Unnecessary furore over Airport-Oshodi road

Last week, the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode complained that his administration is being frustration by the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Power over its good-intentioned move to re-construct the about 4-kilometer Murtala Muhammed International Airport-Oshodi road in Lagos.

The governor hinted that the state government had already made provision in its N812.99 billion 2017 budget for the reconstruction of the airport road to a standard road benefiting an international airport.

“The state government presently has a design for the reconstruction of the road as well as the funds to embark on the project but the Federal Government was yet to grant approval”.

A day after the Lagos State governor made the accusation, the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Power overseen by Babatunde Fashola responded, denying the Lagos accusation. Fashola had in a statement released by his spokesman, Hakeem Bello, said his response is to “ensure that members of the public are not misled by deliberate or inadvertent mis-statements” of the Lagos governor.

The minister had in the statement clarified that the request of the Lagos government to take over the Oshodi-Airport road, as well as three other federal roads in the state, was still being deliberated by the Federal Executive Council. “The ministry has presented the memorandum conveying the request of the Lagos State Government to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) as was done with a similar request by the Kaduna State Government in 2016”

In underscoring its quick response to action for development, the ministry highlighted how it quickly approved the use of yards of Federal Ministry of Works at Oworonshoki for Lagos State Government to create a lay-by, in order to ease traffic. The ministry also stated how it approved that the state government be granted the rights to manage the street lighting on the Third Mainland Bridge, to support security initiatives of the state.

However, Ambode’s accusation clearly stresses his desire not only to work but speedily too and lift Lagos from where Fashola left it. His promise on closing potholes on Lagos roads is being carried out successfully. His distaste for traffic jams and the frustration it gives to commuters has led to construction of lay-bys on various roads. He has also improved on street lightings started by the previous government in the state. In the continued drive to make Lagos a mega city, he has also proposed to the Federal Government to renovate and modernize the decaying National Stadium and put it to good use.

The present state of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport road linking Oshodi and other major parts in Lagos is an eyesore. It is a national disgrace and required immediate attention to salvage the nation’s image. Coincidentally, this is the first road many visitors to the country ride on and which gives them the first impression about Nigeria.

Obviously, the governor’s outburst of ‘frustration’ on the delay to re-construct Airport- Oshodi road is understandable. He appears in a real hurry to improve the infrastructure in the state.

Unfortunately, long-winding and sometimes unnecessary bureaucracy is the hallmark of governance especially in Nigeria and Ambode, being a governor himself, is well away of this. It is not clear when Lagos State applied to re-construct the Airport- Oshodi, but from the governor’s outburst, it appears he expected immediate response from the federal government giving the critical nature of the road.

But the governor shouldn’t allow his frustration boil over to a full blown crisis with the federal government and with his predecessor, who coincidentally, is the minister-in-charge of works. Being the former governor of Lagos and haven also witnessed first-hand the frustration of managing the road, he will, we hope, be most willing to help Lagos take control and reconstruct the road.

We also hope the federal government will quickly look into the Lagos request, shorten the bureaucracy and processes involved and ensure the Lagos state government is quickly able to take charge of the road and begin work.