₦airaland Forum

Since Oyo is the 5th most populous state in Nigeria per the official figures, how come that UI is only attracting just 40,011 in JAMB preferrence?
Is it that Oyo citizens hate UI since they are 4th highest enrolling state? Is there a better school in Oyo state than UI?

Or is it that Oyo may not be that populous after all?

Below is the 2006 Population of Nigerian States

Rank State Population
1 Lagos State 9,313,534
2 Kano State 9,383,682
3 Kaduna State 6,066,562
4 Katsina State 5,792,578
5 Oyo State 5,591,589
6 Rivers State 3,185,400
7 Bauchi State 5,676,465
8 Jigawa State 4,348,649
9 Benue State 4,219,244
10 Anambra State 4,182,032
11 Borno State 5,151,193
12 Delta State 3,098,391
13 Imo State 2,934,899
14 Niger State 4,950,249
15 Akwa Ibom State 2,920,208
16 Ogun State 2,728,098
17 Sokoto State 4,696,999
18 Ondo State 2,441,024
19 Osun State 2,423,535
20 Kogi State 3,278,487
21 Zamfara State 4,259,846
22 Enugu State 3,257,298
23 Kebbi State 3,238,628
24 Edo State 3,218,332
25 Plateau State 2,178,712
26 Adamawa State 3,168,101
27 Cross River State 2,888,966
28 Abia State 2,833,999
29 Ekiti State 2,384,212
30 Kwara State 2,371,089
31 Gombe State 3,353,879
32 Yobe State 3,321,591
33 Taraba State 2,300,736
34 Ebonyi State 2,173,501
35 Nasarawa State 2,863,275
36 Bayelsa State 1,703,358
- Abuja Federal Capital Territory 1,405,201


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nigerian_states_by_population

Do we really know the population of Nigerian states, because these figures challenge the official population figures?
Why is Imo state state consistently FAR HIGHER (tens of thousands higher) than the next state in JAMB enrollment?
Are we sure that Nigeria is not shortchanging Imo in population figures?

I'll publish the official population of Nigerian states.

I know there was a time that University of Ibadan was in the same rank as UNN and OAU and UNILAG; how did UI only manage to rank lower than Imo state university in student preferrence? What happened to UI?

Question# 1
Since when did Nnamdi Azikiwe University become the most preferred university in the East, even ranking above UNN (per the JAMB preferred schools as published)?

Question# 2
Can one conclude that student preferrence for a university is a proof of academic standards, since there are other presumably similar schools in the same catchment area?

JAMB Enrollment

Topmost Enrollment

Imo- 123, 865
Delta- 88,876
Anambra- 84,204
Osun- 73, 935
Oyo- 71, 272
Ogun- 71, 173

Lowest Enrollment

Jigawa- 11, 529
Kebbi- 7, 364
Yobe- 6, 389
Zamfara- 5, 713
Sokoto, 5,664
FCT 3, 380

Preferred University (by ranking)

UNILAG 83, 865
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka -82,148
University of Benin- 80,048
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN -79, 398
UNILORIN -76,276
Obafemi Awolowo University,; OAU, Ile-Ife - 64,702
Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, - 56,708
University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, - 48,439 candidates
University of Uyo, -44,397
Imo state University, -43,353
University of Ibadan, UI - 40,011

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/only-3-score-over-300-as-jamb-releases-results/

These Figures Shock Me!

@Mods, please this is a political topic because the figures are saying things about Nigeria that we need to explore and understand.

Obiagu1: You have a point but in my opinion, a maximum of 2 will be enough. Enugu International Airport could serve both Onitsha and Asaba, a mere 1 hour drive. PH could serve Owerri or vise versa (1 Hour drive). What we need are standard international airports and roads.
We may have as many domestic and cargo airports as possible but international airport in a different thing except you want every state to have an international airport.

Nwanne, idighizi abia nzuko umunna. O bu maka ya ka ijighi mara ihe anyi kpebiri. Biko zitere m ozi ka m gwa gi nke na eme eme.

Olodostein: Nwanne Mmadu,you make a very good case. I absolutely agree with you that we need international gateways, airports and seaport. We just have to be very calculative.

