Some 48 hours to the first anniversary of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration in Lagos, I chanced upon an online publication proudly announcing the latest ambition of the Centre of Excellence under its high-achieving helmsman: the induction of the state into the membership of the Rockefeller Foundation-pioneered 100 Resilient Cities. Membership of the network, described as “an elite international group proactively preparing to face any challenge that may lie ahead as the world faces huge deficits in preparedness for rapid growth and natural and man-made disasters”, according to the report, will enable her gain access to tools, funding, technical expertise, and other resources to build resilience the challenges of the 21st century.
The choice of Lagos, according to the Foundation, – out of more than 325 said to have applied –is based on its willingness, ability, and need to become resilient in the face of familiar challenges of urban planning, transport gridlock, environment, public health and modern infrastructure that have dogged the 21st city.
At a time when fiscal insolvency of states was the hot button topic in the mainstream media, and with more than two-thirds of the constituent states of the Nigerian federation locked in the battle for survival, it didn’t come as a surprise that the issue barely qualified for mention just as the idea of a state positioning itself for the future at this time would seem to many as an extravagant pastime.
No matter. An elated Governor Ambode would go on to describe the development as “a significant honour”. The new status, according to him, “will give Lagos the tools to support a better Lagos today, tomorrow, and for future generations to come…”
Said he: “As a new member of 100 Resilient Cities, we can work with the best in the private, government, and non-profit sectors in developing and sharing tools to plan for and respond to the resilience challenges ahead.”
However, if the Rockefeller event passed without fanfare, not so the commissioning of the the coordinating agency for emergency responders – the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) rescue unit at Oshodi by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on May 23; and not least the highly publicised event of the commissioning of 140 Patrol Vans, 335 Power Bikes and other security kits procured for the Police and other Security Agencies by the Lagos State government at the Tafawa Balewa Square also on the same day.
Yet, the two separate but nonetheless related developments, in my view, are significant; apart from setting the context for evaluating what the Ambode administration has done in the last one year, it is certainly a telling statement of where the administration seeks to take the state in the coming years. Indeed, only in that context can one truly appreciate the various initiatives seen in the last one year.
Thanks to the impressive political economy laid by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (1999-2007), a foundation which was built upon by Babatunde Raji Fashola (2007-2011), a burst of narrative of a city that has come to its own has long emerged. In my undergraduate Urban Sociology class in the early 80s, I recall the Lagos ‘development problem’ being framed in the narrow context of its sprawling slums – the rure-in-the-urbs; its many variants of inner city squalor world of shanties and decrepit structures and the challenge adaptive upgrading, alignment of its rapid growth with the resources required to keep it apace with the needs of the then emerging 21 century city.
Not anymore. Lagos, the city of the future is on the rise. While it may not be there yet, there can be no denying its readiness to embrace the future as an organic, self-sustaining city. Like the stone that the builders nearly cast away, Ambode the ‘go-slow man’ is not only working at a breathtaking pace, his dreams for the state are as outsized as they are bold. One year on, his dream of a city that never sleeps under the Light Up Lagos has begun to take shape; the monorail linking Marina to Oniru in Victoria Island and Ikoyi with a connection to the Lekki Rail Line is in the womb; a world class transport interchange – complete with containerized shopping mall, recreation and entertainment facilities at Oshodi to be delivered in the next 13 to 16 months; a N49billion medical park at the former site of the School of Nursing also to be delivered in 20 months. So is the avant garde Fourth Mainland Bridge expected to gulp N844billion to be executed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative. Need one talk about on-going road projects across the state; the upgrade of slums in Amukoko in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government and Ilaje-Bariga as well as the provision of modern waste disposal facility in Epe? What about the world-class security architecture which offer Lagosians relative peace of the mind? Twelve months on, there is certainly a lot to be said of the past year under Ambode as the steady coming of Lagos into its own as a dream city, a 24/7mega-city of endless possibilities in which the forces of development are set by the limits of the human imagination.
Lagos is no doubt rich; by the sheer size of its GDP, it stands out as a clear leader. Home to some 21 million inhabitants, it impressive Gross Domestic Product of $131 billion ranks it ahead of 42 African countries. But that is only a part of the Lagos story; the other part is that it is the seventh fastest growing city in the world, a factor that takes its toll on the available resources; secondly, Lagos, for all its contribution to the federal pie, gets far less than it truly deserves for a state that boasts of being the nation’s commercial capital. That explains why the airport road is in a sorry state; it is the reason the Apapa-Oshodi expressway – which link the seaport to the rest of the country is in a mess.
Lagos is of course lucky. It is at least blessed with helmsmen – leaders imbued with the wherewithal to dream and imagine a 21 century city. That is what has made the difference. Asiwaju Tinubu. Fashola. And now Ambode. Sure, the next three years will bear me out!
NATION
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