Nigeria, Aug. 3 -- They say if you want to hide anything from a people, put it in a national development plan.

The South-East didn't fall asleep. Our leaders just blinked-and when they opened their eyes, the gas pipeline had gone north. Literally.

A billion-dollar infrastructure trail-the AKK pipeline-cuts from Ajaokuta to Kaduna to Kano. Billions sunk, jobs created, industries revived. And the South-East? Skipped like a bad note in a beautiful song. No pipeline, no valve station, no access point. Not even a decent excuse.

Here's the bitter pill:

The South-East sits on some of Nigeria's largest natural gas reserves. That's right. Enugu, Anambra, and Imo have proven gas potential, yet no major pipeline infrastructure links them to the ...