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  • ‘Lagos ‘ll be better under PDP’

    ‘Lagos ‘ll be better under PDP’

    Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Jimi Agbaje’s running mate,Alhaja Safurat Olayinka Abdulkarim, has said that the state will savour more dividends of democracy, if the ticket is endorsed at the poll.

    Abdulkarim, a teacher, accountant and Muslim, is from Badagry Division.

    In 2003, she was the running mate to the former PDP flag bearer, Funso Williams, an engineer, who was assassinated in Lagos in 2006. Married to a  a retired Air Force officer, she  holds a professional Masters Degree in Business Administration.

    Abdulkarim said she would complement her principal, Agbaje, whose administration would usher in an era of greater prosperity in the Centre of Excelence.  She said the PDP will govern the state, in accordance with the wishes of the people. The running mate spoke with reporters in Lagos, shortly after she was presented to the media by Agbaje.

    “I feel humbled about being chosen for this noble responsibility,” Abdulkarim said, adding: “Mr. Jimi Agbaje is an amiable personality. He is a complete gentleman. I hope I can really complement him and assist him in winning the 2015 election”

    In her view, the PDP has a bright chance at the poll. She said the ticket is formidable and attractive to Lagosians, adding that it would offer an opportunity for them to explore the alternative route.

    Abdulkarim added: “Our chances are very bright. Citizens want a change in government. They want personalities who can bring positive programmes to their lives. We want to usher into Lagos a better way of governance, devoid of coercion and intimidation and harassment.”

    The PDP chieftain was a pupil  the Ansar-ud-Deen Primary School, Badagry, Lagos, between 1966 and 1972.

    From 1975 to 1980, she attended Government Teachers’ College, Badagry, where she obtained a Teacher’s Grade II Certificate. She  proceeded to the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti (1985-1987), earning   an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Accounting and a Higher National Diploma (HND) from the Kano State Polytechnic (1990).

    In 2006, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management from the University of Ado-Ekiti.

    Abdulkarim was an Accounting Officer at Bintu Binta Trading Company, Kano (1987). She became the General Manager of the Ikeja, Lagos-based Disk Engineering Limited (1990-1996) and Managing Director, Transmit Network (1996-1999).

    Born June 23, 1961 to the family of Mr. Abdulmananu Mofolorunsho Layode and Mrs. Risikat Ayinke Layode, Abdulkarim has her roots  in Egun and Awori, Lagos. Her father hailed from Layode Compound, Awhonjigoh Quarters, Badagry. Her mother came from the famous Akibon family, a lineage of warriors from Akogun Compound, Iba Town, in present day Ojo Local Government.

    Between 1998 and 1999, she served as the Vice Chairman and Supervisory Councillor, Badagry Local Government Caretaker Committee.

    Safurat is married to Wing-Commander Bala Abdulkarim (Rtd) with children.

  • Airtel partners Lagos on Countdown Festival

    TELECOMMUNICATIONS company, Airtel Nigeria, has partnered the Lagos State Government to host the 2014 edition of the Lagos Countdown Festival.

    The Lagos Countdown Festival, which holds at the Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos, from December 22, 2014 and runs into the early hours of the New Year, seeks to institute an enduring crossover tradition.

    According to the management of Airtel, the festival will provide an opportunity to bond with young Nigerians and will also create a platform for the display of some of its leading value offerings, including Airtel Trybe and Red Hot promo.

    Commenting on the event, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, described the Lagos Countdown Festival as a glorious initiative, saying Airtel is passionate about young Nigerians and the youth culture.

    “The Lagos Countdown festival provides Airtel an outlet to interact with the youth on a more personal basis. This year, we will showcase our flagship product, Airtel Trybe, a value offering that is specifically designed to meet the aspirations of young Nigerians and the young-at-heart. We will also have on display, our revolutionary Red Hot promo to further empower more Nigerians to become millionaires.

