Following the United Nations’ estimate of Nigeria’s population hitting 411 million by 2050 and the attendant rural-urban migration challenges, Sir Demola Aladekomo, founder of Chams Plc and Executive Chairman of SmartCity, has called for the development of smart cities in the country by the government through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
This call was made at the 8th edition of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (LCCI) 2022 Information Communication Technology and Telecommunication (ICTEL) Expo held in Lagos, recently.
Aladekomo, who spoke on the topic, ‘Efficient Digital Infrastructures through Smart Cities’ said that, “Migration should be seen as a process and not a problem. Good management of the migrating population and understanding migration factors can help in utilising the phenomenon in a productive way without the inherent negative impacts it has on the society.”
According to the UN’s Population Migration Division Section, Nigeria’s population is estimated to be about 411 million by 2050 and 794 million by 2100 from the present population of about 211 million. While rural-urban migration is estimated to hit 275 million in 2050 from 76 million in 2017.
Former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, describes migration as “an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family.”
On smart cities, Aladekomo explains, “A smart city is a place where you live, work and play. A place that enhances the quality of life you live. In it also, you must be well-entertained. Furthermore, it has to be environmentally-friendly and sustainable. Smart cities generally provide better security and safety. Most importantly, its infrastructure, apart from being social, physical, institutional/governance and economic, should be centred on the citizens.”
On existing and poorly structured cities, he recommended that they can be converted to smart cities by the use of polycentricity and agglomeration.
“With polycentricity, we can begin to create new decentralised cities and settlements around Lagos for example and manage them digitally from the beginning by making them technology enabled. While at the same time these new decentralised cities should be agglomerated in a specialised form as healthcare city, technology city, agricultural city, etc. Agglomeration enhances productivity, commerce and cost optimisation, job creation and poverty alleviation,” he said.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then