By Emeka Alex Duru
(08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
Lagos State, Nigeria’s Centre of Excellence, is an irony of sort. From a distance, it offers an allure that is disarming, an aroma that serenades.
But at close range, the picture, like a bloated balloon, bursts. And the residents, like rodents, entrapped in a closet, become victims of a situation that they often find difficult to disentangle from. Afro-beat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, reflected life in Lagos in one of his insightful chants, “suffering and smiling”.
In those days, back in the village, rosy pictures of the City were painted to us as kids. One of the scenes got us, rustic lads, swimming in imagination. The City, we were told, stood for; “Love All Girls On Sunday” (LAGOS).
On one hand, it conjured image of licentious life style of the residents – which in some instances, still prevails. But in all, it sold to us, an impression of a city that was synonymous with happiness and splendour, all year round.
To complement the frenzy, stories were told of how supply of potable water and electricity in the City was taken for granted. We also heard stories of tarred roads in every part of Lagos. For us then, Lagos was a City that never went to sleep. A promise of spending holiday in Lagos was a strong motivation for one to study hard and make good grade at the end of the term.
With our experience of intra and inter-communal tours on push paths, drawing water from the local stream for domestic use and relying on bush lamps for lighting purposes in the absence of public power supply, Lagos, was for us, the biblical paradise on earth, in a way. What more, relations who had left the village for the city, had on their return or occasional visits, looked prosperous and maintained distinctive carriage that advertised them as having seen the light.
Those were the major attractions that saw young men and women, leaving the villages in droves to Lagos, to find life, to earn a living and to live large. In the 1970s and early 1980s, with the relative conducive economic climate that favoured manufacturing and marketing concerns, some of the dreams were actualised.
But the bubble, has burst. In place of good life that Lagos had posted, drudgery has become the order of the day. With obvious infrastructure collapse in many parts of the State, Lagos is almost losing its cosmopolitan attraction. It is becoming a junkyard, in many respects.
Worst still, in place of law and order, anarchy and disorder, loom large. The result is that despite some efforts by successive administrations in the State to save the situation, the state has become a jungle of sort.
The menace of motorists, especially the heavy duty truck drivers on major roads in the state, is a major indication of a city lacking in discipline. In maddening maneuvers that clearly indicate scant regards to constituted authorities and extant regulations, these lords of the highways, carry on in manners that give them out as laws on to themselves.
A disgusting spectacle on the Mile 2 axis on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, in the last four days, gives a clear picture of the level of decay in the City. The Apapa Port-bound vehicles, apparently due to failed portions of the road, lack of parking lots in the Wharf and other reasons known to the owners and the drivers, are simply parked on the highway and service lane. More than any other incidence of discomfort, this has caused much strain to motorists and road users in that axis of the state. This is aside the high incidence of robbery and other forms of criminal activities currently going on in the area. With the authorities not doing much to tame the audacity of the drivers, other road users have been bearing the brunt.
Intra-City roads are not better. Due to the persistent rains in the last few days and poor drainage network that does not make for proper flow of flood, the roads have further deteriorated with ever present potholes widening to craters in some areas. A journey of 45 minutes in ordinary times, now takes up to three hours or more, with the accompanying costs on life and businesses. This is the sad story of Nigeria’s leading commercial city.
Lagos is a reflection of Nigeria – a story that leaves sour taste in the mouth. It is a story of neglect, poor management culture, haphazard arrangement and extreme disorder. It is a story that speaks of what should have been a blessing, turning a curse to the people.
Like the discovery of crude oil that saw Nigerian leaders abandoning other productive endeavours and hence the current uncertain economic situation in the country, the movement of the federal capital from Lagos, has exposed the state to unceasing neglect by successive administrations at the centre and state level. The attempts by the local authorities to accord the state special status given its strategic socio-economic importance to the country can be understood. Doing so, perhaps, could have gone a long way in ensuring availability of funds for addressing the dilapidated infrastructure in the state.
But the point remains that with or without the intervention by the federal government, Lagos can do better in making life more comfortable for its residents. Statistics ranks the state as having an economy that is more than that of many countries in the West African sub-region put together. The monthly revenue of Lagos outweighs what some states earn in a year. Looking up to Abuja for succor will not take the state anywhere in attending to the piteous state of its infrastructure base. Something more ingenious needs to be done before the state loses it entirely.