    “The festival will be a great opportunity to celebrate and close the year in grand style. Airtel is calling on all Lagosians and Nigerians to be part of this great event. We also urge everyone to visit the Airtel stand at the venue as we will be showcasing our superior 3.75G Network,” he said.

    He also commended the efforts of the Lagos State government, adding that the initiative was consistent with Airtel’s ardent drive towards excellence.

    According to the organisers of the festival, the Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA), Lagos countdown is a viable platform for commerce, encouraging brand development, job creation, leisure, entertainment and tourism.

    The festival features music performances headlined by top music artistes, an enchanting cascade of lights, fireworks and pyrotechnics, all combining to transform the Bar Beach stretch on Victoria Island, Lagos, into a melting pot for culture and commerce.

    Last year, the festival drew an audience of over 60,000 revelers, thus becoming arguably Africa’s biggest New Year’s Eve party. Every year, the Lagos Countdown kicks off in December and runs till January 1.

    The Lagos State Countdown is an initiative of Governor Babatunde Fashola which started in 2012 with the aim of putting the state on global map, in the league of cities such as New York, Dubai, London, Sydney and other major destinations that celebrate the cross over into a New Year.

  • Why Jonathan must not be re-elected – Fashola

    Why Jonathan must not be re-elected – Fashola

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, scored the President Goodluck Jonathan administration very low and urged Nigerians to vote it out in the next general elections.

    Fashola stated that change of leadership is expedient at the national level because Nigeria is too important both globally and continentally to be left in the hands of those who “play politics with the lives of her citizens.”

    Addressing members of the Yoruba Tennis Club and their Island Club counterparts at their respective Club Houses in Onikan, Lagos on Wednesday, Governor Fashola said the national government, formed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has failed to provide its most important responsibility, which according to him, is the security of life and property of citizens and protection of the territorial integrity of the nation.

    The Governor, who noted that Nigerians handed over a whole country to the ruling party in 2011, expressed regrets that the same party is now returning to Nigerians to ask for another leadership mandate with only part of the country, having lost some parts to insurgents.

    “They are returning now to ask for our votes with only a part of the country that we gave them because some parts of the country have been lost to people we didn’t elect. So, in that most important responsibility, they have dropped the ball.”

    Governor Fashola, who expressed dismay that the PDP has politicized everything, noted that nothing is too much for the party to sloganize about.

    He accused the federal government of playing politics with the very sensitive issue of the more than 200 abducted secondary school girls in Chibok in Borno State.

    The Governor also said that the PDP-controlled Federal Government has also orchestrated about how it made the country “the biggest economy in Africa”, wondering why smaller economies could provide electricity for their people while the self acclaimed “biggest economy” could keep her people in darkness.

    “Please ask them why smaller economies could get petrol easily for their people and why we have to queue for hours and days to get petrol in a biggest economy in Africa,” the Governor said.

    He also wondered why the so-called biggest economy in Africa is trying to buy arms from a smaller economy to secure the country.

    He pointed out that the nation’s currency, the Naira, is now trading for N180 per Dollar while the South African Rand is trading at R11 to one United States Dollar.

    According to Fashola, what matters is the quality of the life and prosperity of the citizens and not the size or number being bandied by the PDP-led government.

    Governor Fashola tasked the people to figure out the last time the President went to present the Annual Budget in the National Assembly, an obligation which, according to him, is a constitutional one.

    The Governor also said that the Federal Government also played politics with the Ebola Virus Disease containment as it almost turned the very grave situation into a political trophy.

    Conversely, Governor Fashola said, the All Progressives Congress controlled Lagos State Government has done well at many fronts including the Education, Security, Power and the financial sector in spite of the very precarious economic and security situation in the country.

  • Lagos and the informal sector

    SIR: Whatever the standpoint, there is no doubt that the informal sector, particularly in developing economies, remains the bedrock for economic emancipation of the downtrodden. The Lagos example amply reinforces the fact that, if properly regulated and harnessed, the informal sector possesses enormous wealth creation potential. In today’s Lagos, it is difficult to ignore the sector as it has become a veritable source of prosperity and employment for many. Ttransporters, vulcanisers, mechanics, battery chargers, fashion designers, hair dressers, barbers, traders, painters, welders, carpenters, bricklayers, farmers etc have so much become an integral part of our daily lives that the formal sector cannot do without them.

