Mr Everest: Index of most industrialised/commercialised cities/towns in Nigeria( in their order of precedence from the most to the least)
1.Aba
2.0nitsa
3.Agbara
4.Nnewi
5.Warri
6.Sango ota
7.Zaria
8.Orlu
9.Eket
10.Ijebu ode

I wud prefere to put it this way
Onitsha
Warri
Aba
Nnewi
Eket
Bonny Island
Otta
Agbara
Zaria
Sapele
Sagamu
Ijebu Ode


I dont know about Orlu being commercial/industrialised though, I have been there but I would like you to tell me stuffs in Orlu else, We may as well include Ikot Ekpene, Gboko, Suleja, etc

afam4eva:
I'm sorry but Abuja has little or nothing to offer economically. Abuja is not an economic city neither is it a cultural city or a social city. It's simply a political city. Chikena.

My humble opinion:

1) Lagos(white collar and Blue collar)
2) Port-Hacourt(Oil and Gas)
3) Onitsha(Commerce and Manufacturing)
4) Aba(Manufacturing and Commerce)
5) Nnewi(Automobile capital of sub-sahan Africa)


Fringe cities:

Warri
Kano
Kaduna
etc...

I think Kano follows after Lag and PH, Warri shud b in the same league as Aba and Onitsha as well as Kaduna. although kaduna is much bigger and more developed than Warri, Aba and Onitsha

cholerik: plus,no yenagoa,u no even mention enugu or asaba first or jos, wetin dey yenagoa?

truth is, non of the cities mentioned here are in any way commercial. the likely ones in this category will be Enugu and Jos which cant compete economically with the much bigger and more developed economic centers like Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Ibadan as well as midsize cities of Aba, Onitsha, Warri. these are really the cities to mention in Nigeria in terms of general economic activities

cholerik: aba with trade,yeah,thats a fact but i bet big time investors would go with kaduna and ibadan before aba,its pretty evident,check out the no of banks,local investment like eateries,dont think theres any question,if its trade then kano shd be rote after lagos

I agree with u on the trading bit.
This is how I would like to rank Nigerian trading centers

[b]Lagos
Kano
[/b]Onitsha
Aba
Port Harcourt
Kaduna
Ibadan

The highlighted cities are the two that the world will recognise from Nigeria as far as pure trading is concerned

Jarus:

The satellite oracle has spoken. He sees what we don't see, including a city called 'anywhere' and another Lagos. . Case closed.

Im sory but this list is not making much sense. what city is called anywhere. u include Ondo as Oil and Gas city (as wrong as it gets) Oil and Gas centers in Nigeria are PH, Warri and Eket in that order. however, the argument is overall economic potential and not just one industry or one crop being planted. Please modify ur list.

thank you

DRANOEL: 1. lagos

2.abuja

3.kaduna

4.ph

5.kano

these five r very important, but the better arrangement is

Lagos
Port Harcourt
Kano
Abuja
Kaduna

gidson1: After lagos the next is rivers, rivers has got much more developed towns spreading into port harcourt, just as abagworo said, we have, ph, onne, obigbo, eleme, bonny and many more, after lagos the next is rivers

On point

afam4eva: I wonder oo. Pls what other city is developed in Kano apart from Kano city.

Most developed state doesnt not necessarily mean having many glorified villages with tared roads. No it doesnt. A developed state should generate alot of commercial and/or industrial and/or tourism activities largely owing to its infrastructure. And Kano Metropolis is not the only urban area in Kano state. there is also Wudil, Kura, Rano and some other small ones. Lets assume u will want to do away with my additions. It is important to note here that apart from Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, no other single Nigerian City is as developed as Kano. (If u like u can list Calabar, Enugu, Ibadan, Kaduna, Onitsha, Aba, Warri, Maiduguri and Jos). For those who fill one city states don't blow enough commercial breeze. u may be wrong as well. Rivers State which is said to have apparently one major Urban area is Nigeria's Second largest state economy according to wikipedia. Kano is also in the top 5 states yet apparently has one major Urban Area.

