I was a kid in Ovim, and we were in Ama Akpurachi (the village square with Akpurachi tree) discussing how Rear Admiral (Navy commander then) Ndubuisi Kanu would travel to visit our school. One kid noted that as a Naval officer, he would travel from a big ocean, connecting all the rivers from Lagos, to Nneochia stream (a big stream connecting Isuikwuato with Ezeukwu) to Ide (a lower body of stream) to Oko-opia (another smaller one).
The ex-governor of old Imo State was coming, and as kids we needed to figure out which of the village streams he would emerge from. Yes, a naval officer would travel via waters, because Navy people live in waters. We already knew how General Ike Nwachukwu would travel: army for the roads.
Waterways in Nigeria and the imaginations of kids. And that takes me to the news that Nigeria is building a coastal highway connecting Lagos and Calabar for N15.6 trillion. Wow – about 50% of Nigeria’s budget.
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Good People, think about this. Ovim railway station is no longer active. That means, the railtrack which connects Maiduguri and Port Harcourt does not exist today. I respect our leaders but I do not think spending 50% of Nigeria’s budget in this way is strategic for the country considering all the challenging vectors in the land.
That $15 billion could have been spent in a more strategic way. I do think 24/7 electricity, better rail tracks, improved education and healthcare systems would have been prioritized.
Nonetheless, good luck to Nigeria for its future $15 billion highway! That would be an African record and something to brag about: which country has the most expensive highway in Africa? “Sir, Nigeria”. That is progress for the record books, but that does not make it a good decision. We have not built or maintained highways internally, now, we think we can do so on seas! A nation in motion.
I was a kid in Ovim, and we were in Ama Akpurachi (the village square with Akpurachi tree) discussing how Rear Admiral (Navy commander then) Ndubuisi Kanu would travel to visit our school. One kid noted that as a Naval officer, he would travel from a big ocean, connecting all the… pic.twitter.com/agCr9Uqaqv
— Ndubuisi Ekekwe (@ndekekwe) April 12, 2024
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Is there any part of this report that is not screaming fraud, fraud, or guys are working hard to observe table manners? What is coastal road exactly and what new problems will it solve? The East-West has been going on for about two decades now, it’s not yet completed, it covers nine states or so, but because it’s from another administration, someone now sat down and conceived that wiring a road (not rail) from Lagos all the way to Calabar will take Nigeria to the next level? You cannot make these things up.
As if the thought of coastal road was not misguided enough, it didn’t have have any bidding process, but a guy just won the contract to construct the most expensive highway probably anywhere in Africa or the world, judging by the cost per kilometre. Even when our managers want to reward themselves, it is still advisable to do so with decorum and caution, and not with reckless abandon, as this coastal road depicts.
The Lagos-Badagary road that is way shorter has been going on for 15 years now, and magically Nigeria is ripe and rich to add Lagos-Calabar coastal road, really?
This is too strange to be real, but where humans seem confused or helpless, the gods will still frown and do something.
Up Nigeria, down her detractors.
When the North where building road and rail connecting Nigeria to Niger Republic, you Southerners where not saying anything but when it comes to securing our future then you start complaining but you have forgotten that this project will last over 50 years thereby outliving most of us here. The road is going to connect our New sea Port and the New refinery ,that is enough to consider the project not to talk of other coastal states that will connected.Also our population is expanding likewise our needs. We Southerner should learn to appreciate ourselves. I think too much of reading is affecting our reasoning.
You are a typical naija loser who says “I don’t care who cheats me as long as he’s from my tribe / region. Stay there being cheated while you sing the praises of those who cheats you. That’s why your country as a whole and even the regions within them individually remain shitholes. Lagos Centre of Excellence (Lagos, shithole of the world).
I think it is quite okay to do the coastal road, however, I feel the project should have started from the Calabar end instead of Lagos, or from both ends towards the middle. The entire thing looks like a project that will never be completed and that the present government will complete only the first phase which is just to open up Lagos and Ondo states; some kind of political gimmick.
It is wrong because your state is not a coastal state and it will pass through the south south a minority zone and feeders of Nigeria for decades. You are a wicked man masquerading as an analyst.
You can make your point without personal attacks. You can write and make your point. Taiwo, your pattern of commenting online is not good. Improve on it. I understand that it is a hard thing.
What is not good?
Writing to tell us that trying to do something new is a waste!
Now I will make my point this way’ nest of champion was conceived and built by his excellency Godwill Akpabio,critic like you argued that it will be useless, today it is the only functional stadium in Nigeria. My request is for people like you to engage the leaders to see to a timely completion and best cost of delivery.
“critic like you argued that it will be useless, today it is the only functional stadium in Nigeria.” – I am not a critic. I have always supported sports and actually pushing for Abia to build one https://www.tekedia.com/making-sports-a-business-in-abia-state-nigeria/ . Just to hold you on that fake insinuation. You do not need to agree with me, but do not lump me into political hit people. My position is that Nigeria has not demonstrated ways to build roads on land, and I think aspiring to do that on seas is not a smart policy.
Does coastal road presupposes that the road is passing on the seas all through???
If that’s the case then the whooping huge amount can be investigated to know and have the right costing.
The fulanis built their own road from Nigeria to Niger which will benefit greatly, why wouldn’t we build something for ourselves too. Personally, I do not think the road cum rail project is a waste. NAY. ?ather, it’s an all-important project.
The only one problem I have with it should be that it is already inflated in costing which is antithetical to fiscal responsibility and financial prudence. Two, that open bidding was not done on it makes a caricature of the whole thing. But was Nigeria-Niger road infrastructure opened for bidding???
So, by and large the road is a good project and of course a priority too. It doesn’t stop all other internal ongoing road projects. Southerners must get their acts together and cooperate where it matters. And we must support our own.
Our people in the south are mischievous. Some are just writing to criticise senselessly. Just imagine those that will benefit from this laudable project are the same people blaming our leaders who consider the project necessary for future generations. The North never criticised rail line from Lagos to Niger Republic. Why are we so funny in this part of the country.
I do not see North or South; I see Nigeria. Like when they started building train lines to Niger, I was not for it. I also believe that a country which has zero records of maintaining roads on land should not waste efforts thinking it can build roads on seas. PHC-Enugu road is off by 2 decades. The one to Badagry…how many years now. These are smaller projects. Then all of a sudden you can build in the sea. This does not mean you cannot read my piece by seeing Ndubuisi over the points I am making.