    The administration Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), in Lagos, has evolved several policies and programmes that have accommodated and integrated the sector into the development process. Some of the policies have helped to regulate the activities of the sector thereby ensuring orderliness and enhanced productivity.

    In order to monitor and standardize the activities of the tradesmen and artisans, the state government enacted the Enterprise Identification Law to identify and register various trade associations in order to have a comprehensive data bank of the practitioners for planning purposes and to enable the government determine the infrastructural needs of this sub-sector so as to reduce the cost of doing business.

    The long term plan of government in respect of the project, launched on August 24, 2007, is to add value to information collected and collated by using it to produce a comprehensive business directory to be called ‘Lagos Pages’ to expose all the legitimate businesses in the state to the international investors.

    In order to improve the driving skill of commercial drivers in the state, government established the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) on May 13, 2009. Also, members of the Lagos State Cab Drivers Association were assisted to secure loans to purchase brand new Nissan cars to enhance the quality and scope of their operation in the state. It should equally be stressed that all the buses being used in the BRT operation are strictly owned by informal sector operators who only enjoy the conducive operational environ provided by the state government through road segregation and upgrading of other road infrastructure. The Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), for instance, owns some of the buses with funds secured from Ecobank while another batch of the buses is owned by LAGBUS Assets Management Nigeria Limited. Buoyed by the widespread acceptance of the BRT scheme, the state government has expanded the scope of its operation to other routes such as Yaba-Oyingbo , Ipaja- Egbeda-Igando, Oshodi-Sango Otta, Ojodu-Berger/Ikeja among others.

    Another core area of the informal sector in which the Fashola administration has achieved remarkable success is food security. In terms of meat production and distribution, the Eko Meat Vans were introduced into the state’s meat circulation process to put an end to the health hazard associated with the crude style of distributing meat in the past as well as ensuring food security through modern and hygienic mode of meat transportation.  To ensure the active involvement of butchers in the project, government introduced the Butchers Association to some commercial banks for the purpose of securing loans for the procurement of over 50 meat vans. In same vein, modern equipments have been installed into some of the state’s abattoirs to ensure that they strictly comply with global best practice.

    Similarly, in order to boost food production in the state, government conceived the rice for job scheme which is meant to assist local rice farmers to access fund and embrace modern technology which will enable them produce on a large scale. Also, government has put in place an agrinet project for farmers in the state to fast-track the dissemination of agricultural and natural resources information and technologies to farmers, upland dwellers, and rural entrepreneurs. Through this, government now makes information on all agro products in the state available electronically to provide strategic information for farmers, government authorities, and other stakeholders at the state and local government levels. Government is also developing and promoting ICT skills among agricultural extension workers and farmers.

    In the area of empowerment, through its many skill acquisition and vocational training centers, government has trained over 100,000 people across the state while many of the centres were recently upgraded into core entrepreneurship hubs. Similarly, over 24,000 entrepreneurs have been empowered with micro-credit facilities secured from the state’s EKO Micro-Finance schemes. Periodically, government doles out equipment such as pepper grinding machines, sewing machines, cameras, deep freezers, power generating sets among others to beneficiaries as a way of enhancing their socio-economic status.

    As the state government enhances the wealth generating capacity of the sector, more of its operatives are being systematically brought into the tax net, thereby improving the state’s IGR status.  At a time when national oil revenue is diminishing, rejuvenating the informal sector and, indeed, other sectors of the economy remains an enthralling option. This is the path that Lagos is toeing, and it is, indeed, a worthy path.

