The Nation Newspaper

Tag: project

  • AfDB Potato value chain project for Plateau

    AfDB Potato value chain project for Plateau

    The African Development Bank (ADB) potato value chain project that will boost potato farming is to take off in Plateau State soon, its Coordinator, Mr. Thaddeus Yelwa, has said.

    Speaking in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Monday, Yelwa said once the project begins, the state would produce Irish potato three to four times yearly.

    He said the project, aimed at improving the quality and quantity of potato farming, will empower farmers with improved seedlings and other farming tools.

    Yelwa added that the value chain project was an offshoot of Fadama ll programme, which ended in 2012.

    “Plateau is rated the leading state in terms of execution and utilisation of funds made available by ADB for Fadama ll projects. This is why the bank has also agreed to include us in the six states that will benefit from the additional funding,” he said.

    He said this time around the money would be channel into improving potato farming because the state produces it in high quantity.

    “This project will soon take off, and it will cover the aspect of production, storage, processing, which is value addition and also marketing of the product,” he said, assuring that with all modalities in place, Plateau will be producing potato four to five times in a year once the project begins.

    He further explained that with the project on course, potato farmers would smile home, as ordeals they usually encounter would be taken care of by the project.

    The Coordinator urged Plateau indigenes to go into potato farming, saying “it is a very lucrative and viable business”.

  • Gains of our library project, by City Profs

    A visit by the members of the Board of Patrons, City Profs Educational Foundation (CPEF) to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo provided an opportunity for the non-profit organisation to share its successes in enhancing literacy through its library and e-learning projects.

    Prof Grace Alele-Williams, who led others like Mrs. Oluwagbemiga Benson, Mrs. Agbowu, Mrs. Susan Omojokun, and Otunba Olayinka Lawal-Solarin to the vice president in Abuja, said the foundation established by Oluwole Oshiyoye, Bright Echendu, Collins Akpore and Babalola Olujimi to build e-libraries across the six geo-political zones of the country, had recorded significant achievements in its nine years of existence.

    It has established community libraries in Ijebu-Imushin and Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State, Kosofe, Somolu, Surulere, Ikorodu in Lagos State, as well as Ilara-Mokin in Ondo State.

    Mrs Alele-Williams said the libraries were made possible by the support of prominent members of the society, including Prof Osinbajo, who has been a patron since 2006.

    Through the library project, Mrs Alele-Williams said the foundation has been able to bring books, both physical and electronic, closer to young readers.  She also said the foundation pursued a literary programme with young children in Lagos, which was successful.

    Making reference to one of such projects undertaken in Akoka, Lagos, she said: “This discussion and change took place after the death of the founding patron and former Commissioner for Works, Lagos State, Funsho Williams. Williams had encouraged us to carry out some educational programmes in the school in Akoka, Lagos, before his demise.

    “The plan was to select a few children to learn, speak, read and write good English for two to three hours after every school day, and these were selected between Primary three and Primary six. This plan also provided some supervision for the children after school. They deliberately tried to ensure that the children were from underprivileged homes and also tried to interest teachers from schools that could devote some days out of every week to this project. The remuneration of the teachers was a small stipend, not a salary; it was just a token we could afford to give them for their selfless service.

    “To carry out this programme, we introduced more friends into the project who would help with donations and gifts in order to provide some funds to assist the remuneration to the teachers. We wrote several letters to public and private institutions explaining the objective of the programme. Several people responded in kind and cash and thus the CPEF was established as a non-profit organisation.”

    Since its inception, the foundation has enjoyed support from prominent Nigerians, such as Chief Earnest Shonekan; Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie; Dame Obafunmilayo Johnson; Mrs Abimbola Fashola.

    Responding, Osinbajo praised the Foundation’s governing board for its great work to humanity.

    “I had the privilege of attending one of the inauguration of the CPEF project in Lagos even before I became the Vice President and I am proud to be associated with the organisation as a Member of the Board of Patrons,” he said.

