Comments on naijablog: Lagos Metro imagined

if other parts of the world did it, why not in Nig...

2007-07-18T13:24:00.000+01:00

if other parts of the world did it, why not in Nigeria and in Lagos especially? Lagos is one of the biggest cities in the world - maybe if the Lagos Metroline had been made to succeed, it would have surpased what Jeremy imagined here.

for better maps go to www.ceaser-web.com.

Do Nationwide travel directions, address search, find my nearest, points of interest, Nigerian post code search etc. You can also buy one of our in car navigation untis for Nigeria down to street level. Some skeptics will say things dont work in Nigeria - let them remain in theri dream land while people like us reap the juice of the land.

Oga, Jeremy, your plan is very interesting. Howeve...

2007-07-17T21:19:00.000+01:00

Oga, Jeremy, your plan is very interesting. However, Lagos will not have a modern rail system for the next 25 years. You can take that to the bank.

1) 99% of the money allocated to the project will be embezzled.

and 2) I can just imagine Nigerians throwing pure water, and even human waste all over the tracks. They are some of the filthiest, lawless people alive.

So, I like the idea of dreaming, but for now, Lagos remains the "urban jungle" (the words of Obasanjo himself!) that it is, and Nigeria will remain the bungling contraption that it is!

Your blog is great, by the way!

Man you are a gem. But I am yet to convince myself...

2007-07-13T01:30:00.000+01:00

Man you are a gem. But I am yet to convince myself otherwise that you are not from Onitsha (in Oyinbo skin). Anyway, I am going to sleep right-away, so that I can wake up with my own dream...and soon, IT SHALL MANIFEST IN NIGER LAND. Thomases shall soon believe in US. Ka Chineke mezie okwu.AMENooooH!!!!!

I'm glad you did this, but probably for different ...

2007-07-11T11:02:00.000+01:00

I'm glad you did this, but probably for different reasons from most people. I haven't been back to the motherland for nearly 11 years (and yes, i am hanging my head in shame as i divulge this piece of information). Alfred Korzybski (the father of general semantics (according to Wikipedia, so it must be true!)) said 'The map is not the territory', encapsulating his view that an abstraction derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself, e.g., the pain from a stone falling on your foot is not the stone; one's opinion of a politician, favorable or unfavorable, is not that person; a metaphorical representation of a concept is not the concept itself; and so on. A specific abstraction or reaction does not capture all facets of its source—e.g., the pain in your foot does not convey the internal structure of the stone, you don't know everything that is going on in the life of a politician, etc

What i'm trying to say is the even if the map is not the territory, just looking at your map immediately brought back dormant memories of places, not exactly forgotten, but not fully remembered either. So, thanks i guess

hi Jeremy. that is amazing and very creative. you'...

2007-07-09T08:53:00.000+01:00

hi Jeremy. that is amazing and very creative. you've hust given me a brilliant idea and i may be in touch. cheers, brown inQ.

I believe that all good things start with ideas an...

2007-07-07T12:40:00.000+01:00

I believe that all good things start with ideas and they then roll on to become implementations. Jeremy men..I like the concept. To the pessimists: don't knock a great idea, support it or come up with yours. London wasn't built in a day and I believe Lagos can achieve the same level of organization if we start driving through ideas of this nature.

One.

daGuv.

kepp up the pipe dreams!!!

2007-07-06T11:48:00.000+01:00

kepp up the pipe dreams!!!

it's the eternal pessimist again, and this one is ...

2007-07-06T11:44:00.000+01:00

it's the eternal pessimist again, and this one is directed at dreamer, if only your ppl had ur optimism, then they'd be a superpower today sadly nations weren't built by optimism alone. optimism needs, honest stand-up implementers and that is a group which is seriously lacking there, so wonderful and ingenious as this idea is, i am only pointing out the obvious which is that it will only ever remain an IDEA!!! ciao

Fantastic. I am willing to work to make it happen....

2007-07-06T10:37:00.000+01:00

Fantastic. I am willing to work to make it happen. Give me a holler anyone out there who thinks this is no dream.

hi, it's The fav anon. My humble response this thi...

2007-07-04T11:54:00.000+01:00

hi, it's The fav anon. My humble response this this is - It's the economy STUPID!

ciao

lovely to dream and all, but how much hopeless dre...

2007-07-03T10:52:00.000+01:00

lovely to dream and all, but how much hopeless dreaming can we do...

it might not happen now, but that shouldn't stop u...

2007-07-03T10:30:00.000+01:00

it might not happen now, but that shouldn't stop us from dreaming, from imagining a different society, a different way of doing things. Perhaps the problem with us Nigerians/Africans is that we stop ourself from imagining. Everything begins with the imagination. when we lose our ability to imagine, then there is no way on earth we can implement change or bring about a new social order. Everything starts with imagination. This is part of that imagining.

wishful thinking, you should know by now that it's...

2007-07-03T10:25:00.000+01:00

wishful thinking, you should know by now that it's never gonna happen nigerian politicians are too corrupt to do any good...

Some see as the world as it is... and ask Why?Some...

2007-07-02T20:17:00.000+01:00

Some see as the world as it is... and ask Why?

