₦airaland Forum

OasisX:
I don't know much about security situation in the state, but I will be glad if the state can facilitate security architecture like RRS being financed with dedicated trust fund.

It works in Lagos, thus I strongly believe it can work in Akwa Ibom too. You can only draw Investors when they are confident their businesses, lives and properties are secured.

The security is guaranteed, trust me. There's a reason Akwa Ibom has been topping the list of safest states in Nigeria since Akpabio's time. Security is one of the areas even opposition parties begrudgingly praise Gov. Udom for.
He combines funding the Police, Navy, and Army. Augmented with paid neighbourhood watchpersons who are lightly armed at night.

But I agree that the RRS is something to emulate even though I'm skeptical about what a state policing apparatus under full control of a governor would seem like. I don't trust governors yet with that much control.
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- Still the only Niger-Delta state militancy isn't condoned.
- Barely any kidnappings and any of such is nipped right away.
- Cultism officially banned and suspected or named ones expunged from the state executive council or with truncated careers.
- Police brutality is very low too.
- There's a reason why expatriates (white especially) are more of a common sight on the streets of Akwa Ibom (Uyo, Eket, Ibeno, and Ikot Abasi have a very sizeable white population) than in any other place, asides Lagos and Abuja - security and peace.


Here's to top in all: My LGA is the safest in the state which would make it the safest LGA in Nigeria, I dare add. Negligible violent crimes. Friendliest host community. Yes, I'm pitching the last part (factual though) so you and yours can come invest.

obainojazz:
No Rivers…. Insecurity and uncertainty?

Kizz Daniel - "Cough".

OasisX:
Akwa Ibom is doing well and I am really happy for the State. Hope incoming Governor won't slack, rather keep up with the trend.

He would see hell like the incumbent sees whenever he 'slacks'.

I hope he focuses more on investments 'cause the last three focused more, understandably, on infrastructure (Attah and Akpabio particularly). He's already said it'd be private-sector-driven as a private investor himself so let's see.

ChatGPT's OpenAI CEO would be in Lagos soon. That'd be investment soon. That'd surely be investment which would boost the tech ecosystem in Lagos like what Mark Zuckerburg and the Facebook team's visit to Lagos in 2016 did for the tech industry.

We want some of that too in Akwa Ibom. You know, specific visits. CAF came too. But I'd have to admit Lagos is currently most primed for such massive tech investments from the Lagos Angels Network (LAN) juggernaut which practically has been driving tech in Nigeria and West Africa to more.

Plus the recent $618 million AfDB tech startup fund for Nigerian (tech) startups signed 3 weeks ago. Lagos is most primed for it and I'm hoping the rest of us tinker with our plans to attract more of such investments.

The state government here is proposing Google or Microsoft Hub with tax breaks and dedicated power supply. I hope it works.

Theflint1:
Lol, this can't be real, a state receiving FDI of $40k?

Are these the top 10 or what, what did number 36 receive, $500?😁.

Asides the top 10, others got zero.

I highlighted my main concern which is my place. From what I'm hearing (and have seen), it'd increase. I confirmed a new oil company and some petrochemical plants.

ShaqFu:
so you're saying there's no electricity in Akwa Ibom?

Our electricity supply is more than most states. My own LGA used to get 24/7 electricity supply from 2006 to 2020 (if you doubt, find out which LGA is reputed for this and there's a specific reason we are the exception) until January 2021 when it dropped to between 14 to 16 hours daily.

I meant, electricity would be guaranteed soon. We already produce 170MW from Ibom Power Company but have to feed it to the national grid, getting piecemeals of ~55MW. But with states now given right to distribute electricity and us increasing our generating capacity to 768 MW in 2022, electricity would be guaranteed. Constant electricity.

obi4eze:
Yea. These are actually the reality in other climes. VC is fast losing its appeal because of these challenges. Having worked in one of the VC-funded companies in Nigeria, I can say that Nigeria may be a bit of a peculiar case because of the inherent corruption in the leadership of some of these companies.
Crowdfunding may be a better alternative but it is difficult to get people to buy into a startup, especially when the prospects are not publicly known.