    Osinbajo also underscored the importance of e-learning to enhancing educational development.

    “With Tab devices, we would be surprised how many softwares can be downloaded to educate pupils on virtually all the subjects of life, including English Language, Mathematics, etc.  Hence, instead of the child to have access to few books, say five, he could have access to 50 or more books on e-platform. With the structural facilities of the CPEF we should be able to inculcate e-Learning system with work stations, at least starting with one,” he said.

    Osinbajo called on corporate organisations and government agencies to support the foundation’s drive to complement the Federal Government’s efforts to upgrade e-learning.

     

  • ‘Calabar-Lagos rail project a must’

    ‘Calabar-Lagos rail project a must’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southsouth yesterday said the removal of the Lagos-Calabar rail project from the 2016 budget is a disservice to the people, particularly the Southsouth.

    The party threatened to drag the National Assembly to court over the role of the Legislature in the budget process of the country.

    In a statement signed by the National Vice Chairman in charge of the zone, Prince Hilliard Eta, it also accused the legislature of doctoring and removing about N5b from the rehabilitation of the collapsed and terrible Calabar–Odukpani–Itu–Ikot Ekpene federal highway and allocating same to a non-existent project.

    The statement reads: “We are very upset that our representatives at the National Assembly would discard decorum and hinder progressive change by acting at variance with the infrastructure development agenda of the APC led federal government.

    “The arbitrary removal of the Lagos – Calabar rail track by the National Assembly from the 2016 budget is a display of depraved indifference to the welfare of Nigerians.”

  • KCPTA launches Solar and Water Project

    The Kings College Parents Teachers Association (KCPTA), has launched its water and solar projects at its annex campus in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    According to the body’s Chairman, Chief Emmanuel Oriakhi, the project which began in January, is an industrial water treatment plant that purifies water via reverse osmosis equivalent to Eva water.

    “It can produce over 48,000 litres of water per day, three times more than the water requirement of the campus. It’s a dream come true and we need to congratulate ourselves for this,” Oriakhi said.

    Oriakhi noted that the solar project is also very important as it would enhance academic activities, add to quality of life on campus and save the management money from constant buying of diesel and generators repairs.

    Principal of Kings College, Mr Oluseyi Thomas, thanked KCPTA for the project, and also praised the old boys, stakeholders and community leaders for their support to the institution.

    He said :”I resumed November last year and I must say this project is a dream come true. When I came in and saw the situation, particularly the water problem, I knew we cannot progress without the problem being solved, we sat and discussed it. I’m happy PTA also supported that vision and today we are seeing this”, Oluseyi said.

    He further noted that the PTA has agreed to carry out 12 more projects which would be maintained by the college.

  • How to revive the Police CCTV project

    No much has been said and written lately about the National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) which most Nigerians erroneously referred to as the “Lagos, Abuja CCTV Project”.  Initiated in 2008 by the Late President Umar Yar’Adua, the $400 million (not $470 million) project was designed to upgrade the Nigerian police and other security agencies to the digital age, equipping them with modern surveillance systems, secured mobile communication architecture and other integrated technologies necessary for modern policing.

    On January 29, the House of Representatives began a probe of the project with an elaborate opening session that had in attendance past and present ministers, senior officials of government agencies among others. The current probe, it should be noted makes the third time the project is being subjected to some level of scrutiny by parliamentarians only that earlier probes have ended up with no known indictments.

    But, the current probe has unearthed diverse perspectives in what looks like a carefully engineered web of actions by agents of the immediate past administration with the ultimate aim of jeopardizing the project so that it could be easily transferred to private hands. For them, this would justify the award of another contract while unsuspecting Nigerians cheer on like drunk cheerleaders.

    “It is erroneous for anyone to call the project a CCTV project because the Video Surveillance System (VSS) is even less than eight percent of the project. There were five components and they were all completed”; former Managing Director of the Nigerian Satellite Communications Limited (NigComsat), Tiamiyu Ahmed-Rufai told the probe committee.