New York city is about the only significant city in New York state yet, its only California and texas in the US that has a larger state economy than it. If we want to look at states that really have more than one significant center of activites in Nigeria, they wont be many and that list wud be as follows:

Lagos - Ikeja, Lagos Island and a host of about 15 other metropolitan area councils (this is simialr to London which is made up of City of London, Canary Wharf and 31 other metropolitan Boroughs)

Rivers - Greater Port Harcourt made up or Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor, Eleme, Oyibgo, Ikwerre, Okirika, Emuoha. Bonny Island and Omoku

Delta - Warri Urban Area consisting of three Warri LGA's Uwie, Udu, Okpe. then there is Sapele and Asaba. U may wish to Add Ughelli and Asaba but I really wont do so.

Kano - Essentially just the Kano Urban Area. but thats 8 extremely viable metropolitan councils making up a vibrant metropolitan economies.

Anambra - consisting of Onitsha (Onitsha, Obosi and Nkpor metropolitan boroughs) and Nnewi. Awka may be small and unplanned but is gradually coming up.

Akwa Ibom - Eket/Ibeno urban area is its economic hub, Uyo is the state capital which is beginning to witness economic growth at a fast rate thanks to good infrastructure, Ikot Abasi with the Gas Turbine station and ALSCON, Oron (Ibaka to be part of its economic region soon). u may want to add Ikot Ekpene but I wont add it as of now.

Ogun - Abeokuta may be a mid-size dormant city but. its economic regions are Otta and Agbara as a result of Lagos urban sprawl. I really wont add Ijebu Ode and Sagamu (though they are both capable)

Kaduna - Federal Government's pet state is the only state in Nigeria to have to seperate cities that have atleast a million people in each. Kaduna urban has a good number of industries as well as Zaria only that Zaria is more of government educational institutions

Abia - has Aba as its economic seat and Umuahia as its potitcal center.

Oyo - Ibadan Urban sprawl has some economic activities. Ogbomosho and Oyo urban areas even though they are as large as some state capitals are not really economic centers as such

Cross River - Essentially tourism centered around Calabar and Obudu. Ikom is a small trading town but I wont including for the purpose of the subject of discussion.


this in my opinion are the top economic centers which add value and have got some relatively decent infrastructure

odumchi: Lagos-Anambra-Enugu-Imo-Rivers-Abia-Plateu-Delta-Ebonyi-Cross River-etc

Enugu, Imo and ebonyi cant possibly be in the top ten. What happened to Delta and Akwa Ibom that contribute a lot to Nigeria's development. Where are the likes of Kano, Kaduna and Ogun. These are the types of states that will make the list along with Lagos, Rivers, Anambra, Cross River and Abia.

zexyworm: I wonder why Google Earth is yet to provide significant Satellite imagery of Nigeria.
Lagos and Abuja are not covered. Only a handful of Nigeria cities are visible in high-rez on Google earth. They are Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu,
In contrast, Senegal and Ghana and even Cotonou are available in high-rez,
Fishy.

many other states in nigeria are now visible on the google earth with high res display and a good number of them are updated to atleast 2010 images

one.east:



I think Onitsha is getting attention and face lift at the moment with reconstruction and remodeling of Onitsha-Awka expressway and also the presence of major multinationals as Sabmiller and other local giants as orange drugs trooping into the city to set up their plants. The Onitsha Port is another plus to the city

that is a step in d right direction. however, concious efforts should be made by Anambra state government to upgrade Nnewi from an unplanned urban sprawl to a purposeful city with appropriate infrastructure put in place as well as having long term plans of purposefully integrating Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka to form a more formidable urban economic zone. It may not be so easy to achieve, but with determination, it can be achieved. the satellite image of Nnewi and Awka doesnt speak good of the two towns as they look like densed rural clusters. though Awka is gradually coming up. Onitsha remains the really purpose built urban area in Anambra

Justcash: I think it will be best for Nigeria to have four capital cities with different functions.

Abuja should be the Federal administrative Capital- Executive duties should be handled from there.
Lagos should be the Federal Commercial Capital- All commercial ministries and related federal institutions should be there.
Portharcourt should be the Federal Judicial Capital-All the federal judicial houses should be there.
Enugu should be the Federal Legislative Capital- All the federal houses of assembly should be there.

