LAGOS: Is Hamzat Offering A New Beginning?

BY ADEWALE ADEOYE

The All Progressives Congress, (APC) and its precursors, Alliance for Democracy and Action Congress), have been ruling Lagos since 1999.

There is strong prospect, in the absence of a formidable contender, that the party may regain power in 2027.

The Lagos of Today

While the city has many challenges, we cannot deny some gains. The city-state has passed through many stages since the 9th century when Ogunfunminire, the first recorded human occupant led Awori expedition from Ile-Ife to settle in what is now largely known as Lagos State.

However, in the past few years, Lagos appears to be dwindling in the areas of waste management, population control, flooding, housing, traffic congestion and above all, a shortfall of hope and faith.

Listening to Dr Obafemi Hamzat on Journalists Hangout Monday evening renewed my hope.

I first visited Lagos in 1980 and since then, this city of many colours has assumed the status of home for me and my family.

The Lagos Power brokers

Let me add that I’m not new to the politics of Lagos and her power brokers. One of such was in 2006 when I got a late evening call from Senator Babafemi Ojudu. I was in Kano, attending an event organised by the EFCC. He said Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu wanted to see me urgently. Knowing Oga Femi not to be frivolous, I booked my next flight back to Lagos. Oga Femi is a study on homo viator, a fighting spirit, a literary boxer that enters the right of battle with his blood, his veins, his artery and the prowess of his headboot. When he takes a course, he pursues with the fierceness of a bear.

The appointment was scheduled for the oddest hours to see the then Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. 1 am after midnight. Oga Femi drove to my house. I drove behind him in my rickety Mazda 626 praying the tyres would not mess up the trip on the Third Mainland Bridge. I pleaded with Chika Izuora of Leadership Newspaper, my good friend to be at my side. He actually drove the car.

We snaked through the highways facing Bourdillon. A retinue of staff and politicians, praise singers, technocrats, hangers on, were waiting.

Asiwaju was alert, a cup of coffee on his table, oozing with steam. ‘Adewale, your name came to my mind for one single reason’, he said after Oga Femi had waved me to take a seat. “I wanted someone to be in charge of the media campaign for Tunde. Three people with me when I made the request all mentioned your name at same time,” The current President said, sipping his coffee, his eyeballs fixed on mine.

The three people he referred to were Oga Femi; former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi and Opeyemi Bamidele, according to him. He then dialed a number after which he said “Tunde will soon be here in 30 minutes, coming from Surulere,“ Asiwaju said in his usually deep, baritone voice. I wondered, so they don’t sleep?

I waited, admiring the work of art around me and the silence of power and opulence that revolved stared. Asiwaju then asked me ‘Did you have a house?’ I said Yes. I took his question to mean if I had a place I lived not if I had a personal house which was the import of his question. Then he asked again: ‘Did you have a car’? I replied Yes. I never knew Oga Femi was blinking his eyes to the village boy that I’am. I will return to this later.

The guest who came exactly 30 minutes as promised turned out to be Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola. Asiwaju then told him ‘Would you please like to consider Adewale to be in charge of your media?.’ The man who later became the Governor of Lagos State shrugged in a way that meant “Why should there be a debate about that. I’m quite okay with him.”

Outside, after the meeting, Oga Femi said I mistook the first question. ‘You don’t have a house. You are a tenant. You should have told him. You missed the opportunity of owning a house.’

Chika had kicked the car with smoke jeering at the dark night. ‘Is this a car?’ asked Oga Femi.

Izuora did not stop mocking me until we got home around 2.30am.

When I had another encounter with Asiwaju in 2015 it was 2am. At this time, crisis was budding between Igbo and Yoruba in Lagos ahead of the 2015 election. The then Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dim Uche Okwukwu called me that we needed to see Asiwaju to douse the rising tide of avarice.

On that Friday of 2006, seeing Mr. Fashola for the first time, I was not impressed. He carved the image of a village hunter, or an agrarian farmer or at best, my former BRK teacher in Secondary school. He looked raw and conservative.

He left after we exchanged numbers and agreed to meet at his Surulere Campaign office the second day, a Saturday. He gave me an office next to him. He asked me what I needed and I promptly said a laptop. He later asked me to make an invoice for a car. I never asked for the car for the three months I spent in the campaign office, worked pro bono to lay the foundation for massive media campaign office before Dr Kayode Fayemi invited me to Ekiti to be his Director of Campaign in the tumultuous 2007 election which we won, stolen but retrieved.

The Legacy of Fashola

I did not appreciate Mr Fashola until the next Saturday when he sat down non stop, for hours writing, on his computer, his dream for a new Lagos. He later gave me the honour to peruse what he wrote. Going through his well-laid out dream, I saw raw wisdom, clear understanding of the problems and challenges of Lagos, palm of hand knowledge of Lagos, from A to Z and a rare gift for surgical details on every atom that needed to be touched in Lagos.

His 8-year sojourn, no doubt proved his mettle and power of vision for a greater Lagos.