Partnering with private capital sounds very practical. How do we go about structuring it so that serious minded individuals from the East can pioneer and move the initiative forward?

The bolded part could manifest soon. We are watching. GEJ should take note. Seems he is not taking us serious.

You are correct my brother. I really think that our leaders are lying to us. I am yet to see an Igbo leader openly asking questions about all these facilities. Nna something is seriously wrong somewhere. My eyes opened big time after the Jerry Rawlings incident during Ojukwu burial. The man thought that Enugu airport is international and took off hoping to land there. He was forced to land in Lagos. He had to take off again in Lagos, and by the time he got to Enugu it was dark and he had to land in the dark. I bet you that if he was told that he couldn't land in Enugu from Ghana, he probably would have decided not to attend, after all who likes to take off and land aimlessly?
That was when it became clear to me that Enugu is not an international airport. Meanwhile our leaders are all quiet in the face of that deception. I am tired of playing along at the expense of Ndigbo. We need these airports because we deserve them and others have enjoyed same for decades. The more aware our people are about this, the greater our chance of ever having one. Never forget that there are elements inside Nigeria who would rather die than see SE with international airport access. The fight is that tough; that is why every Igbo should be ready to fight it to a logical end.

GAR3TH: I dont think you understand why an airport is considered international or not. It has to do with airport equipment and NOT A FANCY TERMINAL. I can build a small 10 sqaure foot shack and it will be recognized as an international airport as long as I have the required infrastructural, technological and circulation equipment that can accommodate international flights. I agree that lagos does have a larger terminal than PH, which leads to more passengers, but thats not the point. The point is the ratio to the total number of flights. According to FAAN Lagos received 2,749,000 domestic passengers and 2,300,000 international passenger, A ratio of about 1:1. Kano, yes Kano, received 188,722 domestic passengers and 134,760 international passengers [high demand most likely cause by pilgrimage], again a ratio of about 1:1. But port harcourt received 1,034,506 domestic passengers but only 47,081 international passengers, a ratio of 22:1. Thats the difference I'm talking about. Abuja and some other cities also have the same problem, High Domestic demand but Little International demand. What I'm saying is that building 3 airports with such a low international demand is suicide. Right now is not the best time to be considering Airports. link




KLM and some other international carries fly to port harcourt, The companies are there but like I said the demand is not.

Second no one is saying the south east has no current of future economic potential, people are just saying there is no demand in the south east and most parts of nigeria for more international airports.

How can people demand something that does not exist?
Have you ever been to a bus stop and seen people looking to board airplanes?
How would you measure demand for international flights in Nigeria's regions if you don't conduct a one year PASSENGER BASED survey/data collection on all flights entering and leaving Nigeria, to know things like REAL [/b]Origins and [b]FINAL destinations of travellers?
Do you know where those fliers originated from in Nigeria, and where they are going in Nigeria. Do you just look at total airport traffic volume and end there? Why not complete the airports first in the SE and then collect the data?
I don't know whether you are not thinking, or that you are deliberately being mischievious.

Anytime you want to tell Nigerians that certain infrastructure is necessary, they can't think past oil revenues.
The fact remains that future projects would be funded more and more by private capital. FACT.
How would a zone of less oil revenue cope with the demands of infrastructure development, if not to connect to investors both local and foreign. How would a foreign investor invest in an inaccessible region?
Ain't happening.

We need these airports!

Thought I need to share this to support my position.



[size=14pt]Sub Sahara Africa needs $93bn annually to meet infrastructure challenge – Commissioner[/size]

Sub-Saharan Africa needs $93 billion investment per annum to meet infrastructural challenge says the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Delta State, Mr. Kenneth Okpara.

Speaking during an event tagged; “Public Private Partnership, catalyst of economic development in Africa,” organised by the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce (NSACC) and the Warri Industrial Park Limited (WIPL), Okpara said, “the World Bank did a report recently which they titled “towards better infrastructure” that report indicates that in order for us to reach a reasonable level of infrastructure development in Africa to develop economically, we need to be investing about $93billion per annum in sub-Saharan Africa.”

The Commissioner who represented the Governor of Delta state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, added that Public Private Partnership is instrumental to bridging infrastructural gap in Africa.