This will be strategic because it will aid the simultaneous presence of the federal government in every section of the country and the different arms of government can better serve as watchdogs against each other considering the distance. Moreover, it will also ensure that the nation will not be locked down if one federal capital is taken out by terrorists or even in a war.

Northern Nigeria will certainly not be buying this idea because three of the suggested cities are in Southern Nigeria. IMO I dont think its necessary to have seperate capitals. It will be too expensive to administer that way. What looks more realistic is that while Abuja is the Political capital of Nigeria, Lagos remains the Commercial Capital of Nigeria and Port Harcourt should be the tru OIL and GAS capital of Nigeria with every Oil and Gas activity be it federal or multinational be headquatered in Port Harcourt. this way other economic centers that wish to be as important as these three will have to properly develop that human and natural resources accordingly.

careytommy: The most important economically to the nations in terms of revenue generated for the country and the commercial activities that happen therein are;
1) Lagos
2) Port Harcourt
3) Warri
4) Eket
5) Kano
6) Onitsha
7) Aba
Ibadan
9) Nnewi
10)Abuja

ur heading and list is quite meaningful as each of these cities have their strengths and respectively contribute to national revenue generation. It is quite interesting to note that Eket was not excluded here as alot of people fill there isnt much happening there whereas its the heart of the oil and gas industry in Akwa Ibom. It may be small compared to Lagos, PH, Kano, Abuja and Ibadan but it really does deserve to be in the top ten revenue generating cities in Nigeria. I see some urban economy partnerships to develop in future amongst these cities with their respective neighbouring urban areas.

Good one

Jarus: Below is an effort at ranking Nigeria's major towns based on some yardsticks. it's just an opinion based on knowledge of activities in Nigeria and peculiarities of these cities:

Economy-wiseDefined by totality of corporate, commercial, and industrial activities)
1, Lagos- Corporate capital of Nigeria.Head Offices of virtually all the companies that matter are in Lagos.
2, Port Harcourt- The Oil capital of Nigeria.
3, Kano- Arguably No 1 commercial city in Nigeria, but commerce is just a fragment of economy
4, Abuja- The political capital of course, but can't stand Lagos, PH or Kano in terms of economic activities. Regulatory agencies that control the economy(CBN etc) are there
5, Kaduna-Another hub of economic activities. Lagos of the North
6, Ibadan- Hub of grassroot, informal economic activities
7, Warri- If Warri is bombed today, it will tell on the world economy via crude oil prices.

Commerce-wiseDefined by no and size of markets, volume of trading activities etc)
1, Kano: Commerce is another name for Kano
2, Ibadan:Commercial capital of the South(East and West). Trading activities, especially, informal activities, boom here.Millions of market women
3, Lagos: Many markets, formal and informal
4, Onitsha: The 'Dubai' of Ibo-made products. Has one of the largest markets in West africa
5, Kaduna: Also has one of the largest markets in west Africa
6, Aba: Made in Aba! You get me, ?
7, Port Harcourt: A good place to tap some money from the OIL MILLIONAIRES!

Industrial-wise:
1, Lagos: Highly industralized
2, Port Harcourt: Refinery plus other oil-related industries
3, Warri: Ditto
4, Otta: Home of Medium sized industries
5, Kaduna: Refinery plus other industries
6, Kano: Many indigenous plants are here
7, Ibadan:Oluyole industrial estate. Not doing badly

Political-wise:
1, Abuja- The official political capital of Nigeria
2, Ibadan- The political capital of old Western Nigeria and today's S/West. Ibadan politics matters in the country
3, Lagos- More of an economic city than political, but more than a decade after FCT was moved to Abuja, Lagos is still
4, Kaduna- The political h/quarters of the North, politically speaking.Capital of old Northern Nigeria.Till today critical political meetings still hold here. Power-broking city      
5, Kano- The religious capital of the North(apology to Sokoto). And in the North, politics and religion are intertwined. So
6, Enugu- The capital of the old Eastern Nigeria. Still powerful in political dealings today.
7, Ilorin- Another force to reckon with, politically speaking

this is about the most realistic list here

Economically, the most influential Metropolitan Areas in Nigeria (City and surrounding Areas)