    • Tayo Ogunbiyi

    Ministry of Information &

    Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Lagos ‘settles’ 2,966 students with N227m

    Students of Lagos State origin studying in various tertiary institutions nationwide smiled home with bursaries and scholarships worth N227,615,000  last week for the 2013/2014 set courtesy of the Lagos State government.

    While 2,352 students got bursaries of between N20,000 and N50,000 depending on their courses of study, 235 students studying at the Nigerian Law School and nine studying the Maritime Academy, Oron, got N200,000 each.

    Also, 370 undergraduate and postgraduate students benefited from local scholarship worth N81,500,000.

    In addition to the N227,615,000 expended for the 2013/2014 set, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga, said that this year, the government also provided funds to clear backlogs of bursaries from 2010.

    He said the initiative is a testament of the government’s interest in the welfare of the students so they could focus on their studies.

    “It is to elevate the students.  Going the university is a lot of money.  The state government said the only we can assist them is to cushion the effect of school fees.  We are giving this to encourage them to read so that they don’t worry when they want to study.  The state government has been doing this since the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.  This is a progressive state.  It is state that makes promise and delivers on that promise,” he said.

    The Director of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, Mrs Omauton Jegede, said that the bursaries were given to Lagos State indigenes after they were certified by local leaders of the five administrative divisions of Lagos State (Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja and Lagos), while the local scholarships were given to the recipients based on merit irrespective of the course of study.

    She said physically-challenged students also benefited from the bursary awards – with each of them getting N40,000 irrespective of their courses of study.  However, since law, medical and engineering students get N50,000 as bursary, she said physically-challenged students studying those courses, were advised to choose that package instead.

    Speaking on the initiative, Sanusi Rasheedat, a 200-Level Microbiology student of Lagos State University (LASU), thanked the government for supporting parents to bear the burden of school fees.

    “I am happy to be here.  With this, they (government) are encouraging the students and parents.  They are encouraging the parents that they are not alone – that government is involved.  I will save the money in my bank account.  I will discuss it with my parents because I am not the one paying my school fees myself,” she said.

  • African Sun Airport Hotel opens in Lagos

    THE African Sun Airport has opened on the busy Murtala Muhammed Road in Lagos with a promise by its owners to provide quality services.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the hotel last weekend, its Chairman, Air Marshal Jonah Wuyep, said the hotel had come to stay. The chairman, who was represented by his wife Dr Wuyep said beside fulfilling its core objectives, the hotel has provided employment to many Nigerians – directly and indirectly. Also, he said the hotel is being managed by a world-class hotel group. “I know that Nigerians deserve the best and we will ensure you get the best,’’ he said.

    The hotel’s Managing Director Ifeanyi Onwubiko, said he invested in the subsector because of his love for the business. He said: “This is our second branch in Nigeria. The third one is coming up in Abuja, adding that the facility was situated on the busy airport road because “there is no big hotel’’ in the area. He said the hotel employed 80 Nigerians and about four foreigners.

    On competition, Onwubiko said: “We are not competing with anyone. Other hotels are not up to our stuff.’’ Though he did not disclose the cost of the hotel, he said hotel’s main objective is to provide fun, adding that costs would determine where the hotel would be sited next.

    The hotel’s General Manager Sindiso Sibanda, who has over 25 years’experience in the industry, said the organisation is strict on standards, which he said, are built on three Ps – people, products and processes.

    The South African said: “We have put everything in place. We have invested time and checked the products to reach standards. We did two months’ training for staff at our hospitality training academy. Our brand is unique. We have been around for some time and we have been running an hotel for 100 years. And we have been improving over the years. We are in Zimbabwe, Ghana and now in Nigeria and will go to other countries from here.’’

    How much does it cost to build the hotel? He would not give details. “Time is money and we put a lot of time here,’’ Sibanda said. He promised that the hotel’s services would not be expensive. “We can’t say we are expensive. We give value for money as long as people pay, ‘’ he said.