If you google tech startup funding now on Google, you'd be bombarded with an ad from a VC company which gives $50,000 in exchange for 10% equity of your company.

Yes, man - 10%. It doesn't matter whether it's a robotic startup.

List of 10 States which Attracted Foreign Direct Investments in 2022:

1. Lagos - $3.61 billion

2. Abuja (FCT) - $1.63billion

3. Akwa Ibom - $42.52 million

4. Anambra - $36.97 million

5. Oyo - $3 million

6. Kogi - $2 million

7. Katsina - $700,000

8. Ekiti -$510,000

9. Ondo - $200,000

10. Plateau - $40,000

https://www.thecable.ng/rivers-kano-abia-27-states-attracted-zero-foreign-investments-in-2022/amp

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More interesting for me is, 1/3 of the FDI in Akwa Ibom State are in my LGA as I confirmed recently.
More are welcomed.


Invest in Akwa Ibom, please. Peace, security, and infrastructure (and soon enough, electricity) are guaranteed.

wolesmile:
Everything na #Challenge competition for Nigeria.

No wonder the politicians don't take us serious.

Still surprised I haven't seen #thankyoudaddy and #yesdaddy challenge.

They'd move on in 3 weeks at most. Twitter Nigeria users have the shortest attention span on the internet. They'd jump on just about anything for the "cruise" value and fleeting satisfaction of 'likes' and comments.

Not like I even follow any of them. On Twitter, if it isn't the tech and venture capital niche posts or discussions, I'd likely skip it.

y3mi:
You can say that again.
Your response is quite similar to what I was stating to Pocohantas Here

Most fintechs are essentially just paytechs. Financial technology goes beyond payments systems. The market is almost oversaturated as the customer base already have enough options to choose from.

The reason most fintechs focus on just paytechs is they want to raise VC quickly. Paytechs have higher transaction volumes which you can use as POC then added to a pitch, investors would open their purses in a shot while.

See Okra.ng ? It's barely known except by entrepreneurial developers but what's it's doing is core fintech. There's more but the VC ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa is dominated by the early starters who are just paytechs - founders of Flutterwave, PayStack etc.

y3mi:
Many a times I’ve ponder - What’s really the catch to all the VCs and Angel Investors. Thanks for underlining what should be of concerns to the founders with potential business idea and model with innovative core, can we have a thread where we can discuss this more at length ?

Maybe. But I had a lengthy and extensive discussion with other programmers and/or tech founders about it in February on this thread:https://www.nairaland.com/7567838/what-happened-andela-nigeria#120922699
.

4 pages of it all.

airmark:
So, Disst.roy may be right.

It is worse than I have described so far. That's why I have challenged the Rivers violence defenders here with specific hotspots, street corners, and places.

It is violent and if anyone tells you otherwise, he dislikes you and wants you caught unawares. Like the Ballz guys bragged about, you'd be "achieved" if you're unsuspecting.

You'd even get mugged in Port Harcourt Pleasure Park which is supposed to be the safest part of the state.

Are the people fun-loving? Yes. But when that fragile calm gets stirred or disturbed, there's more likelihood of there being bloodletting than not. The likelihood of that increases as you move away from the center of the state capital.

Emotional responses won't stop me from calling out the gang culture in Rivers as I have always done on other platforms with my full names like this one 3 months ago.

Likable, fun residents. Socioeconomically viable in certain parts. But on the note I've been harping on, it scores low. Very low.

There's a reason why the Amnesty regardless, militancy still thrives in Rivers State. It's a culture.

Amoto94 claims Kogi is safer than Rivers State just because I slate the later for its infamous gang culture.

Herdsmen killings, kidnappings, break down of law and order... Kogi? It begins with getting the right governor, but the people hail the thug as "White Lion".

