₦airaland Forum

MKPUOGALIGA:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. This comment shouldn't bother you because its true. Anambra leads Igbo land in everything, almost. In politics, Education, Healthcare infrastructures, Music, cultural revival, trade and commerce, Human capital etc. Give Anambra her respect!

Scholes007:
What is the essence of these unnecessary comments. Anambra is doing great. We say many good things about the state but your rhetorics can't be welcomed.

abuzz33:
Lagos is a sthtty city. No drainage, overpopulated, unplanned. Lagos is an island of wealth in a sea of poverty. The census fashola did in 2010 found 70% of Lagosians did not have plumbing.

Lagos is nobody's competition. Benin Republic built a port and runs it better than Lagos. Ogun built industrial layouts, industries abandoned Lagos.

Nothing stops any state from distributing or manufacturing. Its not about building inland ports but the infrastructure for distribution which is roads, rail, warehouses and trailer parks. Chicago is the logistics center of USA and it's inland but has everything but seaport.

I am sick of my fellow igbos whining while our governors do nothing. Anambra has invested little or nothing in industrialization. Not power, not water, not trailer parks, not planned industrial areas. Ogun has three or four industrial layouts with gas supply. We rely on the ancient and tiny harbor industrial layout whose entry road is narrow and packed with trailers. We don't have serious governors.

Nigeria as a whole is full of stupd leaders. Just travel round Africa you will not see mediocrity like Nigeria. When they build cities it looks like cities not village extensions. Go look at Dar Es Salaam, Nairobi, Dakar, Abidjan and contrast with the low IQ Nigerian politician who only Sabi Lexus jeep and expensive clothes.

0bjpmb:
Why’s my post a thorn on you guy’s body? This is same thing people from your state say all the time even if it’s false, but once someone from Anambra say it, it becomes an issue. My rhetorics are welcomed here, if you don’t like it, go to your own state thread.

Scholes007:
okay Mr don't ever criticise me. Your state is the greatest anywhere east of the Niger. Nothing comes close.

abuzz33:
We need to stop whining and complaining before it becomes the mark of the igbo race.

The reality is that since 1999 Anambra has received over 2.5 trillion in FAAC allocation and over 500 billion in IGR. So funds have been there for development.

Soludo now rounding up his first term has received over 450 billion naira between 2022-2024 and a further 150 billion from Jan - Jun 2025. That is 600 billion in three years plus and that is more than enough to transform the state beyond just building roads, installing street lights and building govt house and an amusement park.

Anambra needs real transformation like manufacturing and the government should create the enabling environment. Let foreign investors design industrial layouts not government architects. Lagos Free Trade Zone is being developed by Tolaram a multinational not LASG and it reflects the brainpower.

Anambra should also clean up its cities and make them attractive. Dirty open air markets lined with wooden stalls and barrows and keke riding recklessly is not progress but backwardness. I await the day the state govt puts proper public bus system in place and regulates markets properly.

Until then showing pictures of Emeka Anyaoku Boulevard hides the monstrous chaos of Eke Awka in Awka and Ochanja in Onitsha only for the ignorant.

abuzz33:
Which neighboring countries? Benin Republic uses 115m litres per month. Togo uses 24m.

Fact is that petrol demand is correlated to economic activity and wealth. Lagos is as small as Anambra but uses many times more because of economic activity.

We should not make excuses and look for how to grow the economy to be more sophisticated and advanced.

Every indicator whether its power, telecommunications says that we are smaller economically than the likes of Ogun, Oyo, Kano, Kaduna, Delta, Rivers and FCT.

I keep saying we need to have people in government with strategic mindset. The state needs big business and industrialization not people lining along major markets selling garri and bread.

Obi1kenobi:
Your brains are certainly working. It's remarkable the number of times I argue with Ndigbo b'anyi who would claim that after Lagos, Anambra is some kind of industrial and commercial nerve center of the country. And spin conspiracy theories about us actually having among the most populated regions in the country when all available data (such as active telecom subscribers and fuel allocation) makes it clear the SE is the least populated. Many of us are simply disconnected from reality about the SE and its strategic importance in Nigeria. To worsen matters, it's also one of the least attractive investment destinations in the country. Already, we were not quite bequeathed by nature with the resource abundance (natural and mineral resources, arable land, strategic geographic location etc) of the Middle Belt, Niger Delta or the South West - then worsened it with the IPOB/ESN stupidity, sowing and bountifully reaping unrest and anarchy in the region in the name of separatist activism. How many sane industrialists would see Anambra as an attractive investment destination, instead of Ogun or Oyo or Delta or Rivers? To come and do sit-at-home on Mondays?

