"I moved out of Nigeria in 1980. This was about the time
that Shagari became President of Nigeria. Since then,
Nigeria has digressed and actually moved back in time while
the rest of the world moves forward. My observation
indicates that there may have been a concerted effort to
destroy progress made in Southern Nigeria, which has been
successful. Where are the Cocoa pyramids, and the Oil
palms? Did you know that Nigerians were sent to Malaysia
and Indonesia to train them on how to raise and Farm the
Palm Oil?
In the case of planning, Lagos is my home state and My
early years were all in Lagos. I can remember places like
Takwa Bay that had beautiful blue waters and we used to
beach our boats and sometimes stayed overnight in some of
the huts (chalets) that we rented. Lagos was beautiful
then, and many regular folks on Sundays laid out blankets
along Marina to picnic while watching the beautiful display
of lights from Ships. Security was not an issue, and we'd
picnic until 10.00-11.00pm.
The Military created the 2nd destruction of Lagos
methodically, and rumour has it that it was on purpose,
because the North felt threatened by the quick progress
and advancements that Lagos was making. I will refrain
from getting into politics and resume my focus on the
subject at hand.
Since as early as 1954, Lagos and Ibadan had been
comprehensively mapped out by the U.S Army corp of
Engineers. Were you aware that there used to be a Seaport
(Airport) on the waters between Lekki and Ikorodu, where
amphibious planes landed? Did you know that Lagos was a
famous detination for European travelers to Africa for
recreation, even more popular than Kenya? Did you know
that Lagos had another Airport at Kirikiri and there used
to be many international flight and plane shows there
(Sponsored by Esso)? At these shows, did you know we
could board the planes to inspect them and even paid to
take 30 minutes flights on some planes? Did you know that
the then USSR actually came after Festac '77, and setup a
planetarium in Lagos for like 2 months, complete with
replica Soyuz capsules and everything you needed to know
about space? There was even a zero gravity chamber. This
was also open to the public.
At the rate that Nigeria is going backwards, we should be
glad with mimicking progressive Nations and playing
catchup rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. We have
the advantage of building upon time tested technologies
which they have worked on already. Nigeria is yet to build
any kind of "Wonder" and the closest that we had was the
National theater for the Black and African Festival of Arts.
It was a beautiful piece of art which involved the works of
a great Nigerian Artist named Emokpae.
Infrastructure should be our focus which has restrained
proper growth, and caused a lot of shack cities in Lagos. I
believe that the British conspired to screw us up by
imposing the "Plot system" on us rather than allowing us to
think in terms of "Lots" as in America. Once a Nigerian
sees a piece of property, they immediately think of how
many 60'X120' plots they can squeeze out of it. This is a
paradigm that is ridding us of green spaces within cities,
and hence an unhealthy livestyle. Everything is a hustle and
everyone is a hustler. Nigeria really needs a paradigm shift.
To address the issue that brought up this discussion, I will
say that it is a travesty that the 3 Bridges connecting
Lagos mainland to the Island are not Suspension bridges.
The other day while driving across Carter Bridge, I noticed
that it had been designed to allow the middle part to raise.
It is also revealing when I remember that Eko Bridge
actually has a Tower, and has long spans in the middle to
allow potential. However, 3rd Mainland Bridge is an
economic sabotage of Lagos, and I believe that it will need
to be torn down to allow Marine Navigation in the future.
If Lagos Planners had any exposure and professional pride,
they will have studied how cities/states with large bodies
of water handled developments. The water itself is usually
the economic foundation of these areas. The United States
currently have learned lessons and have blasted down many
dams, while creating fish ladders etc, at the remaining
ones to minimize impacts on nature as well as navigation.
The British have created water locks and extensive
mechanisms to create more efficient water transits. I will
post some transport data about the efficiency of barges as
compared with other forms of transportation. There is no
comparison at all. You will be shocked.