I've never been robbed or arrested. Luckily never been in that situation. I only go to specific places in Rivers and once I am done, I leave. On a personal note, I can't relate. I swear on everything sacred that I haven't been.

But thanks for proving my point. You stated robbing someone is "achieving" the person. Only in Rivers would someone brag about robbing shamelessly. Not forgetting you just giving a caveat that going out with valuables in Rivers State is unadvisable.

You proved my point for me. Robbery, gang culture, and crudity are the order of the day. And you are steeped in it. Point made. Now others have taken note of your unwitting caveat about life in Rivers State.

When you're done, you'd still get robbed at Oil Mill this evening and get accosted by a teenage cultist who's got 4 jailbirds lurking in the shadows at Choba. Oh! You'd have to change your outfit before venturing into Etche and Abonemma.

It's only surprising for those who don't know gangsterism is THE culture in Rivers. I've even bet a considerable number of you defending it are street gang members yourself. You can't swear on everything sacred that you aren't.

Until you rebrand yourselves as more than uncivilized brutes who'd celebrate highhandedness and expunge gang lingua from your everyday conversation, those of us in the know would always call you by what you are and be weary of you.

It is what it is.

See? These were the people arguing against my position about Rivers being a relatively violent state just days ago.

Mention any other state in the South such complete disregard for the law happens.

I love Rivers. It succeeding works in my favour, but it's a violent state. The gang culture is the prevalent culture. Argue all you will, but it is what it is.

Pmedia7787:
I saw you make a post on payday that just got funding,
Wanted to ask if you have know any virtual dollar account or euro virtual account provider such as the one used by grey and payday

Why not try Flutterwave, PayStack or Wema? I do know Flutterwave has got exchange rates and it's swift. Many foreign organisations use it too.

If you're actively seeking a technical co-founder on Nairaland of all places, then it's proof you're either naive or unserious.

Get on Y Combinator, the Startup School particularly. You'd meet willing ones then filter your search.

Or relate with developers on Facebook.

Pmedia7787, I can't access my Nairaland mail. What's it?

Atiku and Okowa's audio was released but you doubted it right on this thread and even called it fake news before Atiku made any comment about it.

https://www.nairaland.com/7186774/epl-chatroom-all-discussions/1575#121195740

https://www.nairaland.com/post/121186486

Okowa has made no official comment about it till date. I don't think he has.

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But the same set of people believe it's Peter Obi and have stuck to their guns from the very beginning before any reaction from the LP or its associates, yet gave Atiku the benefit of doubt. Peter Obi has made no official comment but they believe it.

See the inconsistency?
Ironically, Atiku and Okowa's audio is criminal and the other recording is not.

Why there's an obvious bias in both scenarios against Obi is a good a guess of yours as it is of mine.

This is good. I'm happy for them. But the real question for those of us with interests in tech VC is, at what equity are these funding rounds converted to?

Y Combinator exchanges $500,000 (+ addons) for 7% equity.
They raised $1.5 million earlier on. Now they raised $3 million.

How much equity have they let go? With that many rounds ( which is still low-bar) and VCs, what's the controlling stake for the founders?

Now the last part is what worries me. if only tech bootstrapping were easy...

BlueRayDick:
Maybe Dis.stroy or Nihil.istjnr can help tell them how densely populated those areas are. Maybe they will appreciate what we are saying

They should be thankful their centres weren't redirected to Igbo-Ora. Those are remote places JAMB sends unlucky registrants from densely-populated areas in Lagos and the outskirts of Lagos like Otta.

Amoto94:
Data says otherwise Rivers in most crime indices tops Kogi State. Go and verify

Bring the data here. Ambiguous claims do not pass off as facts when making such specific comparisons.

It's common knowledge that the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene road is arguably the most expensive route to travel in Nigeria. Yep! I mean, if you factor in the #20 million ransom per road user.

