₦airaland Forum

nnamdijonathan:
My visit to SGL church Ikoyi, Lagos shows that Anambra is still looking underdeveloped. You guys here saying that onitsha and Awka are beautiful need to visit Victoria island, Ikoyi, old lekki and banana island all in Lagos to see what beauty is all about. From the 3 Igbo trends on nairaland ( Enugu, Imo and Anambra trends), I have seen that Enugu state looks local but has as much green environment as Ikoyi which has made some places like New haven and Independence layout as beautiful as Lekki, in Imo state, only Owerri is beautiful in the entire state but it is clearly the only resort city in Nigeria and the most beautiful Igbo city with moderately clean and green environment with nice structures and houses all around the city. Owerri is surely the most beautiful in Igbo land and it is the only city that can stand up to Lekki and Ikoyi in terms of beauty but can't stand up to Banana island and Victoria island because of lack of buildings of 9 storeys and above. As for Anambra, Onitsha and Awka are the most promising metropolis in Igboland but they lack greenery and are not serene in any way. The fast developing communities such as Awka, Nkwelle etc lack paved streets while the roads that are paved are dirty with red sand everywhere and they lack grass, flowers and trees. Not to forget, they is only one high rise building in the entire Igbo land and it is in a rural community in Anambra not even in Onitsha or Awka. As for those of you who think those houses in Onitsha are high rise buildings, you all should think again because a building is tagged high rise when it is up to 12 stories not 4 or 5 stories. From the pictures shown in the different trends, I can tell you that the most beautiful cities in the SE are Owerri at first place, Enugu at second place, Onitsha metro at third place and Awka metro at fourth place however, If the shanties in all major markets in Awka and Onitsha are destroyed and the house owners are ordered to paint their houses with bright colours as well as plant flowers and trees and government does its own role in paving 90% of the streets in these metropolitan areas, Onitsha metro, is definitely going to be among the most beautiful cities in Africa because it presently has the multi story buildings in place to give it a modern city look. All Onitsha and Awka metros need is just polishing and strict laws which must be obeyed by all house owners but for now, believe it or not, Owerri is the most beautiful city in the SE and SS regions.

Ofodirinwa:
I wonder why so many people from Anambra are insecure. Because that's what it is. Somebody who's confident about themselves and their own progress wouldn't be so threatened by and hostile to others. Omanbala1 is probably US based from the way he speaks, and the other accounts are Chino, but why are these 2-3 guys so passionate about their insecurity?

Obdk:
. Dat guy is a sophisticated moronic afonja

Yyeske:
Just say you are insecure about Ndi Anambra and you'll just be fine

mktinsight:
Ikoyi that doesn't have basics like water, sewage, traffic lights, parks, libraries yet 90% of the people who live there have average yearly incomes of over 30 million a year.

The SE really should be aiming for the Calabar model which is functionality, livability and orderliness not lagos which is a vast slum with a few nice places. The SE at least has lots of small cities under a million. They should adopt the European model where the inner city is less big business than American cities. Many European countries rely on smaller companies that provide quality services and products. Contrast GM that produces 9 million cars with Mercedes that produces only 380,000. European shopping districts are more attractive than the cookie cutter American model of scale.

Yyeske:
You better mind your business next time before I descend on you

Ofodirinwa:
i thought you don't respond to my posts?

Yyeske:
Just mind your business next time

cjrane:
[s][/s]

Some people are just dogs.

Go and show your village chief that picture and tell him your village should be better than New York. Stop coming here to give FAKE advise borne out of unnecessary hatred for a fellow Igbo state

cjrane:
[s][/s]

Some people are just dogs.

Go and show your village chief that picture and tell him your village should be better than New York. Stop coming here to give FAKE advise borne out of unnecessary hatred for a fellow Igbo state

Ofodirinwa:
This is what I'm talking about. Livability is everything. Every city should be focused on 'do my citizens have access everything they need to be happy and healthy in this city'. Not 'who has the tallest buildings' and 'who commissioned a fly over'

mktinsight:
Ikoyi that doesn't have basics like water, sewage, traffic lights, parks, libraries yet 90% of the people who live there have average yearly incomes of over 30 million a year.