    Apart from the sophisticated VSS, Ahmed-Rufai went further to elaborate that the remaining four aspects of the project  include the deployment of GOTA subsystem which operates two main switch centers, 12  Base Station Controllers and 675 base stations spread across the 36 states and Abuja. The GOTA  we are now told supports 1, 500,000 subscriber lines which the former DG said is even bigger than the entire Visafone network. The base stations are also capable of providing Internet Protocol (IP) cloud for the various applications to which the project can be deployed.

    There is also the E-policing subsystem which is to facilitate the deployment of E-policing databases; the Video Conferencing subsystem to provide for video conferencing by all Commands of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with the Force Headquarters (FHQ) and the Coalition Emergency Response subsystem, to empower emergency response and provide a national platform for emergency calls by citizens to the Nigeria Police nationwide.

    The Chinese firm that handled the project; ZTE has consistently maintained that it fully completed the project and that Acceptance Certificates were issued.  Ahmed further corroborated what the contractors said by saying that “The project is like someone who bought a brand new car but refused to fuel it.”

    Hopefully, the House of Representatives will provide more answers as to why the project was deliberately left wasted while the security situation of the country nose-dived. That a project of that magnitude was condemned to rot merely because nobody provided diesel to power the base stations can only happen in a country like Nigeria.

    The real question remains what next for the NPSCS? And to me, this is where President Buhari comes in. It was clear that some top officials of the Jonathan administration had self-seeking plan for the NPSCS asset now valued to be over $500million.

    It is heartwarming to see contractors handling federal roads back on site at the Abuja airport roads and on other roads initiated by past governments. Government is a continuum. President Buhari needs to set up a technical committee including the contractor that handled the NPSCS to quickly come up with a plan for its resuscitation. The cameras in Lagos and Abuja should be immediately restored to functionality while efforts should be made to increase the number of cities under VSS coverage since the backbone to support that is already in place.

    For a start, there is the need for the Buhari government to reactivate the VSS in Abuja and Lagos immediately extend its coverage to Kano and Port Harcourt while other cities can follow later.

     

    Musa Aliyu,

    Zaria.

  • Rio hospitality project is new dawn – NOA DG

    Rio hospitality project is new dawn – NOA DG

    The Director -General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, has described the Rio Olympic Games Nigeria House Project as a new dawn in sports business.

    Omeri made the statement during a courtesy call by the Nigeria House Committee Project on Rio 2016 Olympics in his office at the Area 1 National Secretariat.

    He said he is happy because the committee deemed it fit to visit the NOA  underscoring the importance and how strategic the agency is in mobilising Nigerians regarding the task ahead.

    “I am happy with your visit which underscores the importance of who we are and what the NOA can do. I believe if there are two members in your sub-committee one should come from the NOA because of how strategic we are to actualise this project. The NOA remains at the vanguard of promoting whatever is good about Nigeria, it’s people, culture, landscape and everything. This government had talked about employment and poverty alleviation, therefore everything we do should be targeted at escaping from poverty and our youths taken away from social vices for the good of the society. I see what you are doing as further implementing the policy of this government. If there was no policy you won’t be here.”

    Accepting to partner with the Nigeria House Project Committee, Omeri directed that a senior officer in the agency be attached to a sub-committee in the project to ensure synergy between both bodies.

    “So, we will partner and work with you to ensure that our youths who have talents and capacity in sports can do something else with their energy and engage gainfully in sports. If they cannot work in government, there is a good opportunity in sports. Some people that have become world renowned and legends in the world came through sports and gone are the days where we thought sports are for drop outs. Today, the best athletes are professionals and those who have gone to school and we have plenty of such people in Nigeria. I will immediately send a representative of our agency to join your committee because we believe in what you are doing.

