₦airaland Forum

A video

http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Nigeria/blog-625541.html

Lagos – About 1,000 commuters on Friday had a ride in the Lagos-Ilorin Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS).

The train was filled to capacity, as some of the passengers, who could not get seats, stood all the way.

The Lagos District Superintendent of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Samuel Elumole, said that two additional coaches were added to the seven coaches, to accommodate the intending travellers.

Elumole said that the NRC did not expect a huge turnout of passengers on Saturday because there was a free train ride paid for by the Osun government, on Thursday.

“When we saw the crowd, we had to make arrangement to add two coaches to the seven scheduled for the journey’’, he said.

The commuters, who spoke, said that they had to travel by train because it was cheaper and safer.

A civil servant and an Osogbo indigene, Mr Oluwasegun Ariyo, also phrased that he was not aware of the free ride offered by his state government.

Ariyo commended the effort of the Lagos District of the NRC for adding two coaches, saying that many commuters would have returned home disappointed and might not be able to make the journey again because of the hike in bus fare.

Mrs Oluwadunmininu Ashaye, a mother of four children travelling to Ibadan, said that she was always of afraid travelling by road during festive periods, as many accidents are recorded then.

“I cannot take the risk of travelling by road with all my children at this period because it is unsafe and will even cost me more.

“I am paying less than N1,000 for this trip while if it were by bus, a trip from Lagos to Ibadan would cost N800 per passenger and lapping may not be allowed’’, Ashaye said.

A trip by train from Lagos to Abeokuta costs N180, as against N800 by bus, while Ibadan by train is N340, as against N800 by bus and N1,500 in car.

Also a journey from Lagos to Oshogbo by train costs N510 ,while Offa costs N600 and Ilorin costs N680. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/1000-commuters-move-by-train-to-ilorin/

Ogbonaikenna: One thing i know for sure is that the SS is solidly behind gef. If anything should happen to his presidency, the creek boys will react violently and possibly declare independence. If that happens, the SE will follow suit, and there will be war between SS, SE vs the rest of nigeria.

smh!

Musiwa o! *laugh wan kill me*. Nairaland and comedy!

afam4eva: Lagos, despite having the smallest land mass in the federation gets one of the highest federal allocation even ahead of some NDDC states.

That is because of the population, we (Nigerians) are 18 million in Lagos and will be 25 million in 3 years time. The state deserves it! I still remember passing through marina after working hours, you can literally be floating on the human tsunami!

afam4eva: technically or indirectly it does. You see how we've been shouting about second Niger bridge, international airport status and the dredging of river niger for years yet nothing has happened.

Bros Afam, it does not. For how long, afam?! For how long are we going to have this mentality?! Even OBJ, if memory serves me right, did not repair the road that connects Lagos to Ogun (can't remember the name of the road). After 3 years, we shall see what GEJ has done for us.

Time is the most precious valuable, if we want change, it is now! As I said, MOST NIGERIANS, want a Fashola, Amechi, Chime, Rochas. Even the so-called "North". Who no like better thing?

This is not the time for us to look for tribal or regional Leaders. Igbo presidency does not equate to SE development, infact, the so-called president might not do anything because of the fear of being labelled a tribal leader.

What has OBJ done for the SW? From political killings to yahoo-yahoo
What has the North done for their citizens? Boko haram to extreme poverty!

The NC/MB who have ruled more than ANYOTHER REGION, is their region now Dubai? Is Kogi not one of the states that supply Bokoharam members?!

Currently, GEJ a SS, what has he done for the SS? Rewarding criminality and encourages jobless students to pick arms. He has increased the hardship of the average Nigerian by removing the fuel subsidy. Take a look at what is happen in Delta state where people have now resulted to kidnapping,SMH!
Are these the benefits of a SS president? SW president? NW/NE president? NC/MB president?

What we need now people is NIGERIAN PRESIDENT!!! We need to leave pettiness, abeg! Aren't you guys tired of PHCN? Aren't you tired of holding your passports is shame?!

We need a Fashola, an Amechi, a Chime, a Rochas!!! Please people think!

Sam_Ikenna: Well, my brother when certain people keep beating this political drum like we, Igbos, are doomed to second, third, or fourth position it starts getting on my nerves. So, my response to them is - what have you gained from the power? Are you better than the people you kept away from power? I can see why it sounds like I was boasting, the fact is there isnt much to gain from Aso rock except being the Nigerian gate man. You know quite well that some folks show up on thi kind of thread to laugh at Igbo, and its natural to make those folks have a hard long moment of silence in which they will look inwards.

The truth is - every region has made progress in different areas. There is always something thats lacking in region A thats abundant in region B. Laughing at A because of her lack is idiotic. If B so much cares about A then B should help A, end of story.