He explained that out of the $93 billion, the government contribution to the private sector summed up to about 45 billion dollar, saying, “there is also about 17 inefficiency waste which if we are able to minimize efficiently we will need just about $30 billion per annum.”

Going by predictions that Africa would be the next focus of global development, he said lack of adequate infrastructure and good governance are two major constraints that could hamper Africa the opportunity of global development.

Speaking on Public Private Partnership (PPP), he said financing infrastructural development in Africa would be sourced from the PPP and the Bond market.

“But you know we have limitation on the bond market in Africa because of the level of development of our bond market. So it is PPP that is recommended and I think is the way to go in Africa in order to meet the infrastructure gap that we have identified.”

He said PPP has been unable to strive in Africa consequence to constraint of raising the finance that is required, as well as lack of the enabling environment that is required to move PPP forward.

According to him, “most of us are targeting foreign investors to come in and participate in PPP but for foreign investors that would be interested in coming to Africa, they need to also raise finance from their bankers, from their countries or elsewhere in the world, but we have a limitation in Africa, this indication borders on our ratings. Most Africa countries apart from South Africa are below investment rate, BB-.”

Recalling the global financial meltdown which saw $15 billion capital flight from Africa by foreign investors of which 50 per cent was from Nigeria, especially the banking industry in Nigeria.

He said, “That is the danger of completely relying on foreign investors to finance your PPP.” He said some of the limitations of getting local finance includes; the size of the banks, short term loan, banks in Africa do not have experience of project financing and inadequate law to regulate PPP transactions.

He further said “In Delta State, we have a team looking beyond oil; we are trying to leverage on our resources for oil. We want to go into industrial park; we have the Warri Industrial Park, Koko Free Trade Zone.

Okpara revealed that the state has partnered NNPC to achieve these initiative, in which it has gotten licensed for and now soliciting for investors.

The Asaba ICT Park focusing on ICT, so we intend to use the PPP approach to fund these special economic zone and we have done things we believe will make investors show interest of coming. We have about three investors already in Koko free trade zone, and we have a lot of others interested in Warri Industrial Park, he said.

Meanwhile, he said the state has security problem in which it is addressing. “I know is all over the country, we believe that issue of security especially in Nigeria has to do with youth unemployment, we are doing a lot of project like partnering with World Bank to create employment and build the capacity of these people and give them vocation that they need and take them off the streets.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/ssa-needs-93bn-annually-to-meet-infrastructure-challenge-commissioner/

Obiagu1: Do we really need 3 international airports in the SE?

Yes we do my brother.
Look at it this way. We have THREE development zones in Igboland if you look carefully. There is the Enugu/Nsukka/Abakaliki axis; there is the Anambra/Anioma/Awka/Nnewi axis; then there is the Owerri/Aba/Umuahia/Okigwe/Arochukwu, and Northern Rivers state axis.
Now, like I said before, we (Anambra) can partner with Delta state to upgrade Asaba into a beffiting international airport to serve Anambra state as well. Enugu should become an international airport immediately (I don't think it is yet, if you see any proof please share it with us here, thanks), and Owerri should be upgraded. I cannot say that PH should serve Owerri area because of distance. It is not like Asaba and Onitsha.
I believe that Enugu is an emerging industrial and tourist city, Onitsha is a center of commerce, while Owerri is also an emerging tourist city with Aba as the undisputed center of production and commerce there too. Igboland is really a tripod of sorts.

If this man said this, then God has already set in motion the process of a peaceful disintegration of Nigeria.
God answers prayers.

I want to laugh first before reading anything on this thread and before commenting. hehehe!

Olodostein: The bolded is the POINT!

Eze Ndigbo Nairaland, I emphasized on the the superiority complex thing because some of our folks on here from their approach to issues regarding the South East are fond of arrogantly positing themselves to be at the head of the table. When we should concentrate on collectively pushing the whole Eastern region ahead. Such attitude should never be tolerated and it is not my nature to accommodate or to ignore it.

It is my understanding that you passionately mean well to see the East develop into an economic hub including having standard international airports. Of course, I would want to see one in Owerri, but at this juncture, basic things like health, agriculture,education and developing indigenous expertise of international standard is of more primary concern. I don't find it funny that not one university from the East is among top 20 best universities in Africa.

