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I have just returned from Home (Nigeria) and quite frankly, it left me wanting more.
Before you continue reading I MUST EMPHASISE THAT I HAVE NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER WITH THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT OF LAGOS STATE - now please continue First of all, I must start by saying that I NEVER, in my wildest dream (and trust me – I am a dreamer) thought I could see so much change for the good in Nigeria in under a year. Every Nigerian MUST pray for Gov. Fashola of Lagos. This guy is incredible in what he has thus far done to Lagos. Apart from the way he has cleared all the roadside traders and street hawkers from Oshodi (Yes- Oshodi) and you can clearly see daylight in front of you as you approach the bridge, what has amazed me even more is the way this has affected the mindset of folks in Lagos. Buildings are being demolished (sadly for some) as they were illegally constructed; some were even built on sections earmarked for roads. If you drive along Mile 2-Badagry road heading towards Ijanikin, Badagry and Seme border, you cannot help but notice hundreds or thousands of buildings marked with an X. These are to make way for road expansion. Some have already been demolished and what is most obvious is the remarkable drop in traffic (hence robberies) along this road. Before you start thinking “what of the govt. officials that gave these people permission to build or even sold them the land”, to the best of my knowledge, everyone who owns a property due to be demolished is being asked to present their Certificate of Occupancy and planning permission. If their documents are found to be genuine, they will be compensated. What you’d find is that a lot of folks had grabbed bits of govt. land and built on it. I even saw a Police Station with a big X on it also. Much of Lagos is being sanitised; bridges with coverings and solar powered electricity and security officials are being constructed over deadly roads. All in less than a year. I was shocked to see the road linking Okota, Isolo to Mile 2. The last time I went through this road, it was obscenely treacherous. A pregnant woman could have a miscarriage on the road. I am not kidding at all. If you had diarrhoea, you’d soil yourself. It was horrendous. To go through there this time and to see the road PAVED, with central reservations, lighting, lane marks, and proper pavements/sidewalks for pedestrians etc was the icing for me. It made me think that there is certainly hope for Nigeria. This leads me to an important point. To see what is taking place in Lagos is to see a terribly populous city essentially being driven by a visionary leader. Some of the stuff I have heard people say about Nigeria is that “the country cannot develop because the people are resistant to change” or “oil money alone cannot develop the country”. There are plenty others but I will limit to this two only. My response is this, what other source of income does Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates have? Even before they became huge players in the financial services/venture capital market? Also, with these demolitions and displacement of roadside traders on the streets of Lagos, and trust me, there has been a lot- have you heard of any civil unrest? Have the associations representing market men and women gone up in arms? The answer is a resounding ‘NO’. If anything, people in Lagos have complied mostly with the leadership and they are seeing the fruits of such. I think that Nigerians are among the most compliant of people around, we don’t like trouble. We are no where near as militant as other Africans and definitely nowhere near those in Asia or South America. We value our lives more than our freedoms. In a way this is tragic, however I believe it explains also why Fashola is getting on well in Lagos. When we see leadership by example, we will follow. Do you know how many attempts have been made to decongest Oshodi? Well, neither do I but I am sure several have been made by different administrations and have failed. The people just did not comply. They have however, chosen to comply with the present state govt. I guess because they see that he is genuine and the evidence of his genuineness is to be clearly seen. For example, I was in Palm Avenue buying tyres for our vehicle. While waiting for these to be fitted, I got talking to the shop owner who was an Igbo man. He said before Fashola, they all used to display there tyres on the road right in front of their shops. Now, no one dares do that. Traffic was terrible because road space for cars were taken up by their items but now the traffic moves a lot smoother. He then said that sometime ago when the Governor came to the area, not a single siren could be heard. Fashola had banned the indiscriminate use of sirens in Lagos. Even though this still happens and the police especially are to blame for this. As I will write of later, the Nigerian Police Force is a law unto itself. They wilfully disobey even Presidential orders. It was very encouraging to see such visible changes not just in infrastructure in Lagos, but also gradual changes in the mindset of people. I am not for a second suggesting that all is perfect in Lagos, because it isn’t. However, what cannot be denied is the impact that brilliant leadership is having in Lagos. You will very rarely see an Okada man without his crash helmet, carrying multiple passengers. They know that if they are caught, they will be the source of the traffic officer’s breakfast, lunch and dinner money that day. In summation, earlier I wrote that every Nigerian should pray for Fashola, even those living in Sokoto, Benin, Plateau, Ekiti, Maine, Manchester or Mars (I have been told that Nigerians are to be found everywhere). This is because almost every Nigerian knows of someone or has some kind of connection with Lagos State. The success of Fashola could raise the level of expectation of other State Governors in Nigeria. Also, as other corrupt Governors return from their lavish foreign trips having banked millions of dollars, they will have to see what is going on in Lagos, from the air or the roads. They will know that they better start doing something, anything or else this Lagos virus might overtake them. Eko o ni baje oooooooooooooooo (trans. Lagos will not spoil)
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amazing(Yes, I too saw oshodi) there were other areas like Isashin, Egbeda on the way to Ijanikin that I saw houses split in two by the buildozers that peoples toilets were on the road.