The commissioners have to hit the ground running
I ndeed, what I would expect the new government to do is to look at the areas where the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, for example, needs reworking. One is talking of places like the Ikeja Bus Stop, Iyana Ipaja Bus Stop, Pleasure Bus Stop and Ile-Epo axis which are too narrow and motorists therefore experience hold-ups there on a daily basis. This should not be happening on what is supposed to be an expressway. So, the Sanwo-Olu government may have to invite experts to advise it on what should be done to make traffic flow in these areas. It must be ready to do the needful, no matter what it would take. Even if some buildings may still have to give way; so be it. What I would plead with the state government to do is to generously compensate the owners of such structures so that they would not regret releasing their inheritance for the public good. Definitely, the road cannot remain as it is now if the money spent on it is to yield fruits, and to make the road an expressway properly so-called.
Indeed, those uncompleted projects: Airport Road, the Pen Cinema flyover and the BRT corridor on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway should be completed before the government starts any new projects, to worm its way into the hearts of Lagosians living in that axis and those who may have cause to pass through those roads; and they are quite many. As I said before, there was no reason why those roads could not have been done in phases. Even if the government was in a haste to lift that axis; it should have been gradual; first complete one and then flag off the next, possibly the same day. There are no escape routes for the multitude living in that axis, with the simultaneous construction in those three places. Once you are stranded, you have no choice but stay put where you are as the alternatives routes you might want to use are also under construction. Matters are worsened whenever it rains, leaving commuters stranded at bus stops and transport fares skyrocketing, in some cases by as much as 300%. Cash-strapped Lagosians (like other rational human beings) who have to part with so much for transportation when their income is fixed cannot understand the ‘parable of the tribal marks’ by Lagos Traffic Radio in this situation.
One needs to be this explicit on roads so as to guard the administration so it does not repeat the same mistake. A government might have the best of intentions, but execution and even timing may end up messing up the otherwise good idea.
Still on the roads, the traffic lights in many places are no longer working. Again, let me use the ones on Fatai Atere Way as example. The ones at the Cappa end are so faint that motorists may not even notice whether they are working or not. Yet, there are many traffic wardens, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) personnel, etc. at the junction, waiting to pounce on motorists who ignore the traffic lights or could not see whether they have passed them to go or stay. In many places, the amber lights no longer work; with the implication that motorists get trapped between the red and green lights. The traffic lights at the Alfa Nla end of Old Ipaja Road in Agege have almost the same problem. There are many all over the place. The police and other state government officials should be able to pass appropriate messages on the state of these lights and other road infrastructure to the appropriate authorities for immediate action instead of being ever eager to arrest people for disobeying them. To my joy, the gulfs at the Old Ipaja Road/Alfa Nla junction have been patched, but then, there are other places on the Old Ipaja Road requiring attention. As a matter of fact, some of the areas said to have been fixed in the last few weeks have gone bad again, including portions of the same Old Ipaja Road. This means the job was shoddily done. The Sanwo-Olu government must be able to address these little details that matter. This is one problem with Nigeria, and Lagos, as a mega city should show good example. We have always said that maintenance culture is the bane of public administration in the country; it is sadly so in Lagos as well, particularly in recent times.
The state government should not forget to fix the inner roads that were damaged in the course of construction, particularly on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway axis. These include Ajiboye Crescent, for instance, where the drainage, particularly towards the Arigbanla Junction, needs total reconstruction. Dit to the culvert in the place which was improved upon recently but the road around it is bad and needs to be fixed. The Jaspand Hotel area of Sholabomi Williams Crescent linking the estate with the expressway, as well as its other end beside the NNPC petrol station after Pleasure Bus Stop, also need rehabilitation. These roads and others, including even the Old Ota Road were subjected to intense pressure by motorists looking for alternative routes due to the construction works on the expressway. It is by fixing them that the residents there can feel well compensated for the troubles they went through in the course of the construction.