My brother the bolded has been our dream for decades now and it has not happened because there is only so much one can do without international interaction. Secondly, nothing stops us from attempting to continue developing all those sectors you mentioned simultaneously with partnering with private capital to develop and give us a befitting international gateway which would support the development efforts

Rochas would definitely want to see one in Owerri and he has talked about it. However, he is not short sighted in making health and education his top priorities and given scholarships despite Imo having one of the highest literacy rate in the country. The dividends will manifest years to come and that will in turn creat a secure, civilized,democratic, stable, innovative and prosperous society.

One of the major reasons SE is running helter skelter is because we lack a collective philosophy. I am sorry to say, we are like sheep's without shepherd. We may share common interest and destiny but there is a fundamental lack of value consensus in our community. In my view, that is the essence of region/nation building. That is what Ojukwu tried to relay to us but unfortunately we haven't grasp it yet. We see and adore him as one who fought for the benefits of all of us and have not taken look at the CORE message. I have not come across his written works but if there is none, then that core message may be lost forever.

My contention is, you do not build a region with concretes but with ideas and ingenuity. The State of Israel started with agriculture and by building top universities and today, they have the highest number of engineers per capital and the highest number of PhD's. They can build their own airports without given the contracts to FOREIGN firms. In fact, no country can match them in technology. That is how to build a civilization. We should learn from them.

Exactly my brother! Please note that apart from the State of Israel, the US (New york specifically) hosts the highest concentration of Jews in the world. There is a CONSTANT synergy between the Jewish diaspora and the stte of Israel. In fact, one of my lecturers here when I was doing my masters program, was a female professor from a university in Israel (Tel Aviv). She spoke with a little accent, but she was as smart as they come. There is constant exchange of academics between the two countries.
Do you know what Igbo diaspora can do to our universities in the East if they can fly in and out with ease?
I maintain that our journey to development would be EXPEDITED if we have easy international access from SE. For me, it is more important than discovering the next oil field in SE. It can take us to a level of sustainability never seen in Nigeria before. Now, all they do in Nigeria is to troop to Abuja every month to collect hand outs. That is how they hope to build all those infrastructure, and they keep wondering why we still don't have them. It has been 12 years since we returned to democracy. I still can't see the good roads, hospitals, schools etc. It would never happen as fast and as sustainable as we want, until we have international access.
I have already discussed the skills gap between Nigeria and foreign (first world countries). That gap needs to close before we have any real expectation of developing.

Contrastingly,in our own case, we will have to give the contracts to some Foreign firms, import materials for building the airports. We often like to talk about how big this or that market is and love throwing economic jargon's here and there without acknowledging the fact that the Fiat money that boost trades in these markets come from only one source,Oil. What is our indigenous inventions?
Oh, we also like to boast about how so so and so man has this or that company in his hometown by monopolizing the market. But just take a very look at those companies and you would see that they were built and run by foreigners, the Chinese, etc.

You are right that we have foreigners helping us to build things, but we are gradually learning. The learning process would be strengthened by a supporting international gateway infrastructure. Innoson for instance needs easy international access to maintain the level of technology skills acquisition necessary to one day build a wholly Nigerian auto industry. My hunch tells me that he will soon relocate to say Lagos or Abuja because his company is growing, and he still lacks international access.
SE will continue to die and lose people and businesses if we don't have international airports there.

I mentioned Kano, because it is a slap in our face from President GEJ. He is bound on pleasing the Northerners first and foremost. Despite the BH menace, there are major projects going on in the North. Have you seen the SURE bulletin? You would be surprised to see how very few projects were allocated for the East. What made you think that he will kowtow to your demands of 3 international airports? To make matters even worse, our Eastern governors are being sycophants in the corridors of Aso rock. GEJ can only give us symbolic victory just like he did during Ojukwu's burial, but on practical issues, politics comes to play. We Ndigbo need to learn how to play politics. Just like Aristotle stated that "man is by nature a political animal". We need to understand that it is not about permanent friends but permanent interest.