On the bolded, I dont know if your point was that Haka nai was corect to think we're on a revenge mission. Well, if thats what you think, I can assure you nobody in Igbo land is interested in revenge. What keeps that myth up high is the open secret that Nigeria will never let Igbo be president. Who do you think want to go to war? Who wants to die ? Certainly no Igbo man wants to die. The more some folks dangle this presidency the more we say screw it. Nigeria was created with many legs but if we, at this stage, say we dont need one of the legs then what option does that let have? You're right - either that leg becomes a spanner in wheels or it begs the other legs for reintegration.

I can tell you that if some regions were to be in our shoes they would be throwing bombs and poisoning waters by now.

We put aside what Nigeria did to us and moved on and for some folks to taunt us after many years of excruciating labor and agony that we went through is wrong. If you want to vote for an Igbo go ahead, but if you have something smart to say to me to make me feel bad then I'm gonna say something to feel good, its just the nature of life.

Anyway, dont get offended if you think your region was insulted. The point is no region is made up of super humans hence no one can be good in everything. [color=#990000][/color]

Thanks for the bolded.

I am not an Igbo man, but I very much support my Eastern brothers on this. Like Northerners, Southerners are also going to give an account of what they did during their years of leadership. So far, I have seen just a little in terms of achievements. We southerners can act all primitive and say "my ethnic group is next" or we can unite and choose the best man for the job.

As far as I am concerned and am very sure the average Nigerian, give us Fashola, Amechi, Chime, Rochas and every thing is fine. We need to leave pettiness. Its time to grow up!

@OP

Thank you! But you are simply stating the OBVIOUS! Well, as far as we are concerned, we are all stuck in Nigeria.

No worries.

^^^
Bro, I wish you all the very best. May God Almighty continue to favour you, teach you and guide your footsteps. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Ikeyman00, I like people who believe in themselves. Have you considered getting a competent lawyer in Nigeria and then proposing your ideas to be implemented in projects such as River rail way, Rivers state or Eko IPPs? I think that will go a long way.

Or better still, did you apply during the Youwin scheme?

[flash]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur1tUUeMKNg[/flash]

This Beaf of a character just gets dafter by the day . . . .

ACM10: Mind you that the mere mention of "competition" and "decongesting Lagos" scares the sh1t out of him. Endeavour to avoid the use of those terms.

Dude, you are funny. There is nothing I have said to suggest that.

I must say, I enjoy having debates with Afam and Manny4life. Kudos guys.

manny4life: Geographical location is highly irrelevant to me at this point; my focal point hasn't been about it's location but its "standard; besides, what has been my opinion about Onitsha Port? I'm not putting down PH port at all, and NO my stance about neither of them will change. Onistha River Port is just only a river port, but I'm a STRONG BELIEVER in developments, many nations have sacrificed a lot for economic development, nothing wrong with PH port and Onitsha River Port, all I'm saying is that if the SE in their own way want something to hold onto, so be it... nothing tribal about wanting your own.

Mississippi River(if I'm correct) along it channels caries about 1/3rd of goods used in the U.S., so go figure. I'm all about competition and not bigotry... big ships don't need to come in, like I once suggested before, in a trans-modal network, most likely use what is called a hub-spoke model. Ask yourself, how many large ships berth in how many cities in the U.S.? NY, CA, FL, MD, NJ and I think that's about it, the other states use inter-modal systems that include feeder container ships... you get the drift.

Again, I am not against PH, please get my stance, all I'm saying is that if the SE needs their own, you cannot deny them their own. I don't think Geographical location was an issue of the discussion, rather, the standards of these assets as compared to it's competitor. If SS had an airport of international standard valuated at say $200million (which is low), trust and believe, a HSR (high speed rail) network is what's need to connect Onitsha and other cities and states in the SE but unfortunately, PH isn't of standard let alone to compete with Lagos.

You make sense. However, how do we get the "standard" required? By building a new one or upgrading the existing one? Who should finance it? The Feds or State or the entire SE?

afam4eva: You talk as if lagos is the only place where you have consumers. Mos def, lagos will be there for a very long time but onitsha can serve as a hub for business in the eastern region and not necessary Nigeria as a whole but citing an aiport or a seaport there will give onitisha the imperatives to be able to compete with lagos but not necessarily beat it anytime soon. Mind you, by the time onitsha starts gaining ground, people will start moving to that place and the population of lagos will reduce, maybe not drastically, but it will reduce and the big lagos market you talk about will also depreciate.

Certainly not. People do but stuffs in other places.One airport is cool but three, haba! Infact, what is wrong with Asaba airport? Well, at the end of the day, its Ndigbo's choice.

With the rest of your comment, I agree!