    “Therefore, for me, part of the build up is to have a National Summit on National Orientation Youth Sports and Entrepreneurship so that more people can come and participate in it. I am impressed that you are planning to go to the Olympics and showcase our culture and traditional sports because when you go to the Olympics there are a lot of sports competed at that level that does not showcase our tradition and culture. So, why can’t our own traditional sports be part of them? There are so many of them better than some sports we participate in during the Olympics. I am happy and very committed to it, this Olympics will be better for Nigeria because we are experiencing a new dawn. The agency will participate actively in all the plans”

    Earlier, while briefing the DG NOA, Project Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Nigeria House Project, Mohammed Abdullahi, told his host that the committee was there specifically to seek his agency’s support in the promotion and awareness of the hospitality business of sports through the Olympics.

    “We see the NOA as a key sector to partner with. We have a mandate to promote the image of this country through sporting activities. Olympics is a forum where you have over 205 countries coming to one venue and I think it is one of the best avenues to reach the world and project the image of the country. We also find it as a very conducive business environment to match make investors and Nigerians who also have something to offer. Countries are already on ground in Rio to secure space to do the same things we are going to do in Rio. For Nigeria, we have a lot to sell, a lot to expose and have so much aside the oil sector to showcase and this is the major aspect of the business taking us to Rio.

    “We shall also use the platform to showcase our traditional sports because if you go through the history of the Olympics and round the world, non of the 42 Olympic sports can trace its history to Africa.”

  • On Abuja CCTV project

    The House of Representatives’ decision to unravel the circumstances surrounding the $470 million National Public Security Communications System (NPSCS) is timely.  It is coming at the right time, in view of the current administration’s crusade to recover monies meant for prosecution of the war against Boko Haram that were allegedly diverted by some government officials.

    By commissioning the probe, one thing is very certain: the House seems set to address the over three-year-old controversy over the project for which many had accused the contractor erroneously.

    The former Director-General of the NigComSat, Timasaniyu Ahmed- Rufai, told an apparently shocked “Ad-Hoc Committee to Investigate the Award of CCTV Cameras in Abuja and Lagos” that the project was fully completed by the contractor, ZTE and proper verifications and certification were conducted on every subsystem of the project in 2012.

    In fact, Rufai likened what happened to the project to someone who bought a brand new car and refused to fuel it. According to him, “a team of 25 engineers went to every location to verify different stages of the project. We issued Acceptance Certificates after which payments were made to the contractor. There were milestones that were all carefully and professionally observed by the project implementation team.”

    He further revealed that the entire NPSCS project had to “Power Down” in 2012 for federal government’s, failure to provide “operational funds” for running the system.

    The former DG’s revelation, would, however, seem to assuage the feelings of many Nigerians who had hitherto felt that the Chinese firm may have played a fast one on the government by installing sub-standard or non-functional equipment.

    The Public Security Communications System (PSCS) project was initiated during the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and was funded through a finance agreement between the Nigerian government and the China Export Bank.

    The project has five main components: The Global Open Trunking Architecture (GoTA) subsystem, the Video Surveillance Subsystem (VSS) which has a component of 1000 cameras; and the Coalition Emergency Response System (CERS) which supports Police Call Centre for emergency calls. There is also the E-policing Subsystem which facilitates the deployment of E-policing databases, and the Video Conferencing subsystem which enables video conferencing by all commands of the Nigeria Police with the Force Headquarters and among themselves.

    The entire project covered installation of 2,000 digital solar-powered cameras, 1,000 each in Abuja and Lagos; 37 switch rooms, microwave backbone, 37 coalition emergency response systems, 38 video conferencing sub systems, 37 e-police systems, six emergency communication vehicles; and 1.5 million phone lines for subscribers to generate revenue.

    Footage of the cameras were said to have been used in resolving a $1 million theft in Abuja and a planned attack on the Louis Edet House, which the Police headquarters foiled.

    For those that have closely followed the arguments since the controversy of the surveillance systems broke, one thing they feel must happen, and quickly too, is for the House to get cracking to unravel key actors whose actions or inactions stalled a project that would have saved the nation needless deaths.

    While the dummy sold to the Nigerian public was that ZTE failed to deliver, it will be recalled that former Police Affairs Minister, Caleb Olubolade, had at a mid-term briefing of the ministry, said that the project was already completed.

