I’m glad to be back home in my motherland & fatherland, Nigeria. The flight was pleasant, and the reception at MMA was good.
The service from airline attendants was lovely, with no problems or hassle at Immigration or Customs.
Nigeria is getting better, but the reception of money changers, taxi touts, agberos, etc. outside arrivals was overwhelming and unwelcoming.
FAA must do something about this, & the journey to the parking lot was quite tortuous, with uneven surfaces that were dark and uninviting.
We need professional taxi and car hire service points within the Arrivals lounge, as is the case in most international airports, and more security outside Arrivals to ward off the hoards of hangers-on & hustlers.
Lagos, my initial point of entry, has been quite peaceful and pleasant. I travelled around Kosofe, Ikeja, Maryland Axis, and Oshodi Agege. There was not so much traffic as usual due to fuel scarcity & high prices. Cubana in Maryland is a great relaxing joint on the mainland. Ekp Oni baje
I took the train from Raji Fashola Station in Agege to Ibadan. The road to the station was jammed with traders & cars. It needs to be expanded, fixed, & cleared. I had to alight and walk before getting to the station, as there was no way through.
I highly recommend the train service from Lagos to Ibadan; it is excellent and pleasant. I also recommend NRC concession commercial shops & services within the station complex to serve customers and make it more vibrant as a hub, which will drive more customers. There are only three trips a day; this is grossly inadequate.
There are very few satellite towns set up around the station en route to serve customers working either in Lagos, Abeokuta, or Ibadan. There was very little commuter traffic on the journey. This is a missed opportunity.
I also noticed stations are located a distance from existing towns, making the journey into town tortuous. Taxis at the stations charge extortionate rates, knowing travelers without their own transport pickup have no choice.
Ibadan was great I stayed at Emmag Hotel Bodija & Sluggers Lounge for food & entertainment, both highly recommended. Light up Oyo is working and Ibadan is vast and busy.
I then took a vehicle to Abeokuta via Ewura & Igboora to my farm outside Abeokuta just before Oyan Dam. It was a pleasant trip, but a lot of repairs are needed in. portions of the road.
I saw many farms and harvesting of cassava; it’s a very scenic, peaceful root with many scenic rock formations.
After visiting my farm, I went to Abeokuta, my home town, which is expanding and very busy. Lovely city, but the road network within the capital has very bad potholes and abandoned roads everywhere. In the night the roads are dark, no light up Abeokuta or Ogun State here, a far cry from how Abeokuta was growing up in the early 80’s.
Ogun State is home to cement, granite aggregate, bitumen, sand, etc. Our Roads system should be the best in the country. Entering to Ogun via Lagos Old Road from Ota is shambolic and eyesore even. There is so much work to be done by the Gateway State, even if some of the roads are Fed Roads. It is clear that N100bn’s in man hours & Commerce are being lost by the poor state of Ogun Roads.
We encourage the government to do more, as the people are truly suffering in addition to the economic hardships. They say if they can see improvements in road infrastructure alone, it will make their suffering bearable. Over to all governments, especially state & local governments, to work harder. More reports to come.
Please share, thanks
Femi Oke
Betta9ja