Lagos should have at least one suspension bridge linking the
Island to the edge of Apapa. There should be one linking to
Iganmu, and another linking to Ikorodu. The center part
over the water crossing of 3rd mainland bridge should be
destroyed, and a ramp built leading to a suspended part to
allow for water navigation. Looking at Carter Bridge and
Eko Bridge, I believe the original design allows for a
retroactive installation of an active system to allow the
center parts to be lifted for ships to navigate through.
River Osun and River Ogun should be dredged to allow for
low draft Barges to navigate them. Containers heading
North and East should be automatically offloaded at the
Ports into Barges destined for Ikorodu, Ijebu Igbo, or
Abeoukuta via River Oshun and Ogun accordingly. These
barges would include fuel barges as well. The Port at
Ikorodu was built to allow this to happen until our Northern
leaders decided and conspired to sabotage Lagos. Now
Dangote controls it.
The Western world will never allow the amount of traffic
issues that we see in Lagos continue for more than 2 years.
They will realize that traffic jams in their cities amounts
to failure in their planning. This oversight will be corrected
in a manner of urgency, and immediately becomes priority.
However, in Nigeria, we fail to understand the impact of
lost man hours has on the economy due to traffic jams.
Achievements that can be made in a day has to stretch to
a week or more because of transportation problems. This
has also affected the general paradigm of the people
because they are now used to traffic causing goals to
become unattainable. It is also a good excuse for
inefficiency as people make up stories about traffic.
A good example of our backwardness is the proposed 10 lane
highway to Badagry, from Iganmu. The process of
constructing this will destroy both the Lagos/Isolo
expressway, and the Ikorodu expressway as well. Mark my
words. Do you know the logistics that it will take to move
all the granite and other material that it will take to build
this? Do you know how many truckloads it will require to
get this job done? Do you know the amount of added traffic
congestion that it will create? In any civilized nation it will
be tantamount to madness to try to do this by road.
Supplies are basically from Abeokuta, Ibadan, and Ijebu Ife.
If things are properly planned, Ijebu Ife will terminate at a
dock at Epe, Ibadan will terminate at a dock at Majidun or
Ikorodu, and local traffic will be unaffected, except for the
short runs from dumps along the Badagry water front. This
is how logistics are planned in civilized Nations, and
developments is never tantamount to making life hell for
inhabitants. Lifetime Costs Cycle Analysis includes lost
time caused by traffic to inhabitants.
I am lamenting here because of the frustration that I feel
about knowing efficient and proper ways of doing things,
but continuing to see the backwardness that we embrace
in Nigeria while claiming to be pursuing progress. I wish and
have tried to get to Governor Fashola just to advise him
about potential pitfalls and more efficient systems and
ways for planning. I have consistently studied Satellite
imagery of Lagos extensively and now tend to believe that
some of these expatriates are actually out to sabotage us
and stifle our development. I sometimes wish to get a
chance to Master plan an unspoilt area such as Calabar, or
even Uyo because I believe that proper planning will jump
start the economies of these areas and lessons learned
from Lagos, will be used to avoid pitfalls.
I have learned to love Nigeria again in the past 4 years, and
it kills me each day watching clueless people destroy it
further by failing to plan for it's future. This is why my
previous response may have been harsh, because at the
moment Nigeria and Nigerians should forget about
reinventing the wheel, but focus on exposures worldwide,
and mimic what works best to get us started on the right
track. We should be studying the true costs of
Infrastructure plans over a time factor, instead of cheap
immediate gratification that are more expensive on the
long run.
I hope you don't feel offended by my previous remarks. It
was only a venting of the frustration I am going through
from feeling impotent about not being able to do anything
in regards to mistakes being made in Nigeria. It even hurts
me more when I see a Great Governor finally in my home
state trying to do positive things, but not being able to be
reached with advise that can enhance his goals. Most
Nigerians with their so-called expatriate advisers are
usually coming up with ideas that will fatten their pockets
rather than the overall good of the community. I therefore
apologize it you feel slighted by my previous remark."
that Shagari became President of Nigeria. Since then,
Nigeria has digressed and actually moved back in time while
the rest of the world moves forward. My observation
indicates that there may have been a concerted effort to
destroy progress made in Southern Nigeria, which has been
successful. Where are the Cocoa pyramids, and the Oil
palms? Did you know that Nigerians were sent to Malaysia
and Indonesia to train them on how to raise and Farm the
Palm Oil?