Some see the world as it should be and ask... Why Not?

All of una wey una don comment for this post... make una arrange una self for where una belong.

But seriously... ideas like these are the ones that make a hopeless Sanguine like myself get goosebumps!

A study was commissioned by Bola Tinubu at the beginning of his administration in 1999 on the feasibility of an underground system for Lagos. The cost of the project was found to be "prohibitively high" (Unfourtunately I cannot give any reference for this information... just say I got it from the ever reliable 'demsay' grapevine!)

Me thinks the people who did the study LOOKED for the problems and focused on it to the exclusion of actually trying to make it work.

As it is... I can think of 5 major intrinsic challenges that would hamper such a project (not to count the ones enumerated already)... but I prefer to dream instead of buying a Cowrie Card at the corner Ibo shop in Egbeda/Akowonjo near my parent's house!

As usual.. I don over yarn! But one last thought... no matter the challenges pointed out (especially the social ones like Area boys, landfill ati bebe lo...) such a project if undertaken could actually be part of a wider development plan that would have direct and indirect benefits on the city of Lagos. Sort of like hosting a major soccer tournament.

Jeremy... Olorun a fun e, ati gbogbo awa iyoku se, so we can actually do some good!

wow! good one j, if we can get just 2-3 lines at t...

2007-07-02T17:45:00.000+01:00

wow! good one j, if we can get just 2-3 lines at the moment we'll be in business.

too much emphasis on the 'rich' neighbourhood though, they have better roads already

I like this, it's a great step in the right direct...

2007-07-02T11:42:00.000+01:00

I like this, it's a great step in the right direction. Perhaps you and your Bukka friends should put a thoroughly fleshed-out proposal together and take it round to a few bigwigs?

But to echo the first comment, awon boys would pose a serious problem. Who will respond to the alarm raised by the guys watching the CCTV screens? The police?! They're useless. I somehow feel that Lagos will have tons of trouble trying to get itself up to 'global city' status until it sorts out its CRIME problem!

Great idea Jeremy, it will indeed be a wish turned...

2007-07-02T10:45:00.000+01:00

Great idea Jeremy, it will indeed be a wish turned into a dream come through.

But first, I think we need to fix our roads and sort out other infrastructure like power out, otherwise this Project will forever be a "wishful thinking"

Find out about bukka here: http://www.bukka.org/No...

2007-07-02T10:23:00.000+01:00

Find out about bukka here: http://www.bukka.org/

Not sure they'll sell you any oxtail or shaki..

who are these bukka people? do the sell amala and ...

2007-07-02T10:20:00.000+01:00

who are these bukka people? do the sell amala and egusi? If so can they send me some with lafu and ewedu stew with oxtail, shaki, igbin, assorted sha!

seriously, who are they? i have heard several people mention them.

femi

Awesome! I didn't think it was possible that someo...

2007-07-02T08:44:00.000+01:00

Awesome! I didn't think it was possible that someone could make sense out of the senselessness of Lagos roads...nice work Jeremy! Challenge to the rest of us, let's see if we can post the link as far and wide as possible, Who knows? somebody up there might see it and the project in. You get to be the consultant overseeing the project...for bringing up the idea..I get a cut in form a contract to supply something...and then we'll all live happily ever after Naija style! Who's with me?

You deserve an award for this! You are on AfricanL...

2007-07-02T06:30:00.000+01:00

You deserve an award for this! You are on AfricanLoft!

Jay, love the map...However, as you know the bigge...

2007-07-02T01:21:00.000+01:00

Jay, love the map...However, as you know the biggest problem with telecoms in Nigerian is the laying of cables due to landownership issues...If this plan were to work it would have to be ove- ground and must never cross water otherwise you might aswell give people a one-way ticket to their death... As you well know, one stands a better chance of winning the lottery than getting dependable power supply from NEPA or worst still, emergency services should the unthinkable occure!

BUT, nevertheless.... I LOVE IT! I think you've done an excellent job. Anychace of printing it in poster as a souvernier for tourists etc.... What do you reckon!

Interesting Jeremy, i just wonder how on earth you...

2007-07-01T21:34:00.000+01:00

Interesting Jeremy, i just wonder how on earth you got to know all these places! I have friends who dont know Lagos as much as this 'London boy'. Good thinking, lets imagine it further and propose possible next steps.
By the way, who are the Bukka folks?

Hmmm ... I wonder what the proposed Lagos Metro sy...

2007-07-01T18:13:00.000+01:00

Hmmm ... I wonder what the proposed Lagos Metro system under Jakande wold have looked like.

Jeremy, the concept is good, but the implementatio...

2007-07-01T16:32:00.000+01:00

Jeremy, the concept is good, but the implementation and centralization around the island is poor. As a long time resident of Lagos, I've dreamt of a light rail "metro" network there for almost as long as I can remember.

Let's not kid ourselves around the funding issue. Yes, it would be bloody expensive to build, but that's not to say the money isn't there... because it is. Your idea of subsidization via corporate sponsorship is a good one. I see this as a federal issue, not a state one.

I think the transportation issue would be better served by a regional transit solution with fewer stops. This would extend from Ikeja (airport?) all the way to the islands.