Eboofa:
So we should fold our hands and die? You are conflating too many issues..........if our problems were this simplistic, then the solution will be dead easy ! You totally left out our docile amd extremely corrupt poltical, clerical and traditional leaders..........bro IPOB or ESN whatever is symptomatic of what actually ails us! A largely immoral and confused population led by a worse political class ! The IMF boss declared today that our so called leaders steal most of the so called IGR they generate................ESN is not our problem ...Your LEADERS are the problem! aside Alex otti and also Patrick mba!

Obi1kenobi:
Nothing I stated has absolved our leaders of their responsibility. We're not the only region in the country with corrupt, incompetent leaders. I live in the so-called "centre of excellence" of the country that Yoruba people brag about like it's Zurich and Amsterdam combined - and it's a putrid, filthy, chaotic, ugly, unplanned, overpopulated mess of a city with glaring failed leadership. Where we're different is how we have voluntarily destabilized our own states and spread anarchy - giving licence and opportunity for the worst criminal elements to thrive. Our stupidity is the reason the Asaba real estate market is one of the hottest in Nigeria (Delta also now has one of the top 3 IGRs in the country) - because middle to upper class Anambra residents are fleeing there to get away from the criminality, destabilization and chaos.

maiunguwar:
People like you only see faults but not solution. There's crime everywhere in Nigeria, the solution to crime rest with the government,if the government that controls the security agencies can't tackle crime, what magic do you expect from the citizens?

The real estate market in Anambra is far bigger than whatever you have in Delta state, I reside in both cities. Onitsha and environs is the fastest growing conurbation in the whole of Africa. The reason Igbos invest in Asaba is the same reason they invest in Lagos and Abuja

We should desist from demarketing our homeland

ANSMEDIA:
Southeast biggest mall emerges in the beautiful city of Awka. God bless Igboland

OreMI22:
A New Dawn in Southeast Nigeria: From Neglect to Quality Development

In recent years, a significant change has taken place in the governance and development approach of Southeast Nigeria. The governors of the region are now embracing a new mindset, one that prioritizes quality, aesthetics, and lasting impact in public infrastructure. Unlike in the past, when many projects in the Southeast were poorly executed and far below the standards seen in other parts of the country, today’s projects are beginning to reflect modern standards and a vision of excellence.

Previously, public buildings, roads, and facilities in the Southeast were often constructed with a "village standard" mentality—shoddy workmanship, poor planning, and a lack of attention to beauty or long-term use. This led to infrastructure that not only looked inferior but also did not serve the people effectively. Many citizens felt that their region was being shortchanged, especially when they compared their facilities to those in other parts of Nigeria.

However, the Southeast governors are now proving that the region can deliver world-class projects too. I would rate Gov. Peter Mbah, Gov. Alex Otii, and Prof. Charles Soludo as the new visionary leaders of the region who have clearly departed from the old mentality of our leaders that anything in the southeast should be sub-standard. We now see government buildings with proper designs, dual-carriage roads built to last, and public spaces thoughtfully planned and landscaped. Landscaping, in particular, has become a noticeable new trend. Green spaces, flowers, street lighting, and decorative features are being used to beautify cities and towns, adding a sense of pride and modernity to the environment.

This positive shift shows that the leaders of the Southeast are starting to see infrastructure not just as a necessity but as a reflection of identity and ambition. By building quality projects and making cities beautiful, they are sending a message: the Southeast deserves the best, just like any other part of Nigeria.

If this new direction continues, it will not only improve daily life for residents but also attract investment, tourism, and greater respect for the region. The governors are finally showing that development in the Southeast can be both functional and beautiful—and that is a change worth celebrating.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl6-Hu4yqSs



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IsScBfV4oA



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1HRf2YChBs

abuzz33:
The south east cities and infrastructure can be a lot better if Igbo governors were not in the business of self enrichment with improving the welfare of their citizens an after thought. Because if they were then what you would see on ground, after billions in faac revenue, are cities approximating places like blantyre, malawi with good planning and decent infrastructure not India 2.0 where everywhere stinks of haphazard design and corrupt tendering and procurement.

