Scene of a recent flooding in Lagos. FILE PHOTO
EXACTLY a week ago, a 10-hour rain exposed the underbelly of Lagos State again as a growing mega-city. Seven deaths were officially recorded, a couple of buildings collapsed due to the attendant flooding and from nearly all parts of the state, the sight and sound of the damage occasioned by the inability of the drainage system to absorb the excess rain water were ugly. In a simple statement, the rain of that day simply sacked the mega-city. There were other states in the southwestern part of the country that were equally troubled by the heavy downpour but Lagos, sadly, was the one with highest number of casualties, despite its claim to be the only mega-city in the country.
The weaknesses and failures of the state exposed by the downpour have sparked another round of debate on the recent verdict of an international rating agency which ruled the mega-city the worst among its peers globally.
About eight weeks ago, the Economic Intelligence Unit, in its latest ranking on Safe City Index, ranked Lagos State the “most dangerous city to live in”. The international agency based its ranking on digital security, health and personal security. Sixty different cities in the world were assessed with Lagos occupying the 56th position on the digital security ranking and 58th on infrastructure and security ranking. The state was first from bottom on health and personal security index.
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Local champion?
Without doubt, Lagos is a primus inter pares in Nigeria, standing shoulder above other states in terms of infrastructure, economy, revenue and human population. Its officials also pride it as one of the safest states in the country, while touting massive investment in both digital and physical security. But those efforts appear to be consistently inadequate when the status the state is trying to confer on itself is used to judge it among its kind the world over.
The state Commissioner of Police, Muazu Zubairu, while speaking on the activities of his officers and men in the state in the last one month, insisted that crime rate in the state was on a slope, though in another breath, he confessed that no fewer than 19 persons had been killed in the course of different criminal acts in the state in the month under review.
As the most populous state in the country, it is expected that one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Africa will be confronting a myriad of problems associated with huge concentration of people in a particular environment, which could range from health to environment and security to social order.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, expectedly put up a robust defence for the current administration of his principal, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and possibly for his three predecessors since the return of democracy in 1999 when Saturday Tribune called on him.
For a state that has consistently been at the lowest rung of the livability ladder of international assessors for years, even before the coming of the current administration, Omotoso may have to do more than merely dismissing the EIU report as “unintelligent”.
In a statement he referred Saturday Tribune to, Omotoso slammed the EIU report by claiming that crime rate in the state had reduced since the introduction of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) which, in turn, had made the state attractive to tourists and investors.
“Now a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has unintelligently described Lagos as the world’s most dangerous city. Similar to the development vision of its predecessors, the current administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has erected Six Pillars of Development (POD) that will drive social development, economic growth and environmental sustainability.
“These strategic paths are charted to position Lagos in its rightful place among smart cities and strengthen its credentials which have made it a decent home for residents and a destination of choice for tourists and investors. This effort has significantly boosted the reputation of Lagos as one of the safest cities in Africa and continued to elicit global interests in the vast opportunities in the state,” he argued.
Residents disagree
For Akintibubo Adefemi, a resident of a border community between Lagos and Ogun states, Omotoso could as well be speaking to the wind. “Why won’t they rate Lagos as the most dangerous city to live in? I have not been to other cities that were assessed by the agency but with the level of decay of infrastructures in Lagos State, I am not sure any city in the world can compete with Lagos. Imagine someone wasting at least six hours in traffic every day and there are people who are paid to ensure free flow of traffic. Imagine the health implication of the heap of refuse for our roads in Lagos. Cultism in Lagos is no doubt the size of the whole of the South West states put together, despite the huge resources deployed to security by the immediate past governor and the resources being deployed by his successor,” Adefemi said.
He also told Saturday Tribune that “if any agency ranks Lagos as the most dangerous city to live in all over the world, that would be absolutely right. Look at the situation on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. The last administration started construction work on the BRT lane for the road, which is arguably the busiest road in the state. Apart from the fact that they did not expand the existing road to accommodate the new BRT lane, they still went ahead to start constructing a pedestrian bridge on that road, thereby making the road totally impassable.”