There are many other roads that need urgent attention. Here, one is talking of the major road that links Ten Acres with the main road from Jakande Estate in Isolo. I do not know why successive state governments have not deemed it fit to touch this road, despite the fact that the place, though a new development site, is fast growing, and despite the fact that the government has been tending to various inner roads over the years. May be this is because of the heavy investment the government made on the dual carriageway from Jakande Estate to the Ikotun end which traverses the area. There is also Legacy Road which does not reflect its name because the only legacy there is the fact that it is not motorable. Its residents have abandoned it for other alternative routes in the area, which are only a shade better. Then, Marakaz Road in Agege. It does not seem there is anyone in charge here as the road has remained in a terrible state in spite of the fact that there is a new government in the state.
There is also the security question. Lagos has been relatively safe due to security measures put in place, and heavily supported by the state security trust fund, a good initiative of the Fashola administration. This should be well supported by the government, even as the private sector should continue to invest in it as part of their corporate social responsibility. It is in their own interest and in the interest of the larger society because businesses can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace and security. But there is one area of security that should interest the new administration. This is the influx of youths, particularly from a particular part of the country, into the state. The government should be worried because most of these people have no visible means of livelihood. Many of them just jump on commercial motorcycles as soon as they arrive the city. I had argued in my column about four months ago that southwest states have to be watchful of the activities of these youths, especially with reports that they are being transported down south in droves. We have our own security challenges that we are battling, so no one should compound them for us in the name of one Nigeria. The kind of trouble that these youths are capable of is beyond our ken in this part of the country. So, governors of the southwest have to work in concert to address this new challenge. They should not delude themselves because even the elite that fertilised the eggs that bred these hapless youths can no longer contain them. It is a case of the chicken coming home to roost. It is hoped that the new security architecture the southwest governors have put in place in the region will curtail the activities of the criminally-minded of these youths.
Then, about two years ago or so, the state government conceived of the idea of having an independent (?) power scheme (I think) with the pilot project at Alimosho. What has happened to the project? I was at the forum where the matter was discussed about three years ago and almost everyone present was upbeat about it. The icing on the cake was that there would be power supply 24/7, except that it would be slightly more expensive than what the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) charge. Artisans were well represented at the forum and they all expressed their desire to see the scheme take off despite the higher cost. They know how much they spend to fuel their generators. Those who presented the idea to the forum appeared to know their onions because they broke down their explanations such that even the illiterates among the lot understood what the idea was all about.
Without prejudice to whatever the DisCos are doing or might say, the point is that we are not yet there when power supply is the issue and I think we need to break some of these monopolies if we must get there. The idea is not necessarily to kill any DisCo but to let them have competitors that will put them on their toes. If we can achieve this, the better for all, including the DisCos too. Lagos cannot remain a mega city with epileptic power supply. Its place as economic destination of choice cannot be guaranteed without uninterrupted power supply. The Sanwo-Olu administration might have to dust the files on this project and see what the problems are with a view to solving them in the interest of Lagosians.
Governor Sanwo-Olu should not underestimate what party faithful can do so it does not experience any banana peel. But that is not to say he should throw the state treasury open to the indolent who want to get money without doing anything. But those willing to earn a living should be compensated for their efforts and when given jobs, they must execute them satisfactorily.
The Sanwo-Olu government should bear in mind that Lagosians, like many other Nigerians generally, are minimalists. Their expectations from government are not many. Give them good roads; power to run their businesses; let them have access to fairly good life, etc. and they begin to clap for you. Indeed, any government that Nigerians would not clap for cannot be clapped for in any other part of the world.
Of course one cannot exhaust what needs to be done in Lagos in any single article. Other people are also going to make their suggestions to help the government chart the way forward.
May the Sanwo-Olu administration live to the billing of His Excellency’s name. Once again, I wish the government a successful tenure.
(CONCLUDED).