The SE really should be aiming for the Calabar model which is functionality, livability and orderliness not lagos which is a vast slum with a few nice places. The SE at least has lots of small cities under a million. They should adopt the European model where the inner city is less big business than American cities. Many European countries rely on smaller companies that provide quality services and products. Contrast GM that produces 9 million cars with Mercedes that produces only 1.8 million. European shopping districts are more attractive than the cookie cutter American model of scale.

investnow2013:
ENJOY SOME OF THE ANAMBRA TOURISM POTENTIALS & NEW DEVELOPMENTS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RFwsYMLqnc

onuebonyi:
Some states’ inability to meet vital financial obligations without allocation from the Federal Government is becoming clearer by the day following the deadlock in the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting. As at today, not less than 14 states currently owe workers’ salaries for June, following delay in disbursement of funds from the centre.

The situation has also been made worse by poor internal revenue generation (IGR) mechanism and over-bloated civil service structure put in place by some of the governors.

New Telegraph’s survey across states revealed that while a few are up to date in salary payment from their IGR and possible surplus from federal allocation, some others resort to short-term loan facilities from banks to meet same obligation.

A FAAC source confirmed this to one of our correspondents, saying that states that managed to pay June salary to civil service workers under the current circumstance did so with bank loans. According to the source, “Few states paid while the deadlock persists.

They took loans from banks. I don’t have the number of states, but I spoke with the Chairman of Commissioners for Finance Forum, Mr. Mahmoud Yunusa, on phone yesterday and he told me states that paid did so with facility from banks.

“Banks will readily lend funds to any state that approaches them for loan knowing that over N600 billion is being awaited from FAAC.” The current development is reaffirmation of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s position in May that without monthly allocations from FAAC, it would be difficult for most states of the federation to survive. Some of the states currently plunged into this dilemma include Ondo, Ogun, Taraba, Kwara, Abia, Borno, Osun, Imo, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kogi, Benue, and Nasarawa.

The matter has also been made worse by recent spat between the state governors and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over allegation that the state-owned oil firm failed to remit full amount to the entire joint venture proceeds from the sale of crude oil to the Federation Account for five years.

While reacting to the situation, some top officials of the affected states, who spoke with New Telegraph, blamed the situation on delay in the disbursement of allocation by FAAC. In Ondo State, for instance, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Yemi Olowolabi, confirmed the development, saying that the June salaries was being delayed due to non-receipt of allocation from the federation account.

The amount accruing to the state government from the federation account is between N4.8 billion and N5 billion on monthly basis, and the amount paid as salary to civil servants at the state level is N4.8 billion while workers at local governments get N2.8 billion. In Taraba State, a senior civil servant in the state’s Ministry of Finance attributed the delay to the deadlock at the last FAAC meeting. He put the salary and pension bills of the state at N2.1 billion monthly.

Also in Kwara, which has a wage of bill of about N2.4 billion monthly, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Communication) to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, Dr. Muiden Akorede, said government was exploring alternative means to ensure payment while expressing hope that the delay from FAAC would be handled without much delay. “The government is exploring alternative funds for payment of salaries pending the release of allocation in the interest of workers’ welfare.

Meanwhile, we are hopeful that the FAAC issue will be resolved soon,” he said. In Abia State, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku, also attributed the delay to non-disbursement of allocation from the federation account.

According to the commissioner, who put the state’s monthly wage bill at about N2.3 billion, “the state government has not paid June salary because of the face-off between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the NNPC. “The problem is not peculiar to Abia. It’s all over the federation, including the Federal Government. Even the Federal Government has not paid.” In Ogun State, the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration has yet to pay the June salary of its workforce.

Although the state had always paid salaries as and when due, the current delay may not be unconnected with the disagreement between state governors and NNPC over remittances to the Federation Account. Many civil and public servants who spoke with our correspondent in Abeodence kuta said the state government has not paid them for last month. They cited the logjam over federal allocation to states as reason given by the authorities.

The state’s monthly wage bill is reportedly in the region of N9 billion, consisting of state and local government salaries and allowances as well as subventions to state-owned tertiary institutions. In Borno, the Chairman of the state’s chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Titus Ali Abana, blamed the nonpayment on the FAAC quandary.

Osun State, with a wage bill of N3.5 billion, has also not paid its workers for June. When contacted, Secretary, NLC, Osun State chapter, Mr. Rufus Adeyemi, said the delay in receipt of federal allocation was having negative effects on workers in the state. Adeyemi said: “We implore all those involved in the imbroglio to resolve it.

