIDDLE BELT, WEST AND EAST, SOUTH EAST AND THE WEST AND NORTH TO AN EXTENT!

Those asking how many industres are in Edo state, it might surprise you that Edo has far more small to medium industeries than some of the other "loud mouth" states. Just try and research some data on Edo North where most of the minerals are and Edo South where most of the forestery related activities are located, then Edo-Central where most f the Agric feeds are located.

The sadthing about Edo state is the one sided development of the state! Edo South has a far larger proportion of the development compared to to Edo North and Edo Central.

Arumemen of Arik is only fronting. The real owner of Arik is Peter Odili from River state. And, why not make life easy for us all by posting the data on SMEs?

I agree that Edo is a giant in its own right, but papabrowne overstated things. A TRUE giant will be first in ranking not 3rd, 4th or even 7th

igbobuigbo:

There are few wealthy Nigerians (0.000000000001 % of the pop ). But there are many not so poor Nigerians (some 30-40 % or more of the pop). Herein lies the power of Bayelsa, Anambra and Abia. Many Bayelsans I know have been financially empowered since 1998 when Niger Delta emancipation began,

Thus, I completely agree that but for oil money Bayelsa will likely be the poorest in the south. Edos, like Igbos and Yorubas are hard working people and can stand their own any day.

I still believe there are more "not so poor" Nigerians from Edo state than from Bayelsa. A greater proportion of them might be abroad (there are generally less Ijaws than Edo abroad from my experience (U.S. and U.K., though I don't know about other European countries)) than people from Bayelsa, so that might be partly responsible for it.

As for Bayelsa, with good governance they can turn around. I don't think they will necessarily be the poorest in the south without oil money, there are many hard working Ijaws it's just that there are more of them living a rural lifestyle than other groups

igbobuigbo:

Arumemen of Arik is only fronting.

Yeah, but they chose a pretty impressive front man (the CEO, not the owner) :

http://www.eturbonews.com/13659/new-group-chief-executive-arik-air

Hence with his concurrent roles, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide will operate as the group chief executive officer of both Arik Air Ltd. (Nigeria) and Arik International. Dr Arumemi-Ikhide’s confirmation follows the recent secondments of Mr. Jason Holt, managing director; Mr. Kevin Dudley, chief operation officer; and Mr. John Roijen, chief financial officer to Arik Air Limited (Nigeria).

Announcing the new appointment in Lagos, the chairman of Arik Air Limited, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide said: “Dr Michael Arumemi-Ikhide is a highly-educated, industrious, and dynamic professional who has made significant contributions to the growth of the airline from embryonic conception to its present-day reality. He has also been responsible for conceiving, rolling out, and developing Arik Air’s international arm and marshaling our successful international expansion. I am delighted to have him seconded to lead the senior management team (comprised of Mr. Jason Holt, managing director; Mr. Chris Ndulue, deputy managing director; Mr. Kevin Dudley, chief operating officer; Mr. John Roijen, chief financial officer; and Mr. Suraj Sundaram, chief commercial officer) and the Arik Air organization through its next growth phase.”

Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide holds a doctorate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Edinburgh, UK. As well as one of the founding board directors of Arik Air, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide is also a member of the Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) UK and a member of the Aviation Club UK.

As for Arik Air, Odili chose to go Edo when setting up his crooked airline. I wonder why, if Edo is not as capable as OmoTier1 is insinuating, he went there of all places (or maybe the engineers in Port Harcourt are too principled to work with somebody like Odili? ):

http://www.naijarules.com/vb/news-current-affairs-politics/20009-how-peter-odili-looted-rivers-state-treasury-set-up-arik-air.html