For example, contrast roads built by state and federal. The federal roads designed and built by federal contractors follow road codes to a T. The Enugu-Onitsha expressway has emergency lanes, crash barriers and proper signage. But state roads or the ones constructed by the state? They dont follow codes and are full of engineering mistakes all over the place because they were designed and awarded improperly. The ramps built by obiano is a classic example. The underpass is a traffic nightmare instead of alleviating traffic. The footbridge built by Obi at unizik junction has some of its pillars on the expressway. Soludo is not left out. His geniuses at ministry of works put speed barriers on an expressway basically turning the expressway into a local road!

But there's more. You look at simple basics like town planning. Only Ngige had the sense to relocate markets to places they could be walled off to prevent their natural tendency to interfere with traffic that basically were turning Onitsha into chaos. But his successors? They can't even organize basic markets in the state. Instead they award more contracts to organizations like Atma who revel in turning the front faces of markets into theaters of chaos in order to collect numerous under the table taxes from illegal hawker fees, illegal keke loading bribes.

Not for them thoughts for how to create new organized markets or introduce city wide public bus system or sufficient bus parks of parking. These would make cities more livable and alleviate the hardships of common folk.

Then they market projects with questionable ROI. Multi billion naira airports that barely transport 500 people a day and multi billion government houses that barely house more than 5,000 people.

Anambra has received over $2 billion over the past 25 years. There is very little on ground to suggest that even a quarter of that or $500m has been dedicated to vast infrastructural investments. Instead, a lot less has been spent with praise singers posting pictures of one or two developments and singing it to high heavens. For a wakeup call go see what Blantyre, Malawi looks like and that's a very poor African country.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmF4jrgiWSU?si=QncfE4g4WKXyZTc2

Eboofa:
We are losing it and losing it fast! What am i talking about? Nigerians no longer know the difference between what is base and whats outstanding! We no longer know what basic decency is.......our moral compass has gone awry and its affecting everything we do! Whilst there has been a noticeable improvement in governance in the southeast.......yet from the quality of projects in Anambra state its quite obvious that we still have a lot of work to do.........lots of work! I am not surprised that malawi is getting a makeover........Malawians are born hustlers, they will give nigerians a run for their money in terms of hardwork! The US visa lottery pushed a lot of them into the United states and they look for money like their lives depended on it.........they also have a ruthless even wicked streak to their hustle! the key thing is that their government is really maximizing the remittances from abroad Malawians...........unlike nigeria where our oil resources have been wasted and looted, loans collected have been wasted ....now taxes from import duty and PAYE tax is being systematically looted according to the IMF annual report!

I love the roads being dualized by Soludo but its quite clear the standard is somehow sha..........again we go back to the lack of capacity in our civil service, especially in the areas of town planning and environment! Even with enhanced IGR , i doubt the anambra civil service can take us to Blantyre level.........6 months after the completion of the lighthouse govt seat in Awka........they are yet to plant proper lawns and enuff shade and ornamental trees in the seat and home of the governor.......I tire men!

maiunguwar:
People like you only see faults but not solution. There's crime everywhere in Nigeria, the solution to crime rest with the government,if the government that controls the security agencies can't tackle crime, what magic do you expect from the citizens?

The real estate market in Anambra is far bigger than whatever you have in Delta state, I reside in both cities. Onitsha and environs is the fastest growing conurbation in the whole of Africa. The reason Igbos invest in Asaba is the same reason they invest in Lagos and Abuja

We should desist from demarketing our homeland

ANSMEDIA:
Southeast biggest mall emerges in the beautiful city of Awka. God bless Igboland

abuzz33:
That's not even their capital. Google lilongwe. We tend to talk too much in Nigeria and boast with our mediocrity. Yet the facts of our underperformance are stark and evident. Nigerian government can't organize electricity, its airline is dead, its refineries comatose, its telecom bankrupted, its postal service a mockery, its roads death traps, its schools cattle sheds.