Lagos
Quite naturally the Economic Hub for West Africa. I would literally fill the page up to defend this, so I guess everyone knows the economic might of Lagos

Port Harcourt
Oil and Gas Hub for West Africa with concious effort by state government to make is one of Africa's Major metropolitan economies due to the development of Greater Port Harcourt Metropolitan Area. it is worthy to note that Port harcourt is the only city in west africa with two seperate fucntional airports (i.e Port Harcourt International Airport which is Nigeria's third busiest and most viable airport with over a million passengers in 2009 according to wikipedia and Garden City Airport NAF which handles flights to and from Lagos and Warri. The metropolitan economy of Port Harcourt which is quite big as it includes Oyibo, Eleme, Onne, Choba, Omagwa when combined justifies its position as Nigeria's second most urban area.

Kano
Without any doubt is the most developed metropolitan economy in Northern Nigeria with commendable levels of commerce second to Lagos and ranking third in terms of Industry after Lagos and Port Harcourt. If only the north can be pieceful, Kano should be on the same page with Lagos because it has what it takes. IMO this is the most facinating city in Nigeria economically as its landlocked from the sea. It surely has lots of almajiris but undeniably has vibrant economy. Onitsha try but Kano pass am. The share size of the urban area as well as population density easily tells the story. Kano metropolitan area as illustrated by google earth has the third most extensive road network in Nigeria (only Abuja and Lagos surpasses it) It's airport which is one of Nigeria's four principal airports (the others are Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt) is one of the only two airports in Nigeria with two runways (Lagos being the second) as well as seperate terminal building newly constructed for domestic flights.

Abuja
Though, mostly a political capital is gradually becoming an Economic center in Nigeria and its likely to move one or two positions upward given Federal Government influence. Increase in tourism business as well as banking and finance very well validates its position and its airport is the second busiest in west africa after Lagos with over 3 million passengers in 2009 according to wikipedia. Abuja's metropolitan area which includes AMAC and parts of the immediate surrounding Area councils as well as Karu in Nasarawa and Suleja/Madalla in Niger state is the most contingious urban area in West Africa as Abuja urban arena sprawls into Niger and Nasarawa state making it the fourth most populated metropolitan area in Nigeria after Lagos, kano and Ibadan acording to CIA world fact book.

Kaduna
Significant Presence of Government bodies and reasonable number of industries. the development in this city is almost exclusively reliant on federal government and state government as a result, its the most federal government favoured city in Nigeria outside outside of Abuja and Lagos)

Onitsha
Infrastructure is poor largely due to the fact that its not a political seat in any way conceiveable but the economy is thriving and it has potentials. IMO it has done well as a relatively landlocked city (apart from river niger) which is not a state capital. Its also important to note that the combined statistical Area for Onitsha which will include Nnewi and Awka in the conurbation when fully and properly developed forms a formidable urban economy which will only be easily rivaled by Lagos. the Igbos are truly industrious. Federal government only needs to complement infrastructure in Anambra so the state can achieve its full potentials.

Warri
the situation is similar to Onitsha except that its not commercial like Onitsha but rather a mini version of Port Harcourt in terms of Petroleum industry. State government even though they have made commendable effort towards developing the city still have to do more if it must maintain its current economic status or even move up the ladder because, the same region in which it is located has some formidable emergying conurbations which can change things here dramatically in the ranking. (such urban area is the Uyo/Oron/Ibaka urban zone. many may not know it yet but Akpabio's development strategy is designed to potentially outclass some most of these urban areas here by simply locating its fast growing airport in between Oron and Uyo hence the name Akwa Ibom airport and not Uyo airport because the airport is actually closer to Oron than Uyo and Ibaka City developement is taking place just outside of Oron Urban area. the result of this is a very likely Uyo/Oron/Ibaka continous urban area (or conurbation If u wish). same warning may eventually be necessary for Onitsha Axis as Akwa Ibom has the advantage in terms of location and monetary resource to outclass its Anambra's emergying Urban sprawl of Onitsha.

