Unchecked migration placing a stress on infrastructures in Lagos – Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, explained the importance of economic development to the progress of the Lagos metropolis.

Sanwo-Olu spoke at the on-going Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Marrakech, Morocco, with the theme: “Leveraging Cities and Municipalities for National Development.”

According to the governor, more people would move to Lagos from other regions of the nation every time the city made strides in its development, claiming that unchecked migration causes the state’s population to continue growing, placing an excessive strain on its infrastructure and services.

“Economic sustainability is critical indicator to measure progress of a city, so that people can know that they are in a city where resources need to be used effectively. The strength of the city is about economic development. Africa is the resource centre of the world due to the abundance of youth energy domiciled in the continent. I am delighted to see African cities coming together for peering and evaluation of development indices. We need to get the youth engaged and create opportunities to guarantee their future,” Sanwo-Olu explained.

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The forum is a multi-stakeholders platform that advances infrastructure investment and raises capital for city projects. African business leaders, investors and heads of multilateral institutions, including the President of African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, graced the event.

Dr. Victor Oladokun, Senior Advisor on Communication and Stakeholder Engagement at the AfDB, chaired a discussion panel in which Sanwo-Olu took part. Hon. Yeo Klotioloma, the vice governor of the Autonomous City of Abidjan, and Prof. Khadija Bouhrachi, the vice president of the Municipality of Marrakech, Morocco, are the other panellists.

Governor Sanwo-Olu also outlined how his administration has increased public planning’s effort by twofold in order to fully utilise the state’s demographic potential.

In order to improve mass mobility and strengthen Lagos’ resilience, he noted, his government has been making both short and long-term investments in key infrastructure areas.

Sanwo-Olu said the six-pillar THEMES economic agenda rolled out by his Government had changed the development trajectory of the state, resulting in completion of first sub national intra city rail infrastructure. He added that Lagos could now boast of an integrated mass transportation system, because of priority accorded the Transportation and Traffic Management.

He said: “In the last five years, the progress we have seen in Lagos is reflecting in the changing skyline of the State today. We have changed the development trajectory of Lagos; we have been able to complete an intra city rail infrastructure. This has raised the State’s capability by ensuring our citizens move effectively in a more predictable time. We designed a six-pillar economic agenda that enable us prioritise Transportation and Traffic Management and face the challenges head-on. We have been able to achieve a lot in this regard, with Lagos having an integrated mass transportation system, which uses waterways, rail and bus rapid system.

“We engaged our energetic young people to develop a unified payment system called Cowry Card to be used across our mass transportation means. This is making the city a lot more functional, liveable and resilient.”

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