Ebere Francis, a security expert, couldn’t see any sense in the ranking. She went on to describe such a “blanket generalisation” as “quite nauseating and parochial.” She then queried, “What are the parameters used in reaching such a weighty conclusion? The conclusion didn’t say most dangerous in Africa but in the world. That makes a mockery of the whole rating system.”
She added: “The world is a massive place and Lagos State is just a tiny dot in it. How many cities of this world did the agency visit before arriving at that conclusion? There are many cities outside Nigeria where crimes happen every minute, thanks to laxity on drugs, gangsters and other vices. No country, let alone city, is free of crimes and each city comes with its peculiarities in crime. Indeed, Lagos State has repeatedly been adjudged as one of the safest cities in Nigeria by many security experts. It is well policed and has other sister agencies created by the state government to support the police. The Lagos State government spends millions on security more than any other state. And that intentional stance is clearly effective to any security analyst and watcher. It is because of this heavy presence of policing that Boko Haram’s attempts, using suicide bombers, to infiltrate and cause panic in the state had often failed. Most major crimes committed in Lagos State are resolved and most criminals are most often than not hunted down and caught.”
Further dissecting the situation, she said: “There is no free lunch in Lagos for criminals. Lagos is a commercial and cosmopolitan city.
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More disagreements
Residents who are most affected by government’s policies as well as actions and inaction have continued to have their say on how well Lagos rates alongside others like it in developed and developing worlds.
Mrs Ayodele Makinde happened to be inside the bowel of Idumota market on the fateful day of flooding and she continuously wondered if there was still a government in the state. She pleaded with Saturday Tribune to write this report in a way that government would feel the pains of the residents and attend to nagging environmental issues in the state. “E jowo e bawa ko story mo won (please help attack government in your report),” she demanded in Yoruba language.
But even without acceding to her request of an unbalanced report, it seems Governor Sanwo-Olu has heard the cries of agony on the street with his decision to declare emergencies in road rehabilitation and reconstruction in major points across the state less than 48 hours after rain sacked the state.
While residents are largely hopeful that the emergencies would produce good fruits, many are still not convinced that the state government is doing enough to take the state to the standard height of a mega-city.
Emmanuel Olayiwola is of the opinion that the state should count itself lucky that the assessment had taken place before the seeming collapse of its drainage system. “Those criticising the assessors can now see things for themselves. Would Lagos be qualified for any form of ranking if last weekend’s embarrassing flooding had occurred before the data were collated? Is there anything representing a mega status today in the state? Is it infrastructure? Is it security? Nineteen persons were killed in a month and the police boss is claiming that all is well. To avoid further embarrassment, Lagos should officially request that EIU keep it out of the yearly assessment until it is able to put things together for the rest of the world to critically assess. As it is today, everybody knows there is practically a meltdown around here,” he asserted.
A former national president of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), Dr Felix Faniran, refused to accept the assessment. “Lagos is one of the best. I am very skeptical of their (EIU) yardstick. Maybe on a comparative basis, but even at that, it is still difficult to accept. If it is that bad here, we have no hope then. If our best is their worst in international rating, then we are doomed. We believe Lagos is the best around here, health-wise. This report caught me unawares and I have not done that kind of research to know if what the international assessors are saying is true or not.”
…And still more
Another resident Asemota Emmanuela, also supported the ranking: “Of course, it is a dangerous place, considering the atrocious activities that go on in the state such as one-chance, pickpocket, unnecessary troubles caused by the National Union of Road Transport Workers and so many others.”
A University of Lagos Masters student, Victor Irere, popularly known as DJ Therapy, refused to share Emmanuela’s position. “I beg to disagree with the report as churned out because the development in the state has wiped out those insane activities that used to pervade the state before now. I am pretty sure that the report looked at the state, maybe, five or 10 years ago to come to that conclusion. All these activities have been reduced, thanks to successive governments of the ruling party that has been keeping the state in a good shape over the years. Now, we don’t hear of issues of one-chance, kidnapping, unnecessary rivalry between or among cult groups and so many others,” he said.