Nevertheless, that is why we need a grass root approach. We have the brains. We need to invest in our young ones and future generation to think for themselves. Our people in the diaspora, if they are so willing to contribute, should come back with all the knowledge and certificates they have got to impact them on those at home, so that we all can collectively build a strong foundation. Instead of littering mansions all over the places, we can use those lands to make the East self sufficient in food. I see no reason why everyone wants to own 10 mansions in one of the land deprived regions in Nigeria. We need solid modern architectural designs that will complement a good road and rail network. We have to start thinking on how to generate our own electricity and so on.

When all these things are put into place, international airports will naturally follow suit.

Timing and setting priorities straight can go a long way in making the snail accomplish more than the tortoise.

If we wait for the FG, my guy, we go OLD.

What we need to learn from the North is to be resolute and even chauvinistic in our demands in Nigeria. They make BOLD demands without caring whose ox is gored.
We even have more unity than they; but we lack militancy of purpose; by that I mean to be ready to bring down the entire system if our needs are not met.
Do you know how long we have appealed for international airports, or the second brigde across the Niger, or a 6th SE state, or federal roads in our zone? It has been for ever! We wake up to the same problems year after year, president after president. We lack the fighting spirit. It is a dangerous mindset for Ndigbo to have in a Nigerian jungle crawling with all types of predators and scavengers.
So, IMHO, we are united enough. We just need to start militant action like everybody else. That's all.

debosky: So now you've started backtracking on your claims? Who said this?

Pray tell, would funds not be required to make this the 'core' issue of development?

Also who said this?

Who are you 'demanding' airports from? Private investors or government?

One more exhibition of your hypocrisy:

Who built these airports in the desert you are referring to? Was it not government? By linking your SE airports to them, are you not implying that government funds should be used to build them?

Private funds indeed.

Dude, I usually don't engage in arguments with some Nairalanders who I consider "not up to my levels" brain-wise.
What you are committing is what is called "logic leap".
Who is the ONLY authority in Nigeria with the powers to designate an International airport? Answer: federal government of Nigeria. How does that translate to them being the only funding source? Who is funding the Lekki international airport? That Kano international airport is funded by the cheating federal government who cannot see SE as part of Nigeria, does not mean that we are condemned to wait for them for ever. We can find founds, just like Fashola has for both Lekki international airport, and the MMA2 owned by Bi-Courtney.

Yes, they are CORE issues of development because they will lay a foundation for fiscal sustainability for the SE.

Please raise your input levels, else I would start to ignore you too. You would notice that I did not respond to all posts on this thread.

I'll be back.

ndu_chucks: @Onlytruthcretin, we can all see how you've resorted to childishness to coverup your inadequacies. Pele o. BTW, this debosky dude has defeated you with extremely superior logic and analysis. You are the one who should hide your face in shame.

Almajiri goat.
Only your type would ever believe that a lion like moi can be bought by anybody. They are yet to born any human that will sway my resolve to give a good account of myself to my children and my God one day.
If you don't mind me asking, please tell me why Kano should have an international airport but not Onitsha or Aba?
What do they produce in Kano again?
Why is Kano airport being EXPANDED as we speak.
Now run along. Ewu ugwu.

debosky: I have no issues with that - you should be able to visit wherever you want to go in speed and comfort. I would love as much as you to be able to step off a plane in Onitsha and drive 15mins to my factory instead of having to fly to Asaba and drive across the bridge, or fly to PH.

However, that is not my challenge - my challenge here is prioritising building airports when you have other more pressing needs at hand, while existing airports close by remain under utilised. Is this truly what the SE needs at the moment?



Again fair enough - you want to invest your resources in the SE and adjacent areas. The issue however is whether the best way to ensure you can do that is to build airports everywhere or to look at things at an integrated transport system level, not just focused on helping a few rich people fly in and out and leaving the poor market people struggling with poor roads because road funds have been spent on building airports.