In the case of planning, Lagos is my home state and My
early years were all in Lagos. I can remember places like
Takwa Bay that had beautiful blue waters and we used to
beach our boats and sometimes stayed overnight in some of
the huts (chalets) that we rented. Lagos was beautiful
then, and many regular folks on Sundays laid out blankets
along Marina to picnic while watching the beautiful display
of lights from Ships. Security was not an issue, and we'd
picnic until 10.00-11.00pm.
The Military created the 2nd destruction of Lagos
methodically, and rumour has it that it was on purpose,
because the North felt threatened by the quick progress
and advancements that Lagos was making. I will refrain
from getting into politics and resume my focus on the
subject at hand.
Since as early as 1954, Lagos and Ibadan had been
comprehensively mapped out by the U.S Army corp of
Engineers. Were you aware that there used to be a Seaport
(Airport) on the waters between Lekki and Ikorodu, where
amphibious planes landed? Did you know that Lagos was a
famous detination for European travelers to Africa for
recreation, even more popular than Kenya? Did you know
that Lagos had another Airport at Kirikiri and there used
to be many international flight and plane shows there
(Sponsored by Esso)? At these shows, did you know we
could board the planes to inspect them and even paid to
take 30 minutes flights on some planes? Did you know that
the then USSR actually came after Festac '77, and setup a
planetarium in Lagos for like 2 months, complete with
replica Soyuz capsules and everything you needed to know
about space? There was even a zero gravity chamber. This
was also open to the public.
At the rate that Nigeria is going backwards, we should be
glad with mimicking progressive Nations and playing
catchup rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. We have
the advantage of building upon time tested technologies
which they have worked on already. Nigeria is yet to build
any kind of "Wonder" and the closest that we had was the
National theater for the Black and African Festival of Arts.
It was a beautiful piece of art which involved the works of
a great Nigerian Artist named Emokpae.
Infrastructure should be our focus which has restrained
proper growth, and caused a lot of shack cities in Lagos. I
believe that the British conspired to screw us up by
imposing the "Plot system" on us rather than allowing us to
think in terms of "Lots" as in America. Once a Nigerian
sees a piece of property, they immediately think of how
many 60'X120' plots they can squeeze out of it. This is a
paradigm that is ridding us of green spaces within cities,
and hence an unhealthy livestyle. Everything is a hustle and
everyone is a hustler. Nigeria really needs a paradigm shift.
To address the issue that brought up this discussion, I will
say that it is a travesty that the 3 Bridges connecting
Lagos mainland to the Island are not Suspension bridges.
The other day while driving across Carter Bridge, I noticed
that it had been designed to allow the middle part to raise.
It is also revealing when I remember that Eko Bridge
actually has a Tower, and has long spans in the middle to
allow potential. However, 3rd Mainland Bridge is an
economic sabotage of Lagos, and I believe that it will need
to be torn down to allow Marine Navigation in the future.
If Lagos Planners had any exposure and professional pride,
they will have studied how cities/states with large bodies
of water handled developments. The water itself is usually
the economic foundation of these areas. The United States
currently have learned lessons and have blasted down many
dams, while creating fish ladders etc, at the remaining
ones to minimize impacts on nature as well as navigation.
The British have created water locks and extensive
mechanisms to create more efficient water transits. I will
post some transport data about the efficiency of barges as
compared with other forms of transportation. There is no
comparison at all. You will be shocked.
