On Tuesday, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, assured that the state government is open to collaborating with the Kingdom of Denmark, especially in the agricultural sector, to ensure food security.
The Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, who received on behalf of the governor, the Consul General and Head of Trade of the Kingdome of Denmark, Ms. Jette Bjerrum, on a courtesy visit in his office at Alausa, Ikeja, noted that the state had always had relationships with the Kingdom of Denmark, emphasizing the importance of agriculture as one of the major focus of his administration.
Speaking at the backdrop of the forthcoming Nordic Nigeria Connect organized by the Scandinavian Countries coming up in November, Sanwo-Olu stressed the enhancement of management of agricultural produce, noting that “Lagos, which happens to be the smallest state in Nigeria in terms of land mass, host the highest population and as such, the request for food becomes enormous.”
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, one of the things the state wants to do is to track the agricultural produce that comes in and from where, saying that would actually ensure a reduction in “the cost of food to the people and the quality of such stuff, which is part of government’s food security initiative.”
The other needs of Lagosians which is encapsulated in the THEMES PLUS Agenda, which stands for Transportation and Traffic Management, Health, and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos State a 21st Century Megacity, Entertainment and tourism, Security and governance, and the newly added PLUS, that represents Social Inclusion, Gender Equality, and Youth Empowerment, the governor noted that efforts were being intensified to achieve the desired result.
Sanwo-Olu stated that achieving the above-stated goal informed the need to embark on the newly flagged-off Blue Rail Line, the first of its kind in Nigeria.
“Although it is a huge investment, it’s well justified. You can imagine a population of 20 million people not having such infrastructure. That is why we embarked on it. And we still solicit for private collaboration, but the government is just putting its scheme to make sure that it is viable, the people are there, so these are the areas in terms of transportation,” he said.
Speaking further, the governor charged Denmark Kingdom to provide a better understanding of the participating companies in the forthcoming Nordic Nigeria Connect Event, coming up in November, “so that Lagos would know which sector would be of benefit to the state.”
Earlier in her remarks, Consul General and Head of Trade of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Bjerrum, stated that it was very important for the Kingdom to understand the agenda of the Lagos State government ahead of the Nordic Nigeria Connect event.
The Consul General noted that both the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Sune Krostrup, and herself had toured Denmark two weeks ago and dialogued with institutional investors companies, among others.
“We met with Ministers in Denmark to answer to the invitation of the Nigerian President where he promised that Nigeria is open for business. In essence, that is the answer we are trying to convey to Nigeria from the Danish side,” she said.
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