    He said the hospitality industry was improving, despite the insecurity in the country. He said it was a matter for joy that night life had not died despite the insecurity. To tackle the problem of Nigeria’s image, he called for rebranding. “We need to rebrand Nigeria. People can’t be behaving that security is not okay,’’ he added.

  • Lagos campaigns against gender violence

    From November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (International Human Rights Day), civil societies organisations and some state governments in Nigeria, joined the international community to increase awareness of the devastating impact of gender-based violence.

    The 16-Day campaign themed: “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence against Women” was the same used in 2012 and 2013.

    Lagos State was not left out. The government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), recently collaborated with the United Nations to round off this year’s edition of 16 days of activism against gender violence with a sensitisation forum for people at the grassroots and other stakeholders.

    Speaking at the forum held in Alausa, a legal practitioner and President of the Centre of the Rule of Law, Olasupo Ojo said it was not enough for government to enact laws.

    He maintained that adequate steps must be taken to ensure that people for whom the law is enacted to protect as well as offenders are aware of such legislation.

    “But most importantly, it’s to make people have a change of mind, attitude and behaviour. The primary purpose of that law is not really to punish but to ensure that we try to change and remodel the way people behave  so that they can refrain from domestic violence against anybody, whether from man to woman or woman to man,” he said.

    Ojo, however, admitted that the law cannot perform its function by itself, but needs the government, civil societies and the communities to take up the responsibility of ensuring that cases of violence are reported.

    “Those saddled with the responsibility of administering or managing the law, like the Office of the Deputy Governor in Lagos is trying to sensitise people and also the police officers as well have a role to play, as well as the courts and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and everybody in the community must rise up and ensure that where there is any incident of domestic violence, we should be our brother’s keeper.

    “We should not just allow it go by and say it’s between a husband and wife, or a family matter which does not concern you. But it really does concern you because your child is taking note of what is going on in your neighbour’s house and he may imbibe the attitude if care is not taken.

    “But when your child realises that you speak against such evil by ordinary phone call to the relevant government agencies, he or she will have regard for fellow mankind. If you don’t want your neighbour to know that you reported, you can call the authorities on phone to let them know the house in question. It’s a collective effort; it should not be left for the government only,” he said.

    Chief Executive Officer of Yemi Royal Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that promotes the interest of single mothers and widows as well as speaking against violence against women, Chief Mrs. Yemi Osoba, praised the Lagos State Government for taking the sensitisation campaign to the people.

    “I noticed that a lot of women were being violated. Initially, we thought it was just adult women, but it got to the level where children were being raped. That’s one of the reasons I took up the challenge to come to Lagos.

    “I am happy that the Lagos State Government is organising different seminars to create the awareness in people that there is succour for those who are victims of domestic violence,” she said.

    Though she admitted that it would be taxing to have a society free from domestic violence, Mrs. Osoba, however, said concerted efforts by all and sundry can contribute to a large extent to reduce the rate.

    “Right now, on the pages of newspapers, you read of children being raped and women being violated. You see a situation where a responsible man, on appearance, will beat up his wife and where a 40-year-old man raping a two-year- old girl. Before they give the excuse of how the girl dressed, what does a two-year- old child know?

    “So, it would be hard to eradicate, but we can reduce the rate at which it occurs. The only way through which we can reduce it is through awareness campaigns,” Mrs Osoba said.

    Participants at the forum were unanimous in their call on the government to ensure that religious organisations, traditional rulers and community heads are carried along in the campaign as most cases are reported to them which they do not treat as serious offences.

     

  • Lagos gets new DPP

    Lagos gets new DPP

    The Lagos State government has appointed Mrs. Idowu Alakija as  Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    Her appointment followed the  elevation of the erstwhile DPP, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan as a Judge.

    Mrs. Alakija was born into the renowned Akerele family of Lagos State on February 24, 1959.

    She attended St. Mary Private School, Ajele, Lagos State, Queens College, Onike Yaba, and Lansdowne Tutors London.

    She completed her Degree in Law, L.L.B. at University of Lagos, Akoka and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984.