For all of the vices one can ascribe to Rivers State, accessing it via the federal roads connecting Imo, Abia, and Akwa Ibom, you'd never be kidnapped. Well, maybe robbed a few times when security is lax (mostly at night or midday), but that's it.

Amoto94:
If it is a lie then it was the person who said so that lie. No way Rivers is safer than Kogi (even though Kogi means river in Hausa).

Rivers is safer than Kogi, trust me. Those boys would rob but won't kidnap. The kidnappings in Rivers are comparatively low compared to other places, safe for Akwa Ibom and SOME SW states.

Kogi is the headquarters of highway kidnappings. So bad, you'd wish you were just robbed and let off. But, no, it's ransom time. That's not the case in Rivers for all of the descriptions I have given of it.

What s unarguable is Rivers' gang culture where every 3 of 5 teenage boys are already using gang slangs and/or posturing as gangsters. This is the part the Rivers defenders do not want to accept even though it's starring them hard in the face.

Amoto94:
From what I heard from friends, colleague, coursemates and family members who lived in or from Rivers they all said that the state is largely violent; a special case was made about Ogoniland were with 2000naira you can have someone assassinated by a thug. Maybe things might have changed now but recent events suggest otherwise

This is a lie. Some Ogoni boys would cordone off the Port Harcourt - Akwa Ibom highway to rob but they aren't career assassins.

Militancy, thuggery, and illegal oil refineries? Yes. Cheap assassins? No. Outright lie.

And Rivers is way safer than Kogi where you reside. I only termed it violent in comparison to many Southern states.

The tribal rhetorics in Lagos State asides, if election violence were Kim Kardashian, Rivers State is Ray J - they hit it first.
Lagos is fighting for sloppy seconds.

kad199:
Baba no dey yarn dust u know u can't. Infact am willing to escort u make we bet am. Which side u dey?

There are comments which are better ignored to avoid setting oneself up for doom.

He mentioned he lives in Obio Akpor LGA. That's a good start. Let him begin his nonchalant braggadocio from the beginning of Elelenwo road - Akpajo, Odani, Railway, then Oil Mill. Say from 5PM on a weekend when he'd be noticed more. Not in a vehicle. On foot. You know, like a lazy stroll. Heck! He should pause at Odani Primary School.

This is a public forum so I'd leave it at that.

kad199:
Here in Ahoda person no dey dey scared again if u hear gunshots na normal thing.

I made this comment almost 3 hours ago and the Justice League of Rivers State wanted my head on a platter.

A more permanent resident of Ahoada West just corroborated my stance.

DissTroy:
Rivers is so violent, a gunshot in the air wouldn't scare the residents. Hard as nails. Loud bang like "kpos!!!" and in two minutes, people are moving around like nothing is happened. In the creeks, kids would tell you what gun type makes a particular sound.

And safety or peacefulness is a relative term in the Nigerian context.

Rivers is RELATIVELY safe and peaceful when compared to many Northern states (NE particularly). I agree.

It also has a prevalent gang culture. Even the permanent residents can't deny this. Pray tell, where has (street) gang culture never been proportional to violence? None. The rise of gangs and the prevalance nonetheless follows a trajectory of violence.

We've come to accept anything but the optimum as peace and safety.
It's the same way some Nigerians defend our leaders when the foreign media term them corrupt despots. We accuse them of prejudice as against focusing on the issue.

Let the issue of 'agbero' in Lagos come up again, then watch these same defensive folks come out with their lexical pitchforks.

The only way we are going to get better is tell ourselves the truth.

obainojazz:
One Rivers guy I met back then said they be militants lol…. Rivers, Delta and Edo are be careful areas… You can lose your life wearing the wrong clothing combination.

People are forgetting everyday obtaining going on there… where they corner you and take your phone

Many youths don belong and if you’re a good boy…. You might not notice what’s happening in your city

Wike isn't a one-off. Unless something is done about the pervasive culture, the system would continue to offer up literate thugs like Wike as leaders.

