Making Lagos work again

The centre of excellence, Lagos, in  the South-West, arguably did backslid from its position in 2015 where the then governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) impressively left the state. Without a doubt, Fashola’s exploits during his tenure compellingly fetched him portfolios in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as trinity minister immediately after handing over to his successor.

No doubt, gigantic projects, particularly some necessary overhead bridges to address traffic situations alongside inner roads constructed by the Ambode administration are commendable. However, the state honestly didn’t sustain the momentum from Fashola’s administration. Disgustingly, the state metamorphosed into refuse dump arena after Fashola’s exit.

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Another critical issue is bad roads. In fact, those that shuttle from the Badagry axis to the Island are completely cut off due to bad roads. Not even officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) are in sight in these critical areas. The stress motorists and commuters go through daily is better imagined than experienced. To describe the people as isolated or forsaken is no hyperbole.  All these are convincingly traceable to not adopting continuity in government accordingly.

Thus, these episodes present big lessons to the present governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The new administration thus faces critical tasks to put the state back in shape. To be straightforward, life in Lagos presently is getting more horrifying and traumatic with phobias. The situation requires state of emergency principally on refuse disposal, road rehabilitation and traffic management.

Now, over to the Federal Government. The high population in Lagos is undeniably worrisome.  Imagine if the military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida didn’t thoughtfully relocate the federal capital to Abuja, how would the Federal Government effectively be operating from Lagos including presidential movements alongside the great workforce?

In a nutshell, the seaport calls for a state of emergency and this transcends temporary decongestion. Sensibly, having a functional seaport only in Lagos is a big blunder.  There’s urgent need to spread out the seaports to other geopolitical zones. If not, the trailers-packing, traffic crisis in Lagos roads and excessive population may never be subdued, no matter the efforts deployed.

For example, by the present poor arrangement, all clearing and forwarding agents, haulage workers in the country alongside their families are all resident in Lagos; likewise, their trailers and trucks in numbers. These numbers alone are in high fraction and sufficient to create catastrophe, let alone other seaport-related businesses. By decentralizing the seaport, other zones will instantly pick up economically as scores of people will relocate to other areas and operate through other seaports; thereby robotically depopulate Lagos to be a standard and viable state.  Beyond that, job opportunities will abound in all those new areas.

Typically, in any system where economic activities are concentrated in one direction, the congestion being experienced in Lagos environs must follow.  Thus, while the palliative measures by the governments are estimable, the ultimate panacea remains to decentralize the seaport.

Carl Umegboro,

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