Anambra built a government house which it promotes as the single greatest achievement of the incumbent governor. A collection of basic looking buildings is seen as a symbol of achievement not something complex and awe inspiring.

It builds standard roads and trumpets this as an achievement. Not as a responsibility.

Its October go and look at Harare and Pretoria on Google Images. The beautifully laid out streets are lined by purple flowering jacaranda trees that bloom in October. That's foresight, design.

Go ask what happened to the flame trees planted by the colonialists along some of the roads in Onitsha or the mango trees planted along old road. Old Enugu road is now defined by primitive markets spilling onto the streets and thousands of keke and shuttles weaving carelessly down it. No single bus stop. No single governor has thought of running a public bus service connecting Awka to Onitsha via all the adjoining towns to make movement easy and comfortable.

Cities should not be village extensions. Three quarters of our cities are unpaved, lack proper drainage and signage. Obiano at least tried to give streets sign posts but what happened to them? Another administration claiming circular economy allowed abokis to go on a rampage with carts singing iron kwandem. Most of those sign posts are now nowhere to be seen. Sold off by a poor gang allowed to roam wild by government.

Other people choose order and law not groveling in chaos and filth and calling that civilization. India is a bad model for anyone but that accommodation of anyhowness is what Nigeria has gravitate towards.

For us as igbos the tragedy is that Nigeria is almost certainly on its way out. FAAC is pathetically tiny for a nation of 240m. Anambra a state of 6-8m has a budget per capita of less than $40 per person or 60,000 naira per person. Therefore how public money is spent matters tremendously.

abuzz33:
The south east cities and infrastructure can be a lot better if Igbo governors were not in the business of self enrichment with improving the welfare of their citizens an after thought. Because if they were then what you would see on ground, after billions in faac revenue, are cities approximating places like blantyre, malawi with good planning and decent infrastructure not India 2.0 where everywhere stinks of haphazard design and corrupt tendering and procurement.

Ofodirinwa:
do you have any evidence that they are interested in self enrichment or do you think baseless accusations are sense? The article is about how the SE governors are doing well and increasing their standards. There are examples in the write up. You then counter by calling them theives, no examples, then you post the economic center of the whole country of malawi which doesn't even look better than Enugu.

We have to stop the baseless insulting of anyone in power. We have had several performing governors and leaders. 100% of them have been called theives. If you're performing and people are going to insult you regardless, why perform?

abuzz33:
Its not insult for citizens to ask what the state government is doing with huge oil derived revenue and taxes it receives year in and year out because to the naked eye of any observer there is a huge difference between that and what you see on ground.

For example, Anambra State has received the following sums of revenue:

2023 - 185.4b (36.2b)
2024 - 372.2b (42.9b IGR)
2025 H1 - 170b est

That's a total of 727b to date. We have the right to ask questions.

Ofodirinwa:
I see you have joined Yoruba IGR mumuism.

Anambra state had low tax rates because it's a commerce oriented state. Peter Obi and Obiano both reduced tax rates and eliminated taxes on may activities and goods to encourage business. IGR is not development, and some people (Anambra governors) believe money is better left in the hands of business than government. Even right now Peter Obi is speaking against Tinubu's taxes. Low tax rates = low IGR.

You people are going to create a type of hell where governors are racing to tax you to death. Stop promoting this yoruba APC nonsense.

abuzz33:
Promoting what? I highlighted the fact that oil derived revenue or FAAC is a huge windfall to the state. But all revenue should be used judiciously.

In a better country, ANSG should run its entire operations with IGR and keep FAAC for well thought out capital projects or investments as the Obi administration sought to do.

And stop the yoruba if APC tribalism baiting and face the issue. IGR is low in Anambra not because of any concerted policy to encourage business but because of the primitive level of tax collection. Enugu, Kaduna improved their tax systems and generate much higher IGR than Anambra. Enugu generated 4x Anambra in 2024 with 144b. Kaduna generated 70b in the same year. Their tax authorities are sophisticated operations not the agbero system of Anambra.

Anambra government need to be more transparent and more responsible in their activities. Before one could find audited statement of accounts of ANSG online. Now you only get the Auditor Generals reports.

Ofodirinwa:
I see you have joined Yoruba IGR mumuism.