Aba
Onitsha's twin city from the same region of Nigeria with similar attributes to its twin sister but no complementing surb-urban cities as is the case of Onitsha which has Nkpor and Obosi within its urban area. Interestingly though, Aba is also a promising urban area as it is sandwiched by other major cities like Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri and its politcal siblin (Umuahia) Aba may not need an airport any time soon because of its prime location, besides, Owerri airport is half way between Aba and Owerri and both cities If the two respective states do some strategic economic integration can make up another combined statistical urban area economy.

Ibadan (dont really know what to say here. I just put it for its size and history in Nigeria's development. IMO, not much economic activities is taking place here compared to the cities listed before it. However, there a few industries and big markets to make up for its size). IMO Ibadan even though its near to lagos should also be an independent economic center and it can be achieved.

Calabar
Many would disagree with this selection as its mostly a civil service state with Nigeria's best tourism credentials which is why I put it in here. the Calabar carnival is the largest carnival in Africa and running for 31 days means good revenue for the state along with the few industries in the EPZ and Tinapa. If Cross River state's current government can improve on the achievements of Donald Duke along with Federal Government concious assistance towards developing appropriate infrastructure such as connection of Calabar to National rail network, dualising Aba/Ikot Ekpene/Itu/Calabar Highway as well as dualisation of Enugu/Abakaliki/Ikom/Calabar motor way, upgrading of airport and seaport for international traffic flow. then surely the state is in for overwhelming influx of tourists and business mogules from Nigeria and the rest of the world. Furthermore, Cross River and Akwa Ibom can develop strategic economic alliance like I suggested for Abia and Imo by integrating their state capitals with a single motor-way and corresponding bridges as well as rail line linking them. the result of that when best implemented will be a Calabar-Uyo-Oron-Ibaka combined urban area which Lagos state will have to compete with as the potentials are simply overwhelming.



the cities with names in bold are currently Nigeria's big 4 city economies that have overal signicant level of economic activities and can favourbly compete with other major urban areas in Africa.


I have been to all these cities I mentioned and very familiar with them as well as some other cities of Nigeria hence my analysis.

ZUBY77: Having been to many cities in NIgeria, i would say
Abuja - wide roads and newly constructed too...
Enugu - smooth marked and british planned roads that circled the city from everywhere. Beautiful as Potsdam City in East Germany.
Calabar and Uyo in the distant third and fourth.

as much as I agree that Enugu has nice roads, the roads in Uyo are simply standard setting roads for Nigeria. Only Abuja that actually does have generally better roads than Uyo. All newly constructed roads in Uyo are neatly and appropriately marked. I get even more impressed seeing that other urban areas and some rural areas in Akwa Ibom have standard roads with markings on them. For that reason alone, Akwa Ibom as a state has better roads that the FCT which is supposed to be the standard setter. Akwa Ibom indeed is witnessing infrastructure upgrade and people only need to visit the state and see for themselves. I wish other states in the country can follow suite interms of quality of infrastructure

Charles1234: Now can someone say to me why shouldn't Akpabio be awarded..this are all first class constructions and secondly ,the infrastructures deveolopment is just too massive for the state with few car runing on the roads and apart from that the rural area are all connected the urban development.

Abegi, If we see better thing make we talk tru. I know that a couple of state governors are also doing well, but this man stands out. although he praises his achievements and markets the state a lot. He actually does deliver very nice infrastructure.

If he can achieve all that he has announced before he leaves office in 2015 such as

Main terminal building for airport
completion of tropicana
completion of all ongoing and proposed road projects as well as Urban renewal and upgrade for other urban areas around the state,
etc. to mention just a few

then the state will no doubt be in the top 3 best states in Nigeria by which ever way u want to look at it. Also, We pray that hes successor continues the trend of quality infrastructure development.

Nice one Akpabio

suolboy: Abuja na. No need to ask again.

Sokoto is a major city but not to that extent. been there so many times

I think the most commercialised/industrialised non-state capitals are as follows:
Onitsha
Warri
Aba
Eket
Bonny Island
Otta
Zaria
Nnewi
Agbara