By Chris Otaigbe
But for the Covid-19 panic, Lagos would have been agog with celebration to mark the first-year anniversary of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration. From Agege to Mobolaji Bank-Anthony (Onikan) stadium, there would have been rows of cars and many groups adorned in arrays of different and competing Aso-Ebis.
The Lagos Arts and Entertainment circuit would have been busy with performances, in theatre, music and dance, to mark the memorable day. A special march past of schools, Local Governments and other groups from the different spectrum across the State would have put their thing just to honour Sanwo-Olu’s special day on May 29, 2020.
By the way, May 29, was until 2019, Nigeria’s Democracy Day since 1999 when the country returned to civil rule, following over one decade of military rule. It was President Muhammadu Buhari who reversed the crazy policy taken by Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the first civilian President of the maiden administration, in the nation’s return to democracy.
For the Lagos State governor, the sanctity of May 29 is strong, significantly so, considering how he became governor and the whole contentious campaigns and conflicts flying around and across the state between groups loyal to his predecessor, Akinwunmi Ambode and groups loyal to the All Progressive Congress (APC) which had his back as the anointed, to ascend the throne of power at Alausa.
His victory was, however, almost shaken early in his administration when potholes were deepening the traffic gridlock across the state, while the insecurity that attacked the State during this period, made many Lagosians doubt his competence despite his acclaimed eloquence.
Challenged, Sanwo-Olu took the bull by its horn and launched into massive response to the problems the state was passing through, at least to prove to the people that he can perform as good as he speaks.
The story of his emergence as Governor of the economic capital of Nigeria, thus, was one that would have been plagued with misfortunes.
He came into office by massive public acclaim but soon got confronted by adversity of varying dimensions. First, there was scarcity of funds in the account of the most viable state in the country.
Rather than whine and moan about this adversity, Sanwo-Olu adopted a positive attitude towards solving the problem, by devising an ingenious method of converting adversity to a productive panacea for the people of Lagos.
He refused to adopt the expired route of castigating the administration he succeeded, even when it became ostensible that many things did not add up in the method and books of the former administration.
In spite of the drawbacks, Sanwo-Olu went to town building and repairing infrastructural projects in the state.
The ongoing massive programme of road repairs, which the state tagged ‘zero tolerance for potholes initiative’ attest to the determined drive of the administration to make road infrastructure a vehicle of its greater Lagos journey.
A drive through the streets of Lagos will also reveal that roads had been rehabilitated or ongoing in so many locations such as Mobolaji bank Anthony; Sheraton section (ikeja bound), Ogudu road, Herbert Macaulay road, Ogunnusi road, Apapa road, lasu-iba road, Iju road, Ajah badore road, Ridwan onifade/Ademoye street, Arida bus stop before Ikotun oduduwa road, and Tos Benson (ebute roundabout inward garage). Others Cele-ijesha link bridge (Okota road), Ijesha lawanson junction by Otun oba bus stop and Ishaga road by LUTH, Ondo street Ebute Metta. Rehabilitation work has also been done at Agbado road (Lagos-Ogun boundary to Ayinla bus stop), Ifako Ijaiye.
As part of the Roads Repair Programme, there is a junction improvement scheme to resolve bottlenecks at critical junctions. Over 60 junctions have been identified in the first phase with upgrades already ongoing on four of them.
On his one-year anniversary, he visited Ikorodu to commission the 360-unit Lagos homes Igbogbo Baiyeku 2b Estate, and later launched the Courtland Villas at Femi Okunnu Estate, Lekki.
On Transportation and Traffic Management, Sanwo-Olu promised to fix all potholes and maintain Lagos roads all year-round, he also pledged to complete existing road projects, as well as fix inner-city roads.
So far, over a hundred roads across the state have been rehabilitated by the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC), with ongoing rehabilitation and rapid response from the corporation to fix even more roads within the state.
What has also been impressive about this effort particularly is the level of communication and transparency they have maintained during the process. Notices go out regularly across different media platforms and formats to inform the public about areas being worked on, in advance, to manage traffic and delays.
On health, he promised to expand Lagos Health Insurance Scheme to accommodate 500,000 households by the fourth quarter of 2019, and that the health budget would be increased from 8.6% to 15%.
By 2021, all the 345 primary health centers in the state will have a minimum of three doctors, three nurses and five community health workers, while ambulance points in the state will be increased by 50%.
The Health sector perhaps represents one of Sanwo-Olu’s biggest successes as the health budget of N21bn that was allocated in 2019 was increased to N33bn; over 50%.
In his manifesto as candidate, Sanwo-Olu’s budgetary allocation for education was promised to be upped from the current 12.07% to 18%. “We will immediately embark on the renovation of public schools and make them conducive for learning. Teachers will be trained for capacity enhancement in modern teaching methodology.
The Lagos State budget shows the administration plans to spend N48 billion on education and technology. This represents a 60% rise in capital allocation to the Ministry of Education. Already, renovation projects have been commissioned and training for teachers have been ongoing in the state.