ACM10: It's pointless engaging you since you've already made up your mind. Moreover, it's difficult for me to engage someone that attends to my questions selectively. You can't even back-up your outlandish claim of "18 million customers". Your mind has been made up that no other region(especially east) should be developed to rival Lagos. Either we pass through Lagos, PH, or Abuja or nothing. International airport in the East is a no no.

I did not reply your other questions, not because my mind is made up but because it will severally derail the thread and give room for the tribalist!

Now, let's think, will it make sense for Ogun to have an international airport when Lagos is close-by? Even states as far as Niger do not have an international port. I am not against building ONE international airport in, lets say, Enugu but why build a new one when you can simply expand the existing one? For those advocating for THREE, can you see the folly in their reasoning?

manny4life: Look, in my practical application of economic devlopment, I look at reality, historical data and forecast and sum up my conclusion. Thanks to the internet, however, the same internet ahs been used to speculate information (positive or negative ) about Lagos as well as other cities in Nigeria. If you take the valuation of the Lagos port and PH port of Onitsha ports, like seriously, the difference is CLEAR.

It's ok to say PH has more potential than Onitsha, nothing worng with your opinion, but a Sea Port is only as good and important as the economy it depends on. A Sea Port is a "supporting Infrastructure" which largely depends on other factors. You can have the most massive sea port you want, but if there's not manufacturing to export, well sorry, you're not going anywhere. However, if you manufacture, but without sea port, but with an airport, you'll still be competitive. There are several nations that are doing excellently well without sea ports but have perfect/superb rail networks AND airport structures...go figure.


You call it the "so-called river port", isn't it rather funny that you call it just that... Like I know someone who says, "whatever you call your dog at home, is what it answers", what that means is, if South Easterners decide to call their river-port inferior, then your words about it being "so-called" can stand correct, but if they don't call it "superior" and decide to maximize it's full potential, regardless of whatever you call it, your status quo will remain irrelevant.

The River port, just like every business venture require financing and promoting. If you build a river port and don't promote it, market it or advertise it to attract customers, it will fail just like every other business ... Marketing 101. Just like I was disucssing with a friend today about SLS cashless policy, I said, if CBN did not promote this policy in a fair manner that will attract people, it will fail. I gave an idea, such kind of promotion will be, through the banks they could have cash bonus/cash back programs, etc if people engage in it. With time, people will get used to it because the mentality of the average person desires what's best and cheap for them... same rule applies.

Lol, I did not add the term "so-called" to reduce its significance. I just thought I should clarify that.

Now, with your post:

Manny, be honest, if Port-harcourt was part of the SE not SS will you still hold your opinion about an onitsha port? C'mon off it man, Port-harcourt, although SS, is minutes away from the SE so what is the point of using the "manufacture analogy"? I hope you know that the River port is AFTER the Niger-bridge? How can big ships come in to Onitsha?

Concerning the Airport, the same question applies, if Rivers was part of SE not SS, will you still hold your position?

afam4eva: That's what we've been saying. Imagine, if there was an airport and seaport in Onitsha, do you think those Igbo traders that sell in bulk will need to stay in lagos?

Okay, let me re-phrase my question, will it not better for the trader in Lagos to buy his/her goods in Lagos as soon as it arrives than for him/her to travel to Onitsha buy and transport them to Lagos?

The reason why I am asking is because you and I know that most of these traders import from various countries to sell in Nigeria and you and I also know that most of their customers, whether retailer or middle-man, will prefer to buy the goods as soon as it arrives before making that journey to Onitsha (if there is anything left before it gets to Onitsha). That is why I think PH sea-port is not being used by them. But then again, I might be wrong.

afam4eva: Yes, lagos has more population than onitsha but you have to note that the people in onitsha are not retailers but wholesalers because people come from all over west africa to buy stuffs in bulk and take to sell in their country. So, technically onitsha has a big market.

Afam, for educational purposes only; do the Lagos Igbo traders go to Onitsha to buy goods or do they simply buy them when its arrives in can tin port to save them transportation money?

ACM10: Yorubas wants Igbos to leave Lagos. At the same time opposing the effort of Igbos to develop the infrastracture in the east to enable them vacate from Lagos.

I have some question for you.

1. Do you think that the "Onitsha is the largest market in West Africa" in name only?

2. Can you back your "18 million customers" claim with proof?

3. Why not give businessmen a choice? Why force them to pass through Lagos?

4. "who will patronise it if majority his target customers are not there?
" Why not agree to put your assumption to test?

What are you on about? People are talking about using Asaba or PH airports or renovate the Imo and Enugu airport, you are talking about opposing. How is that opposition. This has nothing to do with Yorubas, Igbo blah. People are simply analysing the issue. At the end of the day, we are not the ones that will build these airports.