If you want to be honest with yourself, you would admit that I stated in my post here, that the funds should be privately sourced. If you don't know that, then why are you arguing over this?
My only request is that the federal government should designate these as international airports. The states should concession them by partnering with investors whether foreign or local. This can happen while building of roads continue. Fact remains that even the roads are not being built by some of the governors. Must we wait for ever before getting what others have enjoyed for decades? The poor that you claim to care for suffer more now because they pay for whatever it costs traders to import things into Lagos and haul them all the way to the East, plus their travel costs! So goods will become cheaper in SE if this happens.
Now, let me hear another reason.

ndu_chucks: Eze NL Gburugburu Onlytruthdelusional, is completely naive and out of touch. You fool who is not savvy enough to understand that you have to be diplomatic and even atimes, love your enemies, for the greater good, now want to take a proposal to your governor, ko? I hope you know his closest PA or you come home with deep pocket partners who are ready to discuss how to invest in your state with the Governor. If not, you may be more foolish and delusional than I thought.

Why not start by publicizing your ideas in popular newspapers in your state and hope that your governor gets the message. Don't let NL Eze get in ya head buddy.

Make sure you wear running shoes when you get to your governor's office because they may send the vicious office dog after you.

ndu_chucks, you should not be here because like I said, I am yet to see a fox supporting the idea that a hen grows teeth.
If you see that show me.

BTW, your logic can never rise past the level of a product of madrasa.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you [b]ndu_chucks [/b]logic!
Run for your dear lives!

Dede1: I am yet a Nigerian and should have a choice where to spend my hard earned money in the jungle. [b]It is not a fun when one spends two days on the trip to Nigeria and one night in a place such Lagos or Abuja.

When I am on trip to Nigeria, I have no intentions to swell the economic pocket of Lagos State through hotel bills. [/b]Furthermore, my idea of economic redistribution does include Lagos and Abuja. I had rather inject my portion of such human endeavor in cities such as Owerri, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Uyo, Onitsha and Abakiliki

These people will have more and more of us reaching the same conclusion as you here.
It will suddenly dawn on us that we have been taken for a long ride in Nigeria.
We are becoming more aware. Thank God.

debosky: Pay attention! I am making an analogy - if travelers into Lagos can stay in hotels overnight, why can't travelers into PH stay in hotels overnight?

Have you ever been kidnapped before in your life? If you have, you would not throw tantrums over this issue.
Listen up dude! PH is NOT Lagos. Gerrit?

You tell me the distance since you're the expert.

Folk fly into Lagos and still go all the way to V/I to stay in hotels which takes a number of hours, why can't folk go into P/H proper to hotel overnight?

Furthermore, businessmen (not government) provide helicopter shuttles from Ikeja to V/I in Lagos to make business travel easier. Why can't intelligent Igbo businessmen provide helicopter connections from P/H to Owerri?

Well I have a NEW idea which renders all these bolded irrelevant. It is called locating a resource near its primary users. Simple and short.

Why is the ONLY solution to build 3 international airports?

As to trying to find out my 'real' motives - stick to the discussion at hand - you're barely making a coherent point here so leave mind reading aside.

Your motive is so clear it is even laughably so. BTW I posit that you would not see the point of my argument, afterall you are not the one making the HELLISH travels across the length and breadth of Nigeria just to either leave Nigeria or get home from abroad. I really think that you are just being invidious. You are not the only one on this thread.

chino11: Eze onlytruth you have kept us here with my colleagues deliberating and thinking on your analytical and tall vision which is capable of intimidating and challenging our leaders in this country. If I may request, I will suggest you book an appointment with Peter Obi, he is presently the chairman of SE governors forum.

You can draw up a proposal for greater SE economic development, particularly cities of Onitsha and Nnewi due to huge economic activities in those areas and present it to him for perusal and subsequent executive amendment/approval.

I will take you up on that offer when I hit home one of these days.
I personally believe that the future of our children is too important to be treated with unconcern. Our fathers fought in the baffle field, shed their blood and died so that we may hold up our heads today in pride. I don't know why our leaders are p00sy footing around things that can secure the future of our children.
So, yes I will take up that offer.

debosky: You have provided no evidence of such political factors - that airlines do not patronise PH does not mean the FG is responsible for this lack of patronage.

Furthermore, if it is indeed true that the FG is 'frustrating' PH airport, will it not also frustrate your beloved SE airports? How will that solve anything?

As for touching down at PH at 8pm, Americans also fly into Lagos at 10pm intending to go elsewhere in Nigeria. What they do is stay in Hotels and then transit the next day. I don't see anything odd in making such arrangements.