    She also obtained an L.L.M. degree in Commercial and Corporate Law at Queens Mary & Westfield College University of London in 2000.

    She has since attended numerous law-related courses at several institutions which include International Law Institute, Washington D.C. and Harvard University, Boston amongst others.

    She was a consultant to the U.N.D.P, Ghana on Alternative Dispute Resolution. She is presently a focal person for Lagos State on the UNODC Judicial Reform Project. She is a member of International Association of Prosecutors and the International Bar Association.

    She is also an Associate Member of both the Institute of Taxation and the Chartered Institute of Mediators & Conciliators. She was an Awardee of Lagos State Award of Excellence in 2003.

    Mrs. Alakija has served Lagos State in several capacities. She was the pioneer HEAD/ DIRECTOR Citizens Mediator Centre Lagos State, a position she held before assuming her present position as a Director in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

  • Time to learn from Lagos

    Two different, yet somewhat related,  reports in the national media struck me in the last week of November. The first report quoted the Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswan, as confessing that, like most governments in Nigeria, his government, already in arrears of salary payment, would not be able to meet basic obligations if crude oil prices remained at less than $90 per barrel. By the time the report was published, the Nigerian variant of crude oil was selling at well over $70 per barrel. As I am writing this piece, it is selling at less than $60 a barrel, with a high prospect of the price sliding further. This means that both the Nigerian people and the government are in for a rough time. But the national government, because of the forthcoming election, is creating the impression that all is well. There are no austerity or belt tightening measures yet, like doing away with humungous amounts spent by ministries, departments and agencies on Christmas and New Year gifts. But all cannot possibly be well with an economy which depends on crude oil for over 90% of its foreign exchange earnings. Business should not be as usual.

    The second report had to do with the 2015 budget presentation by the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, on November 24.  The budget is N489.69 billion, the same size as that of 2014. In other words, the government is convinced that the sharp drops in oil prices would not have “a significant” impact on its revenue base. Hardly surprising. Over 87% of the state’s resources have in the last few years come from internally generated revenue (IGR), as opposed to the monthly allocations from the federation account which professional economists call transfers. Practically every state, including the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, depends on the federation account for survival.

    This dependency syndrome is at the root cause of the crisis of our federalism. There are too many states, and there are all manner of campaigns to create more states, including the preposterous recommendation of an additional 18 states at the National Conference, even when it is clear that the centre, which is already too powerful, becomes stronger with each new state. Each campaign for a new state is driven by the mentality of grabbing more and more from the centre. Everyone is eager to share in the so-called national cake, but not in the baking. As I have had cause to tell an audience sometime ago, one of my saddest days was to watch Adebayo Adedeji, a respected professor of public administration and erstwhile executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), lead a delegation of people to submit a request to the National Assembly for the creation of Ijebu State. I can understand the shenanigan of professional politicians like Senate President David Mark who would hoodwink ignorant elements into believing that new states like Apa could be created, but can never understand why such a refined, urbane and learned person as Adedeji could engage in an enterprise that is clearly injurious to the health of the nation. We hope that the cascading oil prices and the growing inability of most of the existing state governments will drive home the point that the multiplication of the number and recurrent expenditures of the states is a particularly bad and unproductive idea.

    In contrast, Fashola’s Lagos has demonstrated the need for Nigeria to have states or component groups of the federation which will be self-sustaining. A lot of new businesses are emerging in Lagos daily. Almost every new foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria ends up in Lagos. The worsening security across the country has led to more businesses migrating to Lagos. Is it surprising that every bank in Nigeria has its headquarters in Lagos? Lagos State offers the most friendly investment and business climate in the country. Lagos is a liberal, dynamic, open, cosmopolitan and sophisticated environment. At a time many politicians are becoming increasingly parochial and clannish for immediate self-serving purposes, Governor Fashola rather acknowledges the pre-eminent contribution of non-indigenes to the growth of the state, which is striving to become a world class mega city by 2035. There is an important expression the governor uses in recognition of the enormous contributions of non-indigenes in the state: migrant capital. It is migrant capital that built New York, Los Angeles, etc. This is a story for another day.