Saharareporters commenced investigations on the Rivers State governor soon as we received hint that governor Peter Odili owns a new start up airline known as “ARIK AIR” in conjunction with President Obasanjo. Saharareporters has since discovered that the questionable payment of the sum of N2 billion to a little known consultant company Rockson Engineering Company Limited [/b]with CAC registration number (RC 380929). [b]ROCKSON ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED, which was registered on 16th May 2000 to two directors namely Mr. J.I.A Aremeni-Ikhide and Mrs. Mary F. Arumeni-Ikhide as directors to the company, started the ARIK airline idea. The company’s address was given as 27 Imadiyi Street off Etete Road, Benin City even though the physical operational location of ROCKSON is 36 Trans Amadi Industrial Layouts, Port Harcourt. The company indicated in its bank account file mandate that it is connected to Ojemai Farms Limited. The company maintains two bank accounts, titled Rockson 1 (0130215327600) &2 (0130215431600). Only bank statements related to ROCKSON 1 account was available, the records and bank statements of ROCKSON 2 account was missing from the computer systems of UBA Plc Olu Obasanjo 2 branch, Port Harcourt.

However, ROCKSON account 1 has a single signatory, Mr. J.I.A Arumemi-Johnson, the public face of ARIK Airline (family sources told us “ARIK” derives from the combination of “Ar-umemi and Ik-hide), a new start up airline in Nigeria that recently bought two brand new Canadian Regional Jets (CRJ) according the website orders made available to Saharareporters and now has almost unlimited routes available to it after sudden aviation accidents in Nigeria gave the Obasanjo government a leeway to suspend many local airline operators. It is also instructive to note that ARIK Air was already allocated international routes even when it has yet to procure aircrafts to fly such routes. Saharareporters in past editions reported that President Obasanjo and Dr. Peter Odili owned ARIK Airline.

Mr. Arumemi –Johnson’s ROCKSON also operates an account with Citibank, Port Harcourt.
In a release letter dated November 21 2000, Dr. Peter Odili of Rivers State caused the bank to deposit the sum of N2 billion into the accounts of ROCKSON Engineering barely six months after ROCKSON was incorporated. Shortly afterwards Mr. Arumemi –Johnson also issued two bank drafts (The bank was then Continental Trust) the first one for N75 million to Zerok Nigeria and another to Mr. Arumemi-Johnson for N60 million. In another letter dated April 12th 2001, the River State Government /Ministry of Finance, the bank was instructed to credit ROCKSON Engineering Company Ltd. The sum of N1.5 billion and an open letter of credit (LC) in favor of ROCKSON Engineering Company were also issued. The Letter of Credit was issued for the procurement of Gas Turbine engines equipments for Rivers State Power projects scattered around the state. The manager’s cheques register indicates that ROCKSON Engineering Ltd. issued a lot of drafts in its name especially moving funds to its numerous bank accounts and individuals. Examples of such transactions includes three drafts issued on March 23 2003, February 28 2003,and April 4th 2003 for N105 million, N7.5 million and N95 million respectively.

From that Manager’s Cheques register available to Saharareporters ROCKSON account number 2 (0130215431600) churned out more transactions within a very short time. For instance in the month of December 2001 cheques of various sums were issued to the following entities: N10 million to ROCKSON Engineering Ltd, N19 million in favor of ONUNDA Estate Development Nigeria and N50 million to REFERENCE TERMS Ltd for N50 million. Also in February 2002, the account issued two bank drafts in favor Ruxy International Ltd for N28 million.

http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/nvnewsp/38565/1/pagenum/our-domestic-operators-are-dying-slowly-arumemi-ik.html#continue



So basically, Peter Odili went and supplied the money (with govt. funds even) and is probably the main owner, but the guy actually running it and who even had the idea of starting it up is a mechanical engineer named Joseph Akinola Arumemi-Ikhide (lol @ this guy calling himself "Sir," the guy was never knighted. Nigerians love titles too much. Why would you let someone call you Sir, knowing good and well you never got the title.) So without Ikhide going to Odili for funds there wouldn't even be an Arik air (not necessarily a bad thing, because the shadiness of its financial sources and government support stops it from being a success story and from being something Nigerians can point to with pride).

according to the transport minister in Edo state.. I heard edo line transport company will be up and running soon.. very impress with this good news