In the Education sector, Gov. Sanwo-Olu conducted the virtual commissioning of completed classroom blocks at Maya secondary school, Ikorodu, Eva Adelaja junior school, Bariga, and Savior Primary school, Ifako-Ijaiye, among others.
The virtual commissioning of completed works like the concrete jetty in Baiyeku, Ikorodu; the Aradagun-Ajido-Epeme road in Badagry; and the Maryland signalization project also formed part of his itinerary to commemorate his one year in office.
However, Sanwo-Olu’s administration coincided with the advent of massive downpour when the potholes it inherited were made worse to become boreholes. Roads could not be mended in the midst of a flood-loaded rainfall, but because of the public outcry, which hardly recognized limitations the inclement weather threw up, efforts were made to reduce the people’s agony by mending roads across the state.
However, much of asphalt went down the drain as they were washed off by the unceasing rains. It attracted much of public opprobrium for an administration that came in when public disgust with the state of Lagos roads was high.
In addition to struggling with the rains to make the roads somewhat accessible by motorists, the administration had to come up with a punishing ban on commercial tricycles and motorcycles for public transport. That bold decision had become an anti-people policy and predictably, did not sit well with Okada and Keke riders.
This is further backed by a combination of vocal resentment by government critics across the state, especially residents whose means of accessing so many places in the state where the government-backed public buses known as BRT, cannot reach.
Concerned residents and groups did try to force the administration to reverse itself, but Sanwo-Olu refused to buckle, giving a strong signal that he would not pander to popular sentiments. He had shown the state that he was in power not to take popular policies but decisions he believes are right.
But when one looks at it, a situation where the major means for getting the weak and down trodden to work and back to their homes in the state had been taken from them to enable a skyrocket pricing environment, in transportation of people and products, does not make his banning or restricting Okadas and Kekes from major roads in Lagos, merely unpopular. It also makes it wrong.
Having banned the poor man’s means of transporting himself around the state, cost of transportation has risen and has affected price of foodstuffs and other products in the State without the Government doing anything about it.
This policy gives a bad nose to the flowery vision of the state government as captured in its THEMES agenda. The viral video of the young girl working for one of the organized online commercial motorcycle riders’ firms, who lamented about the decision throwing her back into the unemployment market did not do the Sanwo-Olu’s stubborn disposition to the negative impact of his policy in the state. What was worrying in the video, that trended as an illustration on the negative impact of the policy on the poor people in Lagos, was the fact that the online bike-hailing firms was the only source of income, which she used to fund her higher education.
Yes, many came to the young girl’s rescue following the broadcast of the video, but she is just one persons out of the millions of residents affected by the policy.
Still talking transportation and traffic management in Lagos State, no matter how many roads built or repaired by any administration in Lagos, so long as extra options through other windows are not explored, delivering the state from the pandemic of the mentally draining vehicular traffic would be a mirage.
Thankfully, there is the Light Rail Project, which was reported to have taken off in 2009.
The first project, in this direction, tagged Metroline, was proposed in 1983 by the then governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande. It was called the Metroline Project and was to be handled by Interinfra, a French company.
The first phase was expected to be completed in three years; however, a year prior to the proposed completion date, the project, which was still moving at snail speed was cancelled by the Federal Government citing lack of fund as reason.
The estimated cost of the project was N683m and deemed high, hence, the government was unwilling to take up the burden of financing the project with loans.
The urban explosion in Lagos continued to put a strain on the limited road infrastructure; however, nothing was done until over seven years later, in the 2000s, when the Lagos State Government led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, reinstated the project. The project was called the Lagos Light Rail Project or otherwise known as the Eko Rail.
In the December 2003 arrangement, it was expected to be managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), comprising an initial phase of building two lines: the Red and Blue lines, with the intention of extending it to seven lines.
After the initial announcement, it took five years before the project could kick off, with the contract being awarded to the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company, at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion and a completion date set in 2011.
Not long after the project commenced, Lagos State began seeking potential investors that would operate and maintain the lines post-construction. The plan was to award a concession contract to potential investors for a period of 25 – 30 years.
The concessionaire was also expected to be involved in the design and construction of infrastructure relating to operation and maintenance of the lines.
While the blue line of the rail project is expected to begin at Marina and extend to Okokomaiko, this particular line was expected to be entirely funded by the Lagos State Government.
The entire length of the blue line is 27km (17 miles) and it is expected to cost about N70bn in construction expense. It comprised 13 stations namely; Marina, Ebute Ero, Iddo, Iganmu, Alaba, Mile 2, Festac, Alakija, Trade Fair station, Volkswagen station, LASU and the Okokomaiko station.
The blue line shares three stations with the red line. A journey along the blue line is approximated to last 35 minutes.
Running from Marina to Agbado. Interestingly, the red line will share the right-of-way of the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.