What if the person wanted to fly to a different location apart from where your 3 SE airports are located? Would the solution be to build airport at every possible location someone may want to visit?

My friend your argument is making less and less sense.
Is Lagos Port Harcourt?
What is the distance between the PH airport and the next hotel; do you know how lonely and isolated the nearest hotel is?
Why can't someone fly directly into a city of 500,000 or more people such as Owerri?

You have not really told us your REAL reason for opposing this. Everything you've said here so far amount to grasping of straws.

At this stage, let me repeat another statement of fact:
A majority of diaspora visitors into Nigeria NEVER fly LOCAL flights in Nigeria. They deem it too dangerous and unpredictable. They would rather drive from Lagos or Abuja to the East than fly. The few that land in PH still drive to the rest of Igboland IN THE NIGHT.
Why not land in Owerri, or Onitsha or Enugu instead? If that becomes possible, all these risking their lives driving would not need to drive such long and dangerous distances to the ULTIMATE DESTINATION: IGBOLAND.

Nnenna1: As much as I have my opinions on this topic [size=14pt]I also cannot help but notice the general contempt and dislike certain posters here have for the SE. I don't know when this sort of mentality will end (probably not for a while), and it is indeed a shame.[/size]

I will leave this thread at that.

Nne I cannot blame you for not noticing it earlier. It has been a fact of our lives in Nigeria. The only reason you have not noticed it is because our leaders (governors mostly) are like house slaves. They never make noise about our plight. As far as some of the Nigerian folks are concerned, SE should just shut up and remain one huge village, while all the economic activities in Nigeria takes place only in their own section of Nigeria; Lagos and environ for instance.
Well, it will not happen if some of us younger folks make enough trouble for the system.

Dede1: In fact, undue weight of bias seemed to cloud you vision on this debate. To your question of “why have the ‘30%’ of MMIA travellers from the SE not switched to using PH since it is closer? Why do they all still use Lagos?” I have repeatedly pointed out in my previous posts the political factors are responsible for f[b]ew landing rights granted to air carriers except two to Port Harcourt International Airport. [/b]

As a result of limited air carriers, the airfares of these two carriers are very exorbitant and schedule becomes attendant of the air carriers mostly not conducive to the fliers. The FG of Nigeria created a monopolistic presence in Port Harcourt International airport and left the fliers with no alternatives. [size=14pt]I touched down at Port Harcourt from Paris about 8PM local time. By the time the checkout is done, the time is 10PM yet I had to go to Owerri at such time with bad road couple with menace of robbers and kidnappers. [/size]

Thank you very much for the bolded. It actually captures some of the HELL I was talking about. Now, imagine if you came home with an American. How safe would that journey back to Owerri be?
This is just a tip of the iceberg about the point I'm making.
BTW I know that the guy knows these, but his motives are anything but logic and fairness. It is called self preservation; the first law of nature.

I would repeat statements of fact that support the core idea about these airports, because I can see that revisionists are working very hard to change it into something easier to demonize and cast down, when their ulterior motive is actually tribal and sectionist, but they would be the first to accuse others of such mindset.

The fact remains that SE Nigeria has the HIGHEST number of Nigerian diaspora. FACT.
The number of Igbo people outside Nigeria runs into MILLIONS. FACT.
These diaspora visit home; are eager to visit home or bring businesses home, or partner with home businesses. FACT.
Sections of Nigeria with little or no diaspora (like Kano for example) has had an international airport for DECADES. FACT
SE businesses go through HELL to connect with the outside world to exchange goods and services. FACT.
SE businesses which wants to avoid that HELL and still grow, must relocate to other zones with International airport, or they die! FACT.
SE continues to lose population to other zones which leads to loss of economic growth factor (population) to other zones. FACT.
Let me stop here for now.


Now, assuming that I am from one of those zones benefiting from SE losses, be it by way of business attraction, population/student population attraction, and by extension income attraction; WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR SE? Answer is very depressing: I really don't have any reason as a non-SE person, to support this idea, especially if my zone may lose these.
Now, I would address a few of posters here.

The core idea behind this proposal is that we need direct contact with foreign expertise. That can come from Nigerian diaspora, or foreigners. Without it, we can never grow modern businesses, and even professional practices.
I'll give one example.