    Let us face it: an increasing rate of business growth does not necessarily translate to huge internal revenues for any state government. Among factors required for a reflection of the business growth in the internally generated revenue of every state is personal discipline. I have seen a number of state governors in recent times who have asked their officials in charge of markets and tax collection to bring only cash (no drafts or cheques) to their homes! This is why in many of the states where there has been increased economic activity and increased tax or levy payment, the increase in IGR has been minimal. In other words, the fact that Lagos generates well over 85% of its revenue from IGR shows a high level discipline among its top government officials.

    One question which should be agitating the minds of policymakers and analysts in Nigeria, all the more so in the light of the declining oil revenues and the attendant severe consequences for governments at all levels, is how to make the states become viable economic units. The states, as currently constituted, are too many and too weak. The corollary is that there is a profound lack of seriousness in their governance. Governors are like emperors, they have pocketed the state legislatures, thus making a mockery of the doctrine of separation of power and the concept of checks and balances. This is one of the reasons why the venerable former vice president, Dr Alex Ekwueme, has, right from the Constitutional Conference in 1994/5, been calling for the collapse of the 36 states into six federating units. The federating units must be brought to scratch, a far cry from the present arrangement where the states, which are the federating units, are like fiefdoms. Indeed, the challenge before us now is to turn each of the nation’s six geopolitical zones into a Lagos, that is, a viable economic zone. Right now, Lagos is the only economic centre which does not depend directly on crude oil for survival. One viable economic centre is not enough for a nation of 170 million people with a population growth rate of 2.3% per annum.

    The robust 2015 Lagos State budget in the midst of dwindling oil revenues, which could make Nigeria appear increasingly like a failed state when  basic obligations are not met, should serve as a wakeup call to all Nigerians.

     

    • Dr Udeaja, an economist, writes from Lagos

  • Pepper soup lovers get N800,000 as Lagos lauds fishermen

    The Lagos State Government has celebrated fishermen, fish processors and other stakeholders in the aquaculture industry. It also splashed N800,000 on winners of the pepper soup eating competition.

    The event, sponsored by Nestle, makers of Maggi seasoning, was attended by captains of industry, traditional rulers, top government officials and other citizens.

    Donald Grace, who won the pepper soup competition, went home with N500, 000, the first runner-up, Daniel Osas, N200,000 and Tajudeen Agunbiade, the  second runner-up, N100,000.

    At the 2014 Annual Seafood Festival held at the Bar Beach, Governor Babatunde Fashola thanked the fishermen and women from across the riverine areas – Epe, Badagry, Bariga, Eti-Osa and others. He said what his administration tried to do in instituting the festival was to bring the rural fishing folks to the city once a year as the build-up to end of year activities. He said the event is one of the series that characterise the end of every year.

    Other activities that marked the end of the year, Fashola said, included the Beach Soccer event, the countdown and the Christmas festivities which lead to the New Year, adding, “I hope that you will all do what is necessary to sustain these activities.”

    The Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperative, Prince Gbolahan Lawal said the annual festival which started in 2012 was meant to expose fishing communities to the different business opportunities that abound in the fishing business.

    Lawal who noted that the festival has opened windows of opportunities to boost commercial activities in their areas, said the seafood celebration would also stimulate investors’ interest in fishery industry.

    He said over 100 mobile stands were set up for fish farmers from various riverine communities, and commended Lagosians for coming out to celebrate the festival.

    Lawal said:”Market is one of the major challenges of fish farmers, but this festival has provided an array of opportunities for them to build capacity, bring them closer to the markets so as boost their economy and eradicate poverty.”

    Meanwhile, the festival also paraded equipment suppliers, fish feed millers, supplement dealers, fish processors, fish farmers, artisanal fishermen, culinary services and assorted fish based menus, cooking competition and raffle draw.