Overall, the blue and red lines are expected to carry 1.6 million passengers daily.
The construction of the other five lines were supposed to commence after the blue and red lines have been completed and they were expected to extend to places like the local and international wings of the Muritala Muhammad Airport, Ikeja; the proposed Lekki Airport; Otta; the Redemption Camp and Mile 12.
Initially, the trains to be used for the light rail project were to be acquired from Canada. These were the H5 series subway trains formerly used by the Toronto Transport Commission.
In 2015, however, the plan was cancelled as LAMATA opted to import Chinese built electric trains. The initial 15 electric multiple units that were to be purchased were expected to cost $14.65 million. Another 14 units were expected to be imported at a later date.
The rail system was expected to have an independent power supply with a 30-40Mw power station built to supply the system.
Unfortunately, the same fate that plagued the construction of the first rail system over two decades ago crept into the construction of the Eko Rail. However, this hasn’t led to any cancellation but the completion date has been postponed at least three times. Notwithstanding, the immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode promised to deliver the completed project by 2017.
The light Rails project is one of the many uncompleted infrastructural projects the Sanwo-Olu administration inherited from the last government of the state.
Before reviewing Sanwo-Olu’s effort to revive or continue the project as the case may be, it suffices to compare the project with one that began construction two years, in 2011, after Lagos launched the idea. Although, it is from another country; from one of the regions in Africa, the comparison is apt as both projects were handled by the Chinese company.
According to the October 5, 2016 edition of New China, a Chinese online publication, the Chinese-built 756-km electrified rail project connecting landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti officially started commercial operations on Monday, October 3, 2016 with a ceremony held in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa.
Contracted by two Chinese companies, the first 320 km of the rail project from Sebeta to Mieso was executed by the China Rail Engineering Corporation (CREC), while the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) built the remaining 436 km from Mieso to Djibouti port section.
“In addition to further enhancing economic ties as well as the people-to-people links between Ethiopia and Djibouti, it will have significant contribution to the ongoing development efforts of building a new Ethiopia,” said the Minister.
The loan for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway project was provided by China’s Exim Bank. It was reportedly executed at the cost of U.S. $4 billion U.S. dollars,
Speaking on his part, Djibouti Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohamed Idriss Farah, said the railway project would have significant contribution to the economic integration between Djibouti and Ethiopia.
In the case of Lagos, the Light Rail was to ease transportation stress for the commuters and improve economic activity within the state.
In the report published in the December 17, 2019 edition of Autoreport NG, an online website, titled: Lagos Rail to Begin Operation In 2021 As Sanwo-Olu Kicks Off Phase Two, the state governor said the completion of project is a top priority for his administration, as it is critical to the achievement of its prioritized pillar of traffic management and transportation in the state’s six-point development agenda, known as project THEMES.
The aim of the rail project, he said, is basically to reduce travel time through an effective and efficient intermodal transport system. It is also key to the building of a 21st-century economy, which is central to the vision of a Greater Lagos aspiration. “We are committed to delivering this project next year and ensuring its operation starts in 2021.” He said.
The construction of the Blue Line rail tracks, Sanwo-Olu noted, was being implemented in strict adherence to the state’s Strategic Transport Master Plan, which prescribes six rail lines and one monorail for the long-term strategic goals of the state.
Apart from the Blue Line, the Governor disclosed that his administration would be starting the construction of the Red Line rail project from Agbado to Marina, pointing out that advertisement had been published in the media to invite investors for the construction of four other rail lines under a Design, Build, Operate, Maintain and Transfer model of Public-Private-Partnership arrangement.
According to the Governor, the advertised rail projects include the 68-kilometre Green Line, 60-kilometre Purple Line, 34-kilometre Yellow Line and 48-kilometre Orange Line.
The completion of this project is the high precedence for our administration, and transportation in our six-point growth agenda, generally known as project THEMES.
“The aim of this rail project is basically to reduce the travel time through an effective and efficient intermodal transport system. It is also key to the building of a 21st-century economy, which is central to the vision of a Greater Lagos aspiration. We are committed to delivering this project next year and ensuring its operation starts in 2021.” He said.
The amount budgeted for both projects built by the same Chinese firms, raise questions about how an over 27 kilometre passengers-only Light rail, will cost $1.5bn, while a heavy-duty cargo and Passenger-type rail of over 750 kilometers will cost U.S. $5 billion. The issue of corruption may not be far from the disproportionate pricing of the two projects as executed by the same company.
That is an issue that may be considered to be above Sanwo-Olu right now; even as Governor and Chief Executive of the state for the obvious reason that, the powers that be in the state may not be comfortable with probing into the books.
Unfortunately, Lagos Residents are left in the lurch to bear the brunt of indescribable impact of the intractable traffic gridlock they are made to face daily, commuting within the state and if not tackled decisively, may be Sanwo-Olu’s unfulfilled promises.