A relation of mine who is an attorney here in the states, was sharing an experience about his interaction with top Nigerian lawyers on Facebook. He and they would discuss legal issues ranging from constitutional law, international law and jurisprudence, intellectual property law and others. He said that on most occasions, he would be making a particular argument using solid legal tools he has acquired in his over 12 years of practice as an attorney here.
He lamented that his Nigerian counterparts on most occasions seemed overwhelmed and could not follow his drifts. At a time he gave up and stopped trying to engage them in such discussions.
Bottom line is that there is a skills gap between Nigeria and the rest of the world.
The region that gets shut out of that international "skill pool" is the region that must migrate to other regions where such access exist.
SE cities lack that access. That is part of why our people move to other regions to settle and develop them, while neglecting our own.

Onye obuna murukwa anya ka azu o.
Ekwusikwa m ka oha m n'onu.

chino11: Am beginning to think that Eze Onlytruth is light years ahead of all these retardeens we have on NL. This is somebody who is seeing the future of Alaigbo even beyond some of our sitting governors. He made sense when he posited that cities like Onitsha needs an Irnternational airport going by the volume of economic activities taking place in the city, which can only be compared to Lagos and PH. Nnewi also needs an access to the international airport that will be sited around Onitsha or Anambra north area.

Chino nwanne ka anyi na anwa nu o.
One day we will get the type of leaders thinking like me. I want Igboland to possess her possessions BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY. Some of the people opposing this idea are people with twisted mindset who think that they can cage us in Nigeria by denying us something as strategic as an international airport. They want us in Nigeria on their own terms: an evil and invidious term which forces us to live like them and become dreamless and vision-less bunch; a caricature of human potentials in the modern era. When certain first world businesses talk about the world, they basically talk about every other continent except Africa. I never wonder why that is the case because I see Africans in today's 21st century world thinking like 19 century humans. I bet you that most people opposed to this have never thought beyond oil revenue. They cannot think of a tax based fiscal sustainability.

Now that I'm back, I want to thank realchange nwoke oma for getting my message and putting it effectively across.
I also want to thank all those who contributed to the debate without prejudices (though they are quite few here, lol).
ndu_chucks, please stay away from this thread because a fox would never support the idea that a chicken grows teeth. So, I understand you well.

Olodostein nwanne I think you are viewing this as if this is some Anambra state thing. I noted in your first post here where you warned that this idea should be collective and should not be "about superiority complex". Nna my survival race is a shameless race. I run like mad without caring what folks might think! It is part of your duty as nwa afo Igbo to push for the Owerri one. Please don't tell me that you don't believe that Owerri deserves an international airport. I would be very sad if you believe that.

I maintain that if you sit down and think, you would see that the only reason SE is losing large population is because there is no international access from SE. You gave an example of Kano international airport which is undergoing a massive transformation and expansion. Why do you think that is the case?

Do you think that a toad runs in the daytime for nothing?

Why should we be encouraging other zones to develop international airports, but when it comes to Igboland people remember that we don't have roads? Do jumbo jets ride on highways? Why should we continue to wait for federal government to fix roads when we can get international investors/concessionaires to produce world class roads and collect tolls on them? For how many years have we waited for roads and bridges and electricity and the like? Let me guess, at least 45 years! Has it happened? NO!

The core idea here is for us to take our destiny in our own hands and partner with foreign investors to build world class businesses which would sustain our economy long after Nigeria's oil wells dried up. Without international access, Igboland will continue to depend on others and can NEVER overtake them. What if those others decide to go at tortoise pace? That means that Igboland must go at snails pace! Meanwhile we continue to wait for roads and electricity, when we are the most cheated zone in the sharing scheme of the Nigerian rogue system.

We need those INTERNATIONAL airports!

BlackPikiN: You sound as dumb as f0rk!

lol, I was starting to wonder whether I am the only one who thinks that guy is as dense as a wet firewood. The annoying thing is that he resorts to provocations and insults when he runs out of logic, or is it illogic. He is also a desperate attention seeker. The other day, another guy here got fed up and simply cursed him out of a thread.
What an oaf. The only way to educate that type of a guy is to cut open his head and stuff things in.