For Famous Arrel, another resident, the report is a two-way thing. “For me, I would say that the report falls on two different angles. Yes, it is correct because these devious activities are still ongoing but in a subtle manner compared to when it was really disturbing to the extent that armed robbers would even write you a letter that they were going to come and rob you. It is also not true because Lagos of today is far different from the Lagos of yesteryear. Today, all these activities have been soft-pedaled and channeled into productive activities,” he said.
A bartender, Yinka Haiye, also joined in trashing the report: “The report doesn’t even know what it is talking about or perhaps the report is stale because the content was happening so many years ago. Now it is very rare to hear that armed robber came to my house to steal, kill and destroy as it used to happen in those days.”
Another resident, Uthman Alabi, in his response, thumbed up the report: “How can the report not be correct when it (the state) is still grappling with the insecurity wrecked on it by different cult groups who are composed by very youthful population of the state. For me, the report is absolutely correct.”
Lagos is Nigeria’s safest city –Police
A senior police chief in Lagos State who spoke with Saturday Tribune under the condition of anonymity agreed that there were challenges in the Lagos security architecture but insisted that the state remained the safest city in Nigeria, while condemning the ranking by the EIU.
“I totally disagree with the ranking. Lagos is the most secure city in Nigeria. There are banditry, kidnappings and other major crimes in other states but there is nothing like that in Lagos. For some years now, there has not been any incident of bank robbery in Lagos. I don t know how they came about their ranking but Lagos is not as bad as being portrayed; I must admit, though, that we have our challenges. The terrain is not like the developed countries. The economic challenges in the country are taking a toll on the security arrangement. Unemployed people engage in criminal activities.”
The police chief also blamed the security lapses in Lagos on overpopulation as a result of rural-urban migration. “Everybody wants to come to Lagos and they don’t have anything to do to earn a living. Some of them indulge in crime. There are not enough policemen to man the Lagos population, yet Lagos remains the safest city in Nigeria. Go out there and see the nightlife in Lagos. People go out without being harassed or molested by anybody. There has been a drastic reduction in the isolated cases of kidnapping. In fact, Lagos is, by far, more secure than it used to be,” he added.
The Oshodi/Mushin/Ojuelegba phenomenon
Passing through areas like Mushin, Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Festac/Satellite/Mile 2, Iyana Ipaja/Egbeda at odd times is like walking into a lion’s’ den in view of the heavy presence of the bad young guys waiting to unleash havoc on anyone in sight. In the past months, crime rate appeared to be on the increase and the confirmed influx of foreigners into the state in an unchecked manner has heightened the security alert across the city. It is also becoming regular to hear stories of ritual killing, kidnapping, rape and robbery from victims who are lucky to survive their ordeal.
Narrating her experience, Mrs Shola Ajileye (not real name) who lives in Egbeda but works in Ikeja, narrowly escaped falling victim to a group of the bad guys around Bammeke. Ajileye, who left office a bit late on the fateful Thursday, ran into a serious traffic created by a heavy rain. Due to the traffic, by the time Ajileye got to Egbeda last bus stop, all commercial motorcycles and Keke Marwa had disappeared, leaving her with the sole option of trekking some kilometers home. Getting very close to Bammeke, she observed a group of guys milling around a popular hotel.
“The first thing I observed was a thick smoke of Indian hemp which permeated the entire atmosphere with each of the guys displaying bottles of consumed locally-made gin of different brands. At this point, I knew I was in danger. In a state of confusion and about removing my shoe to run as fast as my shaking legs at this time could move, I saw another man corporately dressed going towards my direction and I quickly followed. In the course of my interaction with him, he did not only warn me against passing through that spot again but told me that those guys I saw were very dangerous and responsible for many crimes going on around the area. On getting home, I knelt down and thanked God for saving me from danger.”
Many residents of the state have not been as lucky as Ajileye.
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