Lagos should have at least one suspension bridge linking the
Island to the edge of Apapa. There should be one linking to
Iganmu, and another linking to Ikorodu. The center part
over the water crossing of 3rd mainland bridge should be
destroyed, and a ramp built leading to a suspended part to
allow for water navigation. Looking at Carter Bridge and
Eko Bridge, I believe the original design allows for a
retroactive installation of an active system to allow the
center parts to be lifted for ships to navigate through.
River Osun and River Ogun should be dredged to allow for
low draft Barges to navigate them. Containers heading
North and East should be automatically offloaded at the
Ports into Barges destined for Ikorodu, Ijebu Igbo, or
Abeoukuta via River Oshun and Ogun accordingly. These
barges would include fuel barges as well. The Port at
Ikorodu was built to allow this to happen until our Northern
leaders decided and conspired to sabotage Lagos. Now
Dangote controls it.
The Western world will never allow the amount of traffic
issues that we see in Lagos continue for more than 2 years.
They will realize that traffic jams in their cities amounts
to failure in their planning. This oversight will be corrected
in a manner of urgency, and immediately becomes priority.
However, in Nigeria, we fail to understand the impact of
lost man hours has on the economy due to traffic jams.
Achievements that can be made in a day has to stretch to
a week or more because of transportation problems. This
has also affected the general paradigm of the people
because they are now used to traffic causing goals to
become unattainable. It is also a good excuse for
inefficiency as people make up stories about traffic.
A good example of our backwardness is the proposed 10 lane
highway to Badagry, from Iganmu. The process of
constructing this will destroy both the Lagos/Isolo
expressway, and the Ikorodu expressway as well. Mark my
words. Do you know the logistics that it will take to move
all the granite and other material that it will take to build
this? Do you know how many truckloads it will require to
get this job done? Do you know the amount of added traffic
congestion that it will create? In any civilized nation it will
be tantamount to madness to try to do this by road.
Supplies are basically from Abeokuta, Ibadan, and Ijebu Ife.
If things are properly planned, Ijebu Ife will terminate at a
dock at Epe, Ibadan will terminate at a dock at Majidun or
Ikorodu, and local traffic will be unaffected, except for the
short runs from dumps along the Badagry water front. This
is how logistics are planned in civilized Nations, and
developments is never tantamount to making life hell for
inhabitants. Lifetime Costs Cycle Analysis includes lost
time caused by traffic to inhabitants.
I am lamenting here because of the frustration that I feel
about knowing efficient and proper ways of doing things,
but continuing to see the backwardness that we embrace
in Nigeria while claiming to be pursuing progress. I wish and
have tried to get to Governor Fashola just to advise him
about potential pitfalls and more efficient systems and
ways for planning. I have consistently studied Satellite
imagery of Lagos extensively and now tend to believe that
some of these expatriates are actually out to sabotage us
and stifle our development. I sometimes wish to get a
chance to Master plan an unspoilt area such as Calabar, or
even Uyo because I believe that proper planning will jump
start the economies of these areas and lessons learned
from Lagos, will be used to avoid pitfalls.
I have learned to love Nigeria again in the past 4 years, and
it kills me each day watching clueless people destroy it
further by failing to plan for it's future. This is why my
previous response may have been harsh, because at the
moment Nigeria and Nigerians should forget about
reinventing the wheel, but focus on exposures worldwide,
and mimic what works best to get us started on the right
track. We should be studying the true costs of
Infrastructure plans over a time factor, instead of cheap
immediate gratification that are more expensive on the
long run.
I hope you don't feel offended by my previous remarks. It
was only a venting of the frustration I am going through
from feeling impotent about not being able to do anything
in regards to mistakes being made in Nigeria. It even hurts
me more when I see a Great Governor finally in my home
state trying to do positive things, but not being able to be
reached with advise that can enhance his goals. Most
Nigerians with their so-called expatriate advisers are
usually coming up with ideas that will fatten their pockets
rather than the overall good of the community. I therefore
apologize it you feel slighted by my previous remark."
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