    Former Vice President Namadi Sambo had also, while inspecting some of the facilities at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja expressed satisfaction and happiness with the operation of the security platform. He was quoted to have said: “I can see the whole of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos; Abuja Airport, Abuja; and so many things,” and went on to congratulate the Inspector General of Police and the Minister of Police Affairs at the time.

    The question that then begs for answer is: Could it be that the said top government functionaries who had roles to play in the project implementation were telling Nigerians half-truths? Was there a management and operational contract signed at the delivery of the project? Was there any budgetary provision for sustainability of the project? There were insinuations that top officials in the immediate past government only wanted to frustrate the project since it was awarded by the Yar’Adua administration to create alibi for a new contract which another firm was just waiting to pick. This probe must dig deep.

    For the House, doing a thorough job would entail going beyond merely listening to the invited persons and organisations, to actually conduct physical verification of installation sites.

    While the former DG of NigComSat may have poked the government with the allegations of stifling the project of funds, the agencies that supervised the project too might also not be totally blameless.  The House may also have to find out if it is true that the allocated spectrum for the PSCS has allegedly been reallocated to commercial operators, thereby preventing it from functioning very well.

    In view of the strategic nature of the project to national security, Nigerians look up to the House to not only get to the root of the matter, also address some shortcomings in its implementation. The idea of commercialisation completely negates the objective of this project because it undermines the idea of a secured, controlled communication platform for security agencies which the NPSCS project was designed to fill.

    One suggestion that may make some sense is allowing the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to completely take over operations and maintenance of the project.

     

    • Musa Abdullahi writes from Kano.

  • ‘Abuja CCTV project was fully completed’

    The former Managing Director of Nigcomsat, Engineer  Timasaniyu Ahmed- Rufai   has told  the  House of Representatives  Ad-Hoc Committee Investigating  the Award of CCTV Cameras in Abuja and Lagos  that the project was fully completed by the then contractor,  ZTE Nigeria Limited but that the Federal Government failed to operate and maintain the project.

    The Video Surveillance project is a component of the   $470 million National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) project which has been subject of public criticism in recent times.

    Chinese telecoms giant, ZTE  denied any wrong-doing in the execution of the NPSCS project, saying it completed and delivered one of world’s best Video Surveillance System (VSS) to the Federal Government

    Ahmed-Rufai said that the company’s  team of 25 engineers  ”went to every location to verify different stages of the project” and  issued Acceptance Certificates after which payments were made to the contractor.

    “There were milestones that were all carefully and professionally observed by the project implementation team,” he said,adding:”as the Project Consultant, I stand by every payment that was made and every decision taken on the project. The project was completed, tested and every component was working.

    “It is erroneous for anyone to call the project a CCTV project because the Video Surveillance System (VSS) is even less than 8 per cent on the project. There were five components and they were all completed.”

    When asked why the cameras in Abuja and Lagos  were not  working currently, Ahmed-Rufai likened what  happened to someone who bought a brand new car and refused to fuel it.

    “They had to power down the backbone for the communication system because government was not forthcoming in maintaining and operating the system. It is a complete communication system, there were phones for security agencies, they were special phones for security agencies which some people decided to lock up somewhere.  “There were emergency communication vehicles, they were all delivered, People were trained, from the police and other agencies but somehow some people decided not to operate the system. Those cameras depend on a backbone that has over 670 base stations. Those BTS has to be powered for the cameras to work,” he said.

    ZTE Nigeria Managing Director, Mr. Hao Fuqiang  who also  spoke at the sitting of the committee said contrary to public perception,  the project was not to merely installed  cameras  but one  conceived  to deploy  comprehensive, reliable, modern and robust  public security communications technology.

  • Group hails Ambode’s security project

    Group hails Ambode’s security project

    The Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society (NASFAT) has praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s 114 road security project.