Nothing should affect our salary. We really hope this matter is resolved soonest.” The situation is the same in Imo State. Speaking to New Telegraph, the Chairman of Imo State chapter of NLC, Comrade Austin Chilakpu, categorically stated that no civil servant in the state had been paid salary for the month of June.

He said: “The excuse we got was that the Accountant General has been going to FAAC meetings, but the state has not received any fund yet due to the FAAC stalemate.” The state has a monthly wage bill in the neighbourhood of N2.5 billion.

The non-disbursement of allocation has also affected River State, which is known for not owing workers. A source put the state’s monthly wage bill close to N7 billion, including pension. On his part, the Commissioner for Information, Oyo State, Mr. Toye Arulogun, said even the May salary had not been paid owing to the delay in the release of federal allocation.

His words: “As you are aware, the Oyo State Government deploys 110% of its federal allocation to the payment of salaries in line with its agreement with labour. The FAAC impasse is obviously the cause of the delay of the payment of May salary.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi has approved the payment of May salaries and it will be disbursed immediately the government gets the funds to make up the total.” Oyo State’s wage bill is currently about N4.5 billion.

On the part of Ekiti, the Commissioner for Finance, Chief Niyi Ojo, said the state had not received federal allocation to offset the state’s monthly wage bill, which stands at N1.7 billion, noting the figure would move up to N2.4 billion if cooperative deductions, gratuities, pensions and sundry allowances were added.

In Kogi State, Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Idris Asiru, said the Yahaya Bello administration was putting machinery in motion to create more revenue sources that will free the state on over dependant on federal allocation.

According to him, the state will soon get to the stage of other states that pay salaries without dependence on federal allocation. In Benue, Governor Samuel Ortom, who currently owes workers over 10 months salaries, is also a victim of the current federation allocation deadlock.

Apart from the current dilemma facing all the states, the governor had said that the increasing wage bill of the state, which now stands at over N7.8 billion was responsible for his inability to pay salaries. The Nasarawa State Chairman of NLC, Comrade Abdullahi Adeka, also blamed the delay on non-receipt of funds from FAAC.

However, while the affected states are keeping their fingers crossed until the matter is resolved at the federal level, some other states with strong IGR base have long paid June salaries and moved ahead. States in this region are Cross River, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Sokoto. Others are Bauchi, Adamawa, Enugu, Niger, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Plateau, Ebonyi, Yobe, Katsina, Jigawa, Anambra, Gombe and Kebbi.


https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/07/faac-crisis-14-governors-cant-pay-salaries/

In Ogun State, the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration has yet to pay the June salary of its workforce.

Xander85:
I trust Imo and Abia to represent the South East when a negative developmental issue is being discussed!

Inspite of the seemingly good job Rochas is said to be doing with Owerri, Imos' economic and academic indices have degenerated these past 7-plus years he's been governor! The case of Abia is that the citizens are just annoyingly docile and easily led....this has led to them having the worst type of leadership in the entire South East since 1999!

oneeast:
What sort of insecurity is this? Owerri and Imo state in general is the worst place in the SE. Owerri is the worst town in the SE, even worse than Aba. I still don't know who cursed Imo state and why. See the new face of your Owerri below. Owerri is a rural area in all indices of development. Owerri is a mad house, chaos, disorderliness, bad roads, fifth and total lack of government presence. Among all the states in the SE & SS, Imo state is the most backward and requires total demolishing. Owerri can best be described as a jungle. Face the fact which the picture below presents. Pictures speaks far better than any useless long grammar.


[s][/s]

nnamdijonathan:
See how you are talking rubbish. Instead of you to comment reasonably by stating how Imo is the most backward state in the SE, you are busy throwing insults. There are many unpaved streets in Obosi and Awka even in the midst of multi story buildings and you are here showing me one road in Owerri as if Anambra cities don't have damaged roads. If Anambra state is so good, how come flood carried two vehicles and pushed them into a big gutter at upper iwekka and also swept away 3 bankers? By the way, what is a canal-like gutter doing at the centre of a highway in a supposed developed urban city? Next time quote and give valid points and stop throwing insults. Mtcheeeew

Ofodirinwa:
I agree with a lot of your sentiment but I don't think high rises above 12 feet are necessary. Sometimes we get caught up on the idea of something and loose track of the meaning or purpose. Yes, the idea of having skyscrapers is nice, but for what purpose? There are plenty of cities that were beautiful before skyscrapers where necessary. Take a look at Vienna

https://d2bgjx2gb489de.cloudfront.net/gbb-blogs/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/24112026/Vienna-Graben-street-870x400.jpg
Nothing on Banana Island can touch this.