One of the guys here mentioned Ahoada West in Rivers is where opposition go to die. He was spot on.
Please confirm: Over the months on this thread, I mentioned declaring you are a Tinubu or Atiku supporter at Oil Mill Junction in Obio Akpor, Rivers would get you maimed. I repeated it close to 8 times. I meant it too.

Rivers State has a culture of violence. It hurts, I know, because it's unfair to the civil ones, many whom I know, but it's the truth regardless.

For those of us in the know on this thread, there are things I wouldn't even reveal. It's more sordid than I'd ever paint.
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Let's test this theory:

For those of us from states close to Rivers like Akwa Ibom, Imo, Abia etc who used to visit our hometowns during festive periods, when you hear slangs like "Abobo, jazz in dia!" by a group of unruly young men, where do you immediately assume they reside?

Rivers State (Port Harcourt and other creek areas)! And before the festivities are over, as certain as the Earth's revolution, they'd be involved in a fracas.

Why were/are the Lagos and Abuja-residing guys more comported? Your guess is as good as mine.

They can play the ostrich but facts are facts.

In 2010, GEJ began the reconstruction of the Rivers - Akwa Ibom highway (the Eleme - Ikot Abasi - Eket highway).
Akpabio did everything to aid it so the Akwa Ibom part of the road was completed in less than 2 years.

Ogoni youths in Rivers State frustrated the company, kidnapping workers and robbing anything which breathes while hounding the company.

The result? The Akwa Ibom part of the road is smooth and a joy to drive on but the Rivers part is more like a death trap as you approach Rivers State. And when you get to Trailer Park in Rivers? That's Hell HQ!

Just before the presidential elections weeks ago, Ogoni youths struck again, cordoning off the road to rob unabated and none has been brought to book. Try denying this.

Yeah, Rivers State is safe.

See? This is probably the reason Nigeria isn't developing at the pace it should.
We have vices which should be rooted out but would defend it needlessly even when we are adversely affected.

The people who have spent months and weeks here for hours daily going on about the 'agbero' issue in Lagos suddenly do not have time to discuss the culture of violence in Rivers State. All of a sudden 'agbero' is a normal thing too. Yeah right!

Yes, I live in Rivers State partly. I don't need to spend 31 days monthly to qualify as one who resides in the state. And it's a very violent one. If I could, I'd stay away from the state entirely, necessity demands I have to spend time in the place.
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I also noticed how you all skipped the part I mentioned of Ogoni youths blocking the high way in broad daylight to rob despite military and paramilitary checkpoints numbering up to 17 from Akpajo to Oruk Anam. Everyone is suddenly blind to that. Robbing and maiming their victims unchallenged.

Ballzproblemm:
at least include time frame ,cause I haven't heard of such 🤔 cause I have a friend there.

Guy nothing they happen here ,no Fulani herdsmen,no gunmen,no nothing.

You claim you live in PH City and know the city well. Your face isn't known but you've refused to mention the area. How do I trust your judgement? I'm the one who has been mentioning specific violent hotspots in PHC and particular reoccurent scenarios.

Your friend stays at Slaughter? Ask him to tell you the activities which take place there, just before you get to where the sandblasters work by the river. Let's begin there.

chrisooblog:
I know for a fact someone in my church who was kidnapped in PH two years back.

However if the guys that stay there say such things are isolated incidents I differ to their extensive knowledge of the place.

These people are playing down on it. The issue is Rivers State. They began by insisting Rivers is safe then abandoned the narrative to focus on Port Harcourt which is a small part of the state. No, I spend considerable time in Port Harcourt every other month as a necessity.

There's a reason I have been insistent on mentioning specific streets and areas even in Port Harcourt which are violent hotspots.

Ask them to swear on anything sacred that at least 3 violent killings haven't happened in say, Elelenwo by Railway line or Slaughter this year alone in Obio Akpor which is a part of PHC. They can't and that's just a small part of the city.