    Speaking with The Nation at the unveiling of the 21st Anniversary Logo and Anniversary flag Handing Over of the society, NASFAT president, Kamil Abayomi Bolarinwa, an engineer, said the project would improve lives.

    “It is long overdue but I pray to Almighty Allah to guide him and make it successful. We are living in a modern century and as such, we need modern equipments. Catching a thief has gone beyond just intelligence. Part of the intelligence needed is Information Communication Technology (ICT). If you don’t have it, you cannot catch the modern criminal”, he said.

    Bolarinwa urged the public to always practice cleanliness to prevent diseases such as Lassa Fever and Ebola Virus.

    He said: “Everyone must know that there are several ailments in the world we are in. We need to adopt cleanliness even if it just washing the hands. When we also fall ill, we should desist from self-medication and go to the hospital. A stitch in time saves nine. Early detection of whatever is wrong with us would make it easier to treat.”

    He expressed his happiness at the success of NASFAT so far saying its Allah’s doing.

    “We are very grateful to Allah that what started in a small room has become what it is today. Today, it has been 21 years since NASFAT held her first Asalatu (prayer session) and now, we have a school where we not only teach Islamic education, but also Western education. We are indeed grateful to Allah”, Bolarinwa said.

    He urged members of the public to know that Islam is peace and that Islam abhors terrorism.

    He said: “A Muslim must always create an atmosphere of peace; not just for himself, but also for his neighbours, family, friends and community and he would also behave in such a way that peace would be brought about in the society.” he Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society (NASFAT) has praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s 114 road security project.

    Speaking with The Nation at the unveiling of the 21st Anniversary Logo and Anniversary flag Handing Over of the society, NASFAT president, Kamil Abayomi Bolarinwa, an engineer, said the project would improve lives.

    “It is long overdue but I pray to Almighty Allah to guide him and make it successful. We are living in a modern century and as such, we need modern equipments. Catching a thief has gone beyond just intelligence. Part of the intelligence needed is Information Communication Technology (ICT). If you don’t have it, you cannot catch the modern criminal”, he said.

    Bolarinwa urged the public to always practice cleanliness to prevent diseases such as Lassa Fever and Ebola Virus.

    He said: “Everyone must know that there are several ailments in the world we are in. We need to adopt cleanliness even if it just washing the hands. When we also fall ill, we should desist from self-medication and go to the hospital. A stitch in time saves nine. Early detection of whatever is wrong with us would make it easier to treat.”

    He expressed his happiness at the success of NASFAT so far saying its Allah’s doing.

    “We are very grateful to Allah that what started in a small room has become what it is today. Today, it has been 21 years since NASFAT held her first Asalatu (prayer session) and now, we have a school where we not only teach Islamic education, but also Western education. We are indeed grateful to Allah”, Bolarinwa said.

    He urged members of the public to know that Islam is peace and that Islam abhors terrorism.

    He said: “A Muslim must always create an atmosphere of peace; not just for himself, but also for his neighbours, family, friends and community and he would also behave in such a way that peace would be brought about in the society.”

  • As Lagos light up project reaches top gear

    The Victorian Society of London in the late 19th Century witnessed a series of murders committed in the East End slums by a man the media called Jack the Ripper. He did it in the ill-lit corners and alleys of the city, suggesting that lack of flood light was a strong factor aiding the commission of serious crimes including robberies and killings.

    Taking a cue from the studies that followed the operations of Jack the Ripper under the cover of darkness, successive city administrators of the colonial capital rapidly started work on lighting up inner London and most parts of this highly industrialized capital.

    Now nearly 130 years after, here in Lagos, Nigeria, before our very eyes, we are witnessing the strategic deployment of the lessons of lighting up a city to erect enduring security architecture.

    This is one of the dividends of democracy the government of Akinwunmi Ambode is dropping in its path as it seeks to fulfill the governor’s campaign promises.

    He did pledged barely few days into his administration that he will burden himself with the gigantic task of lighting up Lagos in his tenure. In less than 200 days of his stay in Government House, Ambode went on to set up the Lagos Power Advisory Committee, which he asked to liaise with the Ministry of Power for the implementation of his plan. The eventual goal is to flood Lagos with light all day, all week in the next two years.