I think this is the model we should strive for in the SE for a few reasons.

1. Economics - If we start building 12+ ft skyscrapers, that means the building market will be monopolized by the very few companies with this capability. This increases the average entry point of being a building contractor. In a country where credit is hard to get a hold of, this can be disastrous for indigenous firms as foreign firms that can get loans from their home countries will have a field day dominating the market. Of all the buildings in BI, how many Nigerians built them or make money from their building? Let alone how many Lagosians or Yorubas. Maybe 1-5, but in the SE you have thousands of people who can be contracted to build and all of them have created wealth for themselves.

2. Electricity - Those skyhighs are death traps in Nigeria. The fact is that the country has no real power. The amount of people that will be trapped in elevators or relegated to having to climb a mountain of stairs just to get to their office or apartment will be brutal. Especially if they're older or handicapped.

3. Congestion - If you build one building that 1000 people work at, that means every day 1000 cars will be fighting to go in the same direction of 2-4 lane roads. Everytime you add a skyscraper, add 1000 more. You'll create a situation where 20,000 people will be fighting to go to the same 2-3 blocks and this can be a nightmare.


You europe you don't have sky highs like you do in the US and european cities are 100x more beautiful, liveable and peaceful than US ones. They skyscraper model isn't for everyone

I think Onitsha and Aba would be appropriate for skyscrapers, especially Onitsha, but even they are ok with the current model.

asha9:
The guy you quoted was very correct. Face your hopeless imo state. Face your backward worthless useless owerri and imo state

nnamdijonathan:
I am not even from Imo state or the SE in general, I am only an unbiased Igbo man from the SS

nnamdijonathan:
I was not saying that we should start building skyscrapers, I was only educating those who think that 4 - 6 story buildings are called high rise buildings. Anambra state does not need skyscrapers, in fact, the kind of houses in Onitsha and Awka metros are good enough to place them as some of the most beautiful cities in Africa but they are not yet clean and serene enough to be on that list. Another thing they are missing is advertisement. Those cities ( Onitsha and Awka) most start hosting big events in order to create awareness to the outside world that Nigeria is not only Lagos and Abuja. That is the same thing Cross river and Akwa Ibom are also doing and it has made them some of the most popular Nigerian States to the outside world. Some people even believe that Calabar and Uyo are more developed than Enugu, Onitsha metro, Awka .metro and Owerri. In the past few years, people have now began to rate calabar and uyo above even Port Harcourt because both cities host big events like The Experience, Football matches in a first class stadium and the Calabar carnival, let's not also forget other advertisements these states have done like showcasing modern standard highways in Uyo, Tinapa resort, Obudu cattle ranch, rain forests and have even gone ahead to create magazines to showcase the beautiful parts of their states to non Nigerians. What have we done to promote our own states? If you ask a non Igbo in Lagos to describe the SE for you, he/she will tell you that the SE is one of the most undeveloped region in Nigeria with dead roads and mud houses and also the most unsecured place in southern Nigeria that is why other Nigerians don't visit the SE for any reason and Igbos keep running away from their land to avoid getting killed or dying of poverty. If you haven't heard this before, I want you try it and ask a non Igbo person you meet Lagos or any other SW state to describe the SE for you.
Imo stage is the only state that is gradually making non Igbos know that the tourism sector of the SE is on the rise that is why within the last few years, Owerri has hosted two times more conferences than any SS and SE state as well as hosted 3 different Presidents of 3 African countries in just 2 months which is a wonderful achievement knowing fully well that Owerri is not the country's capital. Even Enugu, the eastern capital has never played host to such amount of Presidents in 5 years talkless of 2 months. People now troop in to Owerri from Port Harcourt and Bayelsa and Aba, Onitsha, Enugu etc to have fun and spend money. Owerri Airport now records more passengers than the Airports in Enugu, Uyo, Benin, Ibadan, Kaduna and even Kano and is also the fourth busiest airport in the country just behind those in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt all because of Tourism. Oyo state, Cross river state, Edo, Delta, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Enugu etc all have more industries than Imo state but Imo Airport is always busier than the Airports in those states because of tourism which is the main reason why I am begging Ndigbo to come together and build Owerri so that we can have at least one resort city in Nigeria and it will be located in Igboland. Forget about all these state demarcation nonsense, Owerri is for all of us and now that Owerri is showcasing the good part of Alaigbo to the world, we must make it the most beautiful city in Africa just as we plan to make Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Enugu, and Awka the engineering and Industrial hubs of Nigeria, Abakaliki as the Agricultural hub of Nigeria and Asaba ( well I have not discovered what we will use this city for ).

