‘Lagos deserve special status’ - Sanator

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (right) with the minority leader,  Sen. George Akume (left)

‘Lagos deserve special status’ - Sanator
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos

The Nigerian Senate Minority leader, Senator George Akume has said that Lagos State deserves a special status going by its strategic location in terms of commerce, population and topography in Nigeria.

Senator Akume stated this when a bi-partisan team of Senators visited Lagos state over the recent flooding that ravaged the state.

Properties worth millions of Naira and lives were lost due to over 15 hours of rain on Sunday, July 10.    

Senator Akume, who is also the leader of the group, explained that the team saw some channels constructed over 15 years ago and that some of the projects like roads, bridges were expected to have been handled by the Federal Government, as they are Federal projects, but had not been adequately maintained.

He promised that whenever a thought was being given in terms of intervention in areas of critical importance to Lagos; the concerned Senators would join the advocacy for ways of assisting Lagos.

According to him, “many Senators are already signing up for the cause which is on a moral and persuasive approach to supporting the people of Lagos State particularly at this period and taking the document to the President.”

He noted that the magnitude of the accident was beyond what Lagos State alone can handle and also encouraged the Governor to continue his good works for the good people of Lagos.

 Proactive measures

Governor Fashola, while responding, pointed out that the drainages had to an extent been effective but were not enough to cater for the expanding frontiers of Lagos territory where new estates continued to spring up.

He explained that 10 drainage channels are under construction in Lekki area while in some other areas, the government of Lagos State is lining canals that are earth channels. He noted that there were adding that there are also human issues.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN in a group photograph
with members of the delegation of Bi-Partisan senators

“We have given notices that there would be absolutely no tolerance for people who build very close to the drains, canals, wetlands and swampy areas which are the reservoirs where the water should drain to. Many of the devastating effect of the flood were more pronounced in areas where there should be no building. Some have built on drains,” Fashola said.

Coping with the Challenge

According to the Governor, the first priority is to save lives. “We know that there are people issues here but we think that only living people can prosper and whose challenges we have to deal with. Our reaction is first to save them from themselves and therefore of course the human issue of relocation and resettlement will come up. This is not an ideal environment in which to plan that but we think we will save lives first and come and deal with properties and resettlement as a consequence”.

“Another challenge is also that the terrain of Lagos makes building very vulnerable. Therefore all of those buildings at this time of raining season when there is a lot of water and lot of seismic movement that is affecting the structures of buildings and all of the buildings that we have identified as unstable will have to be evacuated and brought down and then we would see what we can do as a government,” Fashola added.

The Governor stressed that the Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development and his Environment counterpart had the matching orders of the State Government to remove all such structures.

Governor Fashola said the last four weeks had not been very favourable for governments across the world, pointing out that Lagos is just having its own share of the misfortune. In his words; “We need help, we need funding particularly because we have plans to mitigate this problems. One cannot rule out the possibility of a recurrence and therefore requires a community of efforts at local and national level to put in strategies to mitigate them”.

Appreciation

The Lagos State helmsman reiterated his personal delight that such a bi-partisan delegation had put themselves forward to respond in empathy and compassion to issues that affect people. He said: “I am encouraged by what I see here by these distinguished Senators and that there is hope for Nigeria. I share your strong sentiments that an investment in Lagos State, the support of Lagos and the granting of a special status is not a grant for Lagos but for Nigeria”.

Uniqueness of Lagos

“Any investment in Lagos is an investment in enlightened self interest of Corporate Nigeria. It is an investment that protects and supports Nigeria’s capacity to earn more resources, support more businesses, expand businesses and address issues of unemployment.”
The Governor explained that in Lagos, the possibilities are limitless as it is a home for every Nigerian, alluding to the 2011 Spelling Bee Competition through which the One Day Governor Mr Niodu Jone Akpankpan from Akwa Ibom emerged.

The bi-partisan delegation

The delegation from Abuja also included the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Senator (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu, Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Senator Abu Ibrahim, Senator Gbenga Obadara, Senator Femi Lanlehin, Senator Jide Omoworare, Senator Femi Ojudu all of the Action Congress of Nigeria (A.C.N) and Senator Abu Ibrahim of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Williams