I'll only answer 3.
They have a choices. They can come through Abuja. Its their choice. Even most Northerners I know, use the Abuja airport before connecting to Kano airport.

Airports

Airport names shown in bold have scheduled passenger service on commercial airlines.
City served 	State 	ICAO 	IATA 	Airport name
International airports [1]
Abuja 	FCT 	DNAA 	ABV 	Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport [1]
Kano 	Kano 	DNKN 	KAN 	Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport [2]
Lagos / Ikeja 	Lagos 	DNMM 	LOS 	Murtala Muhammed International Airport [3]
Port Harcourt 	Rivers 	DNPO 	PHC 	Port Harcourt International Airport [4]
Major domestic airports [2]
Calabar 	Cross River 	DNCA 	CBQ 	Margaret Ekpo International Airport (Calabar Airport) [5]
Enugu 	Enugu 	DNEN 	ENU 	Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu Airport) [6]
Jos 	Plateau 	DNJO 	JOS 	Yakubu Gowon Airport (Jos Airport) [7]
Kaduna 	Kaduna 	DNKA 	KAD 	Kaduna Airport [8]
Maiduguri 	Borno 	DNMA 	MIU 	Maiduguri International Airport (Maiduguri Airport) [9]
Sokoto 	Sokoto 	DNSO 	SKO 	Sadiq Abubakar III International Airport (Sultan Saddik Abubakar Airport) [10]
Yola 	Adamawa 	DNYO 	YOL 	Yola Airport [11]
Other domestic airports [3]
Asaba 	Delta 	DNAS 	ABB 	Asaba International Airport [12]
Akure 	Ondo 	DNAK 	AKR 	Akure Airport [13]
Bauchi 	Bauchi 	DNBA 	BCU 	Bauchi Airport [14]
Benin 	Edo 	DNBE 	BNI 	Benin Airport [15]
Gombe 	Gombe 	DNGO 		Gombe Lawanti International Airport
Ibadan 	Oyo 	DNIB 	IBA 	Ibadan Airport [16]
Ilorin 	Kwara 	DNIL 	ILR 	Ilorin Airport [17]
Katsina 	Katsina 	DNKT 	KTN 	Katsina Airport [18]
Makurdi 	Benue 	DNMK 	MDI 	Makurdi Airport [19]
Minna 	Niger 	DNMN 	MXJ 	Minna Airport [20]
Owerri 	Imo 	DNIM 	QOW 	Sam Mbakwe Airport [21]
Warri 	Delta 	DNSU 	QRW 	Warri Airport [22]
Zaria 	Kaduna 	DNZA 	ZAR 	Zaria Airport [23]

manny4life: Seriously? Are we really talking about this? Onitsha, like they often said, the largest West African market you'rs saying doesn't have the potential, seriously? I think you're confusing the idea of potential vs reality. Lagos has a potential of 18million customers, Onitsha has a potential of same amount of folks in the eastern region as well who come into Onitsha to trade (buy and sell).

I heard as well that Onitsha is the largest but to be honest, if not for the internet, I would have not known anything about Onitsha. With that said, sorry to say but I feel PH has nor potential than Onitsha. Why, apart from having a similar environment to Lagos, it can boast of a Sea port coupled with her already international airport. Any FG official will ask himself, why should I build three when PH airport is just few minutes away from Imo or Abia? Again, the so-called river-port at Onitsha. The same thing was said, now that it is dredged, do the Onitsha traders utilise it? No. Why is that? A majority still import through Lagos and PH.

No ones is arguing about whether goods or services closer, the better and cheaper it is. We understand that, my point hasn't been about the market structure of the east but the infrastructure (airport) of the SE. Once before, I had this argument with ekt_bear, I said, before embarking on infrastructural development, there has to be a benefit potential. The SE has achieved the benefit potential even with less population, infrastructures just boost the economics more further.

When you say it this way it makes it seem there is a deliberate attempt by other Nigerians to "keep the SE down" which is not true.

Look, Lagos is mini-Nigeria because our government has been inefficient in the structural development, period. SE has more buying power per capita or even more than most other regions, so why would you think that economic infrastructures are sorta a taboo in the making? Lagos is a big city and is expected as much, however, give the SE what Lagos has, and you'll see competition set in, it's common economics because the SE has already reached it's potential with less resources.

And how can the SE have what Lagos has without a sea-port? The only potential competition with Lagos is probably Rivers. Hence, most of the commentators on this thread have been using port-harcourt airport as an example of an underutilized airport

I for one , do not like the idea of three international airports, I would rather have one international network with a HSR network linking at least 3cities in each SE states.

I guess thats for onlytruth . . .