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Aba is the commercial hub of Nigeria's Southeast, with 2.4 million residents generating most of Abia state's $8.6 billion GDP. Port Harcourt is the capital of Rivers (GDP $21bn) with 1.8 million people. It is about 61km from Aba. Keep these stats in mind for the next tweet.
Kaduna City, capital of Kaduna state has 1.1 million people and a state GDP of $10.3 billion. Abuja is the FCT and it has 4.1 million residents. Both cities are about 189km apart.
Given rational resource allocation, which of these neighbours need a SG rail link first?
Given rational resource allocation, which of these neighbours need a SG rail link first?
The passenger numbers between Aba and Port Harcourt are likely to be far in excess of Kaduna to Abuja, and the distance is also 3 times shorter.
As a government, which of these two links is more cost-effective and is less of an investment risk?
As a government, which of these two links is more cost-effective and is less of an investment risk?
In Nigeria, the answer incredibly was Kaduna - Abuja.
The entirety of Southeast Nigeria has ZERO standard gauge rail infrastructure, despite it having an outsized contribution to Nigeria's GDP figures.
If this looks like an isolated comparison, it gets worse.
The entirety of Southeast Nigeria has ZERO standard gauge rail infrastructure, despite it having an outsized contribution to Nigeria's GDP figures.
If this looks like an isolated comparison, it gets worse.
Lagos, Abeokuta and Ibadan are 121km from each other, and increasingly converging into a conurbation (city merger) due to urban sprawl. Lagos and Oyo state are both in the top 4 contributors to national GDP figures, with both Lagos and Ibadan hosting at least 23 million people.
Nearly all of Nigeria's import and export traffic passes through the Lagos - Ibadan expressway and Lagos is by far Nigeria's most economically important city.
So as a government, between Lagos - Ibadan and Kaduna - Abuja, which of these 2 is an SGR priority?
So as a government, between Lagos - Ibadan and Kaduna - Abuja, which of these 2 is an SGR priority?
Again incredibly, the answer was Kaduna - Abuja.
We are in 2019, and there is still no operational fast rail link between two of Southern Nigeria's three most important cities located 121km from each other.
Kaduna - Abuja was the priority.
We are in 2019, and there is still no operational fast rail link between two of Southern Nigeria's three most important cities located 121km from each other.
Kaduna - Abuja was the priority.
These are the decisions everybody looks at and realises that Nigeria is fundamentally not a serious country led by people with any iota of intelligence or sincerity.
I predict there will be an SGR link from Minna - Abuja before Lagos - Onitsha.
It's how we do things.
I predict there will be an SGR link from Minna - Abuja before Lagos - Onitsha.
It's how we do things.
This thread in meme form: 