Xander85:
This one of Ogun surprised me the most! I thought they now have a high IGR intake, so what's the problem?

nnamdijonathan:
I was not saying that we should start building skyscrapers, I was only educating those who think that 4 - 6 story buildings are called high rise buildings. Anambra state does not need skyscrapers, in fact, the kind of houses in Onitsha and Awka metros are good enough to place them as some of the most beautiful cities in Africa but they are not yet clean and serene enough to be on that list. Another thing they are missing is advertisement. Those cities ( Onitsha and Awka) most start hosting big events in order to create awareness to the outside world that Nigeria is not only Lagos and Abuja. That is the same thing Cross river and Akwa Ibom are also doing and it has made them some of the most popular Nigerian States to the outside world. Some people even believe that Calabar and Uyo are more developed than Enugu, Onitsha metro, Awka .metro and Owerri. In the past few years, people have now began to rate calabar and uyo above even Port Harcourt because both cities host big events like The Experience, Football matches in a first class stadium and the Calabar carnival, let's not also forget other advertisements these states have done like showcasing modern standard highways in Uyo, Tinapa resort, Obudu cattle ranch, rain forests and have even gone ahead to create magazines to showcase the beautiful parts of their states to non Nigerians. What have we done to promote our own states? If you ask a non Igbo in Lagos to describe the SE for you, he/she will tell you that the SE is one of the most undeveloped region in Nigeria with dead roads and mud houses and also the most unsecured place in southern Nigeria that is why other Nigerians don't visit the SE for any reason and Igbos keep running away from their land to avoid getting killed or dying of poverty. If you haven't heard this before, I want you try it and ask a non Igbo person you meet Lagos or any other SW state to describe the SE for you.
Imo stage is the only state that is gradually making non Igbos know that the tourism sector of the SE is on the rise that is why within the last few years, Owerri has hosted two times more conferences than any SS and SE state as well as hosted 3 different Presidents of 3 African countries in just 2 months which is a wonderful achievement knowing fully well that Owerri is not the country's capital. Even Enugu, the eastern capital has never played host to such amount of Presidents in 5 years talkless of 2 months. People now troop in to Owerri from Port Harcourt and Bayelsa and Aba, Onitsha, Enugu etc to have fun and spend money. Owerri Airport now records more passengers than the Airports in Enugu, Uyo, Benin, Ibadan, Kaduna and even Kano and is also the fourth busiest airport in the country just behind those in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt all because of Tourism. Oyo state, Cross river state, Edo, Delta, Kano, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Enugu etc all have more industries than Imo state but Imo Airport is always busier than the Airports in those states because of tourism which is the main reason why I am begging Ndigbo to come together and build Owerri so that we can have at least one resort city in Nigeria and it will be located in Igboland. Forget about all these state demarcation nonsense, Owerri is for all of us and now that Owerri is showcasing the good part of Alaigbo to the world, we must make it the most beautiful city in Africa just as we plan to make Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Enugu, and Awka the engineering and Industrial hubs of Nigeria, Abakaliki as the Agricultural hub of Nigeria and Asaba ( well I have not discovered what we will use this city for ).

asha9:
Stop deceiving yourself. We run nairaland so we know the origin of every member here.

nnamdijonathan:
Counter my post and stop acting silly.

Afam4eva:
I must say that you're one of the smartest people on here. This is what i''ve always been saying. The SE states need to host a lot of popular events in order for people to learn and know a lot about our states. Let our governors host the super eagles in our stadiums, host carnivals etc. Only that way will some people know that Igboland is not what they think it is.

asha9:
You mean your useless post? Face your useless Imo state, Nnamdi, stop fooling and deceiving yourself.

asha9:
You mean your useless post? Face your useless Imo state, Nnamdi, stop fooling and deceiving yourself.

nnamdijonathan:
i am a pure mumu useless boy

asha9:
nahhh. I'm the real mumu boy