Speeches

Executive Intelligence Management Course 3, At The Institute Of Security Studies, Abuja

Oct 21, 2010 - Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank the organizers of this event for giving me the honour to share our humble experiences on infrastructural development in Lagos State with all of you.

To make up for more than 30 years of infrastructural deficit and to prepare for the projected population growth of our State for the several decades, our administration has been engaged in massive infrastructural renewal covering transportation, healthcare, education, environment, public safety and other areas. Our objective is to make Lagos the foremost African megacity.

But this is not an end in itself as our experience in Lagos has shown that the creation of economic security is a critical tool in curbing insecurity in the society. At the core of my presentation is the correlation between the two.

Undoubtedly, Lagos State is the hub of the Nigerian economy and a captivating base for her hospitality. Upgrowing economic opportunities in the State make the continuous migration of humans from within and outside the country inevitable, factors which contribute to the transformation of Lagos into the fastest growing African city.

In the last three decades, rapid urban migration without corresponding expansion of available infrastructure, coupled with a lack of adequate maintenance of existing facilities, put intense pressure on available resources. Lagosians were, therefore, forced to scramble for grossly inadequate and many times depreciating facilities.

My predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu commenced the effort to redress this situation from 1999 to 2007. As members of the same political party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), we share similar ideals with seamless continuity of policies. And with the increasing support of tax payers in the last three and a half years, our administration set out to fulfill promises made to Lagosians during and after our electioneering campaign in 2007.

From the outset, the lack of adequate funds coupled with a prevalence of poverty among our people became our greatest challenge. We, therefore, set out to empower the people through the provision of jobs and skill acquisition. We also recognized that the archaic tax laws needed urgent reforms.

The heartbeat of any economic empowerment is the business environment which is conducive. Functional transportation, markets, schools, bridges, roads, serene and safe environments are vital organs of a fertile operating surrounding that will generate the needed jobs.

We set out to produce competitive and friendly business platforms for willing investors within the shortest time, transforming Lagos State into a huge construction site as well as producing hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process. The jobs on the other hand helped to lower desperation and tension which often engender crime.

For example, building on the work already done by the last administration, we launched the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) transportation system with its dedicated lanes to relieve the gridlock on our roads. This successful initiative is now being commended as a global model.

Our Greening and Beautification Programme are creating the desired serene environment throughout the city and the needed jobs. Landscaping and horticulture have as such grown to become popular and bigtime business, opening up yet another untapped aspect of the economy to our young men and women.

This programme has generated more than 16,000 direct and indirect jobs while the green parks and serene environment have contributed in no small measure in producing an orderly and calmer citizenry.

In addition, our Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has created 38,530 new jobs for highway managers, street sweepers and sanitation troupes while the Bus Rapid Transit also generated a total of 968 jobs for bus pilots, bus officers and ticketers. More than 400 Private Sector Participants in our environmental sanitation programme generated more than 6,000 jobs.

Also, the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) employed more than 800 officers in a sector that provides jobs for more than 4 million people.

We saw education as a means of arming our younger generations with lifelong skills that will guarantee self-development and self-actualization.

We, therefore, embarked on improving the education infrastructure in the State. In the last 1,200 days, we have rehabilitated and handed over a total of 253 blocks of classrooms consisting of 3,885 classrooms and 126 new model classroom blocks consisting of 1,412 new classrooms to various communities across the State.

These include over 200,000 chairs and desks for both pupils and teachers. These locally manufactured chairs and desks provided jobs and revenues for hundreds of carpenters and furniture makers in the State.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, our guiding principle in our policies and projects is to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number. From minute projects like adding sidewalks to the roads to the on-going light rail system, we aim to harness the resources of Lagos State judiciously to achieve this objective.

We observed that Lagos State has an untapped night economy which is better served with adequate street lighting and security. We, therefore, chose to light up our streets at night using a combination of the national power grid, generators and solar energy.

Subsequently, a bigger economy means more jobs for more people. We believe strongly that a night economy should be as safe as its daytime counterpart. Bars, restaurants and hotels now open day and night.

Meanwhile, we harness the energy of our youths for useful and profitable ventures using their immense interests in sports. We developed various sports complexes across the State, namely, Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Agege Stadium and Campos Stadium.

To date, different sports academies have engaged over 100,000 youths in different training programmes and tournaments while the State Government facilitated the visit of international soccer stars, like Rio Ferdinand and Emmanuel Adebayor, to motivate and mentor the youths. Our investment in sports infrastructure creates an alluring alternative away from cults, crime, unwanted pregnancies and other vices, among our younger ones.

As more people engage in gainful and legitimate employment, the tension and desperation associated with poverty and economic insecurity has eased considerably. The existence of legitimate avenues for people to earn a living across the social strata has also helped to reduce crime considerably and assisted the various security agencies to deal with crime and this has improved their efficiency.

From the foregoing, it has become obvious that economic empowerment is a critical tool for crime control. We have, through the various programmes, succeeded in easing considerably conditions that created tension and desperation, the two critical factors in crime build-up.

Even the security system itself has benefited from infrastructure renewal as we have created an enabling environment for the Police and security agencies in the State through the provision of conducive and well equipped Police Stations and Courtrooms across the State. This has helped the justice system and the chain of law and order to run smoothly.

With the unflinching support of taxpayers, our policies and projects obviously provide more jobs for hundreds of thousands of Lagosians to eliminate desperation among the citizenry. Effectively, this has led to 75% drop in violent crimes in the State over two years.

In conclusion, distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, reading e-mails and letters from Lagosians in the past 1,245 days that my colleagues and I have embarked on this journey, watching their smiles and realizing that another job for yet another person transforms a life, gives us the satisfaction of service. We believe that the prosperity and security of our great nation, Nigeria truly lies within and with what we decide to do.

I am convinced therefore that engaging with the challenged infrastructural development is a worthwhile endeavor which makes democracy meaningful because it delivers prosperity to the people.

As we prepare for another elections, it is important to focus on the manifestos of the parties that offer practical solutions to the infrastructure challenges of our country even as we focus on the credibility of the elections because this is the only way we can guarantee good governance.

I say this because free and fair elections alone without practical solutions will not address our infrastructure problems of lack of electricity. Inefficient road and its attendant transportation difficulties that inhibit economic growth and prosperity to mention but a few.

I thank you all.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State