Mr Fashola was prepared. He understood the problem. He had a vision. He has the history and the diligent character necessary to tackle complex issues.

Today’s Lagos and Dr Obafemi Hamzat’s Dream

As noted, Lagos is facing explosion. The city’s low-lying status carries with it the risk of continuous sinking now at some 87mm annual decline. The city sits on elevation of just 1.5meters above sea level raising the risk of tidal waves attacks while unregulated land mining put asunder 59 percent of natural wetlands. Drainage is zero and the return of Korope, that disappeared over 40 years ago, indicates the rot in transportation management, not to talk of over 6000 people that enter Lagos daily, most refusing to return and the weight on utility services, security and public wellbeing.

Watching Dr Hamzat on Journalists Hangout on Monday renewed my hope that Lagos may be lifted up from a gradual slip off the dangerous cliff. His references, offhand to waste management, education, roads, infrastructure, housing, managing the burgeoning population and redefining the picturesque of the city are quite impressive.

With 20 million people, Lagos is the hope of the entire West African economic and culture renaissance. That potential has not been seen by many of Governors that ran the state since 1999.

Dr Hamzat also inspires me with his concept on the strategic place of Lagos in the context of Regional integration. Anyone who wins the next Lagos election, including Dr Hamzat should revolutionise governance in the following areas:

1-Water-ways: Lagos has some 28 to 30 jetties, but the waterways are not optimally used.

Out of potential 15m passengers, Lagos only recorded less than 2.5m waterways movement annually. This is ridiculous. The waterways should not just be a source of transportation, tourism, the tributaries should be explored for intra-city culture and political economy.;

2-The Lagos Ring Road: There is the need to launch the Lagos Ring Road. At present, the city is highly vulnerable and fragile due to poor and declining road network. The main artery, Ikorodu road was built in 1978.

If you want to bring down Lagos or choke the city, just pour tones of sand at midnight to block Ikorodu Road, Third Mainland Bridge and Ibadan-Lagos entry. For the next 30 days, the city bleeds.

Lagos needs a new Ring Road that encircles the city and creates outlets to her frontier states. The 8-lane highway should be tolled to recoup expenditure.

How does Lagos fund the project? The 20 LGs and 37 LCDA should make monthly contributions to fund the project while the Government can also embark on fund raising from private enterprises in Lagos and from the masses through crowd funding.

3-Housing: Are we thinking of what Lagos will look like in the next 100 years? Right now, Lagos should stop the building of one or two storey buildings. This means extensive use of airspace.

20 families can utilise just one plot of land instead of the current underutilisation of plots some of which are occupied by only one family. Lagos needs to revive the LPDC. Lagos needs to set up its own Mortgage Bank, buy up ancient houses, and communities and redevelop into skyscrapers that accommodate the indigenous land owners.

4-Green Renaissance: When Mr Fashola left, the Greenery came to a halt. Some of the trees he planted are even being destroyed. When a city is dirty and ugly, it reflects the hearts of the state’s leaders. The cheapest thing for any good Governor is to plant trees and flowers while instructing and inspiring the Local Councils, individuals and the private sector to do the same.

5-Regional Integration: Lagos is nothing without the South West states. There is the need for Lagos to take the lead in Regional investments in Agriculture, Fishing, Maritime Tourism and even cultural revival in the entire South West.

6-NURTW Menace: The idea of touts collecting fees from motorists in 21st century is ridiculous. The NURTW should be purged of its violent images, its brawl and blood culture, transforming into an institutional pride managed by educated and responsible people that can train and empower drivers through workshops, seminars that would recast and sanitise the current status of terror, murder; of brigandage, of crime associated with the Lagos transport system.

7-Energy: Lagos should be able to provide electricity for itself. The State should sack the current criminal, rogue enterprises called DISCOs.

Dr Hamzat, himself, was a victim of DISCO scam. His monthly bill, in 30 days rose from N2.7million plus to N29 million. If they can do this to a Deputy Governor, you can imagine what the ordinary people are going through in the hands of unprofessional, unskilled savage exploiters who call themselves DISCOs.

At present, private homes are gradually exiting DISCOs while more than 60 percent of manufactures in Lagos have abandoned Ikeja Electric and others into their shameful infamy. Nevertheless, they declare profit from the pain and anguish of the people.

The 17 tones of waste in Lagos, if converted, is enough to provide energy for residents.

8-Drugs and Cultism: Lagos has become the Nigerian hub of illicit drugs usage among youths. Check out the streets, it is not an exaggeration to say that there is a mentally unstable or mad person on almost every street in Lagos.

Illicit drugs are the delight of street Lagos boys and they smoke with glee right on every street, in our very eyes. The previous leadership from 1999 to Mr Fashola dealt firmly and decisively with this scourge when they ruled Lagos. I hope and pray that Dr Hamzat will be able to safe Lagos from becoming a jungle, the amphitheatre of chaos.