Agenda for Lagos governor

When Akinwunmi Ambode emerged winner of the April 11 governorship elections on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the victory was greeted with uncommon euphoria, not necessarily because he defeated the candidate of a ruling party that failed at the centre, but mainly for reasons that were not far-fetched.

Lagos residents who made that victory possible rejoiced first because they saw continuity in the government of the state and second because, for the first time since the return of democratic government in the country 16 years ago, the state is to be ruled by a political party which also forms the government at the centre.

It was, therefore, a big sigh of relief that the years of cat-and-dog fight between the state and the federal government arising from political differences were over with a glimmer of hope for a positive turnaround in the economic fortunes of the state.

Even in its opposition status, Lagos, all these years, distinguished itself in many respects, especially in infrastructure development and capacity for harnessing its enormous revenue potential as the nation’s commercial nerve centre.

Previous administrations in the city-state, especially the immediate past one under the highly cerebral Babatunde Fashola, have demonstrated uncommon resolve to leave the state better than they met it, which explains the massive infrastructure upgrade and environmental transformation of the past eight years.

Like any other organic entity, Lagos is growing with high aspirations, most prominent among which is the desire to attain a mega-city status. The past administration in the state pursued the realisation of this dream with verve and vigour—cleaning the roads, planting flowers and building recreation parks.

However, though there were efforts at touching all parts of the state, much of the energy expended on infrastructure upgrade was concentrated in the highbrow neighbourhoods of the city where the ‘big guys’ live and do their business such that it was tempting to believe that, in the calculation of the government, Lagos only consisted in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Surulere and a few other locations.

In the present dispensation, therefore, government should beam searchlight on the city’s suburbs because, in our candid opinion, since the past administration has served the interest of the highbrow areas to a reasonable extent, now is time for the masses.

We have no doubt that Governor Akiwunmi Ambode has the interest of all Lagosians at heart and, recalling that he promised during his campaigns to build Lagos of our collective dream and one that all of us would be proud of, we cannot but remind him that places like Amukoko, Ladipo, Okokomaiko, Ikotun, Ebute Metta, Ejigbo, Okota, etc are weeping from years of neglect and need urgent attention.

The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is one project that should be of utmost concern to the Ambode administration given its strategic importance to the growth of the economy of the state. We are hopeful that the expected synergy between the APC Federal Government and APC Lagos State government would provide all the enablement that had been lacking for hastening the completion of that project. The expressway is one way for the state to decongest the city centre.

We believe, too, in the capacity of the Ambode administration to see all these through, given the state’s economic potential. It is said that Lagos economy is larger than that of Kenya which is the powerhouse of East Africa. And so, expectation is high from the residents.

If the state’s projected N22 billion monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) is anything to go by, Lagosians have every cause to hope and expect nothing less than the best from the new government. We, therefore, implore the Ambode government to deploy the state’s legendary capacity and ingenuity for harnessing revenue to provide essential facilities, especially good community roads, for the people.