    Ambode’s dream isn’t only for the major urban centres. He has spoken of feeding all the highways in this mega city that used to be the nation’s capital. Needless to say, the state hasn’t lost its prestigious status as the financial hub of Nigeria, the country considered as the economic power house of Africa.

    By early January, the administration had succeeded in fulfilling  its promise at key points of the state. A nocturnal check from Berger to Lekki, Ikorodu to Lagos Island and the entire Ikeja axis as well as Victoria Island and Ikoyi reveals the citizens of the Ambode era savouring more active street lights than the preceding generations did.

    The point to note also is that Ambode does not believe that there are enough roads yet to match his promise to turn Lagos into Africa’s New York: a 24-hour economy. How to do that? The governor wants to add modern roads. It is belabouring  the point to ask if he would also kit the streets to come with lights. It has become a sacred duty for Ambode to ensure electricity is available in every street under his watch.

    Such is this solemn vow that he is planning to start having BRT operations at night. Indeed he can’t have a 24-7 economy without a road transportation system in tandem. New York  that was famously described by legendary singer, Frank Sinatra as a city that never sleeps, and such other big world cities derived their popular appellation partly from having a ceaseless public and private transit profile. These cities don’t go to sleep because their cab, bus, air, sea and rail operations don’t go to sleep.

    We must also refer to another idea of Ambode to live out his dream. He is pleading with individuals and corporate bodies to light up their streets and neighbourhood. He says the state will work out a plan to duly recognize “such gestures in due course.” This is the sincere invitation of a humble governor to involve fellow citizens in the noble business of governance.

    Observers are quick and discerning enough to note that these seeming aesthetics of lighting up Lagos and beautifying its landscape are in the main, a part of the objective to secure Lagos and prevent murderous and criminal Jack the Rippers from wreaking havoc in the state. The security equipment worth N4.8b in the form of helicopters, power bikes, marine patrol facilities, vehicles etc the governor recently gave the Police would amount to little if the streets and alleys remain unlit. These places would serve as the black spot and dens of hiding for fleeing criminals if they are left the way they are: in complete darkness. That is what miscreants feed on at dusk and deep into the dark night.

    When Ambode talked of a plan to have BRT function all day and far into the night, he added a condition: it would be so when all the street lights are fully operational. He underscored the complementarities of fully functioning flood-lit streets to the presence of equally well-equipped security personnel.

    It was the same quest for sanity in the polity and a good life for the people that led the governor last week to demolish the home of criminals that went by the name Owonifari Market at Oshodi. The goal is to create an enabling environment undergirded by security, safety of lives and the prosperity of the citizens.

    I believe that is what Ambode meant when on May 29, 2015 he presented his inaugural speech to those who elected him as their governor. As he concluded his short but vision-laden paper, he spoke of creating an “iconic infrastructure for the benefit of all.”

    What does an “iconic infrastructure” mean? At the academic level, it may suggest an idealistic craving by society for the translation of its dream about what the society values, wants or desires for its sustenance. For me, it is the totality of what a government should offer as its irrevocable duty to the people. It means offering the ultimate in development in all its ramifications: compassionate governance, security, prosperity, dream fulfillment, sense of participation in governance, capacity building for each individual. This is iconic infrastructure.

    And just like any other projects he has ventured into since May 29, 2015, Ambode  has left no one in doubt of his determination to make sure that all streets and corners in the state are light up. A drive from Ojodu Berger to Ojuelegba at night and from Ikorodu to Island has clearly shown that the governor is on the verge of again fulfilling his promise of lighting up the state in the next two years.

    As we await another Ambode’s magic wand in a critical area that would fundamentally transform the state to take its rightful status as a megacity, one only hope that the passion that the governor has exhibited in the past few months will not wane.

    • Anibaba, an economist, wrote from Gbagada, Lagos.