Lagos enlists private sector for input into 30-year upgrade plan
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lagos has canvassed for private sector backing for its growth vision that anticipates a living and business environment in the next 30 years far better than the present one, even as it is Nigeria’s richest state and Africa’s fifth largest economy.
Vibrant Lagos is the most populous state with 20 million residents drawn from all parts of the country; it attracts the most foreign investment, it is the most peaceful state, and makes N51 billion in monthly internally generated revenue (IGR).
No other state is anywhere near Lagos in infrastructure provision, job creation, and peaceful co-existence. Yet Lagos and Lagosians who love their state despite its shortcomings are not taking things for granted. They want more.
Lagos is on another 30-year journey for physical development, social growth, and economic prosperity as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu enunciated to business leaders and the organised private sector at an interactive meeting.
He said the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 will be officially launched at the forthcoming ninth Economic Summit (also called Ehingbeti) with clear objectives from four strategic dimensions to position Lagos to achieve its vision.
The meeting, held at Commerce House on Victoria Island, was at the instance of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) whose members were present alongside members of the diplomatic community.
The LCCI was established in 1888. It is the oldest chamber of commerce in West Africa.
Modernising infrastructure
Sanwo-Olu said each of the four dimensions in the development plan would be achieved through the implementation of more than 400 policies.
His words: “The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 has been developed with a set of clear objectives across four strategic dimensions, which are to position Lagos on the track to achieving its vision.
“The dimensions to this plan are to keep a thriving economy that will make Lagos a robust, healthy and growing economy with adequate jobs and strategic investments to sustain growth.
“We are building a human-centric city in which every Lagosian will have access to affordable and world-class education, healthcare and social services.
“There will be deliberate effort to keep modernising our infrastructure, by providing reliable and sufficient infrastructure that meets the needs of a 21st century city.
“The plan will also bring about sustenance of effective governance. Lagos will have a supportive and enabling environment that creates opportunities for all Lagosians.
This is a huge task that must be achieved between now and the nearest possible future.”
Sanwo-Olu insisted the plan cannot be achieved unless the private sector – the drivers of Lagos economy – is carried along in the implementation of each phase.
He thanked the business community for supporting Alausa in dealing with coronavirus, saying more burden would have trailed the pandemic if the private sector had not backed public health measures that prevented mass job losses.
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Ease of doing business
Sanwo-Olu also spoke on initiatives in infrastructure, transportation, education, healthcare, security, environment, and technology to improve the ease of doing business.
“In road construction, I make bold to say that our impacts are being felt across the state, because we have taken up the total rehabilitation of major roads and creating new highways.
“In the Central Business District of Victoria Island and Ikoyi, we have delivered key infrastructure projects that are improving mobility and giving businessmen new experience.
“Reconstruction of Idowu Taylor, Adeyemo Alakija, Adeola Hopewell is a major facelift we have signed off in this corridor.
“For the first time, we are seeing a sub-national government building rail lines to improve mobility.
“Lagos is expecting two brand-new light rail projects in a few months and we took this audacious decision about three years ago to deliver this important transport infrastructure.
“Our intervention in education has yielded a highly encouraging outcome, given the results of our students in national examinations. All of these have confirmed that we are on the right track.”
Influx of FDI
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos has in the past one year received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth $750 million in the technology sector, attracting global tech brands such as Equinox, Google, and Microsoft, among others.
This, he added, complements the rollout of metropolitan fibres by Alausa to promote e-commerce, traffic management, and improve security.
He expressed the hope that the meeting would lead to the creation of new pathways that would facilitate a more robust relationship with the private sector.
LCCI President Michael Olawale-Cole disclosed that the parley with Sanwo-Olu shows the Chamber’s faith in his administration for a better business environment.
He said Lagos continues to be the preferred destination for FDIs in Nigeria as the state alone accounted for 71 per cent of $1,573 billion foreign investment in the country in the first quarter of 2022.
“Policy direction is critical for a thriving and supportive business environment in any economy. The quality of the policy is a key consideration for local and foreign investment decisions,” Olawale-Cole stressed.
“With an improved business environment, Lagos can attract more capital inflows from Nigerians in the diaspora as a more sustainable funding for the provision of required infrastructure.
“Enormity of needs in Lagos requires the cooperation of both the public and private sectors.”
He announced that Lagos would be the official chief host of the international tech and telecommunication (ICTEL) expo in August.
Need to invest in youths
LCCI Deputy President and Dangote Group Executive Director Knut Ulvmoen said Sanwo-Olu took his most important decision by meeting with the investors.
Ulvmoen, a Norwegian who has lived in Lagos for 36 years, said he has witnessed the city transform before his eyes into a blossoming economy.
“The Lagos narrative is a story in progress. The city is now cleaner than it used to be. I implore the government to focus more on education and make it accessible to the teeming young people.
“This is what will sustain the city in the long term. Government leaders should demand more than donations from the international community; they must come and create jobs,” he counselled.