Anambra state had low tax rates because it's a commerce oriented state. Peter Obi and Obiano both reduced tax rates and eliminated taxes on may activities and goods to encourage business. IGR is not development, and some people (Anambra governors) believe money is better left in the hands of business than government. Even right now Peter Obi is speaking against Tinubu's taxes. Low tax rates = low IGR.

You people are going to create a type of hell where governors are racing to tax you to death. Stop promoting this yoruba APC nonsense.

leicestercamper:
You people should stop posting propaganda on this thread? Who told you that Enugu generated 144m? You think people don’t know it’s pure propaganda? What’s in Enugu except ogbete market and poorly paid civil servants? What’s the GDP of Enugu state compare to Anambra? What’s the HDI and VAT of Enugu state compare to Anambra? Propaganda can never develop a state.

abuzz33:
https://fmino.gov.ng/igr-enugu-leads-south-east-ranks-5th-nationally-as-nbs-releases-2024-report/

IGR: Enugu Leads South East, Ranks 5th Nationally As NBS Releases 2024 Report
By Samuel Anyanwu -October 8, 20250
Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah
FIC Report (Enugu State) – Enugu State has emerged as the highest internally revenue-generating state in the South East and the fifth overall in Nigeria, according to the 2024 Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report, published on Monday via the NBS X handle, revealed that the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) collectively generated ₦3.6 trillion in 2024, representing a 49.7 percent increase from the ₦2.43 trillion recorded in 2023.

According to the Bureau, Lagos State maintained its dominant lead as Nigeria’s top revenue earner with a total IGR of ₦1.26 trillion (₦1,261,556,415,048.56). It was followed by Rivers State with ₦317.3 billion, and the FCT with ₦282.36 billion.

Ogun State and Enugu State completed the top five, generating ₦194.93 billion and ₦180.5 billion respectively.

At the lower end of the ranking, Yobe, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Taraba, and Adamawa States recorded the least IGR figures in 2024. Yobe posted the lowest with ₦11.08 billion, followed by Ebonyi with ₦13.17 billion, Kebbi with ₦16.97 billion, Taraba with ₦17.46 billion, and Adamawa with ₦20.29 billion.

The detailed IGR figures released by the NBS are as follows:

Lagos — ₦1,261,556,415,048.56
Rivers — ₦317,303,986,832.38
FCT — ₦282,364,055,025.74
Ogun — ₦194,933,884,872.57
Enugu — ₦180,500,141,598.36
Delta — ₦157,785,188,072.55
Edo — ₦91,153,908,548.19
Akwa Ibom — ₦75,768,017,871.08
Kano — ₦74,771,014,335.51
Kaduna — ₦71,574,658,542.97
Kwara — ₦71,197,075,565.91
Oyo — ₦65,287,038,267.92
Bayelsa — ₦64,013,288,202.51
Jigawa — ₦59,455,563,495.20
Osun — ₦54,767,865,323.88
Cross River — ₦47,018,239,529.33
Anambra — ₦42,689,648,058.74
Abia — ₦40,009,340,912.93
Katsina — ₦39,152,790,613.55
Niger — ₦34,660,234,106.71
Bauchi — ₦32,427,554,765.85
Kogi — ₦32,012,618,177.80
Adamawa — ₦20,298,222,818.56
Taraba — ₦17,460,514,087.44
Kebbi — ₦16,971,704,831.43
Ebonyi — ₦13,177,829,475.63
Yobe — ₦11,084,367,202.33

Enugu’s strong performance, analysts say, reflects ongoing reforms aimed at expanding the state’s economic base, improving service delivery, and strengthening financial autonomy — positioning it as the economic hub of the South East.

leicestercamper:
Posting propaganda doesn’t mean anything. Enugu state didn’t even generate ten percent of the figure. States are responsible for any figure it dish out. So any state can post any bogus figure and that’s what Enugu state has done. Enugu state figure purely discredited this list. Enugu has no oil and gas, no industrial nor commercial base, except ogbete and poorly paid civil servants. Please tell us from where the state got such IGR? Do you think people don’t think? Positioning as the economic hub from where to where? What’s the literacy rate, HDI, GDP and VAT of Enugu state compare to Anambra? Enugu doesn’t even have ordinary water. Abeg commmmot here with your propaganda