Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos dreams big. Anyone ever in doubt about that must have had that cleared when he addressed the 8th Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit which held from February 16 – 18 in Lagos and was beamed to a virtual audience. Approaching the dais on the opening day, it seemed he was going to make another worded but soulless speech. Rather, Sanwo-Olu glowed. He shared a vision and offered a roadmap to Lagos in 2030.

The governor said the conference which was themed, ‘For a greater Lagos: setting the tone for the next decade’, was meant to hold in November 2020 but the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and #ENDARS riots forced a reschedule.

In Lagos, the smallest Nigerian state that boasts of the highest population, challenges are not a new thing. From its days as the capital of the country, it has been an attraction – for good, bad and ugly. Now, with 180km coastline, airports, ports, free trade zones and the sheer energy of the Lagosians’ drive, the city-state still has much on its plate.

In his opening address, Sanwo-Olu harped on his idea of proper transportation by 2030 when the blue and red light rails would have been operational. Commuters would board the trains from the hinterlands of Alagbado to Iddo and from Badagry to CMS. Passengers would connect to bus stations across the mainland for movement. Also, the waterways would be more open to ferry passengers to various places. Sanwo-Olu said that about 35 million people would make use of light rails daily, easing transportation. Eventually, these interventions would cut the travel time by over 250%, Sanwo-Olu said.

Though the red and blue lines rail project has been slow in coming, it’s on course. The 37km Red Line which begins at Agbado and terminates at Marina with 12 stops in between is to be delivered in two years. Adding to the glamour of 2030, the Managing Director of Global Impact Environmental Consultants, Engr Babatunde Osho, revealed that there are ‘plans to link the local airport at Ikeja, with a skywalk from Ikeja train station’.

Others to be initiated later are the Yellow, Purple, Green and Orange Lines, which would be complemented by a monorail from Victoria Island-Obalende-Ikoyi. These rails will form an integral part of a multimodal transportation system by the state. This means the routes of buses, rails and boats meet and passengers can decide to hop from one to the other. According to the state’s Bureau of Statistics, in 2016, Lagos with a population of about 22 million residents lost over two billion man-hours to traffic. The light rails would make the average of about four hours spent in traffic a thing of the past.

Sanwo-Olu also described Lagos as the seventh fastest growing city in the world. He highlighted the human capital, judiciary interventions such as the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and issuance of executive orders to make Lagos achieve ease of doing business as part of the reasons for its economic prosperity.

The governor also said that by 2030, the fourth mainland bridge would have come to define the cityscape.

Also, by 2030, Lagos would be a smart city, fully covered by a network of thousands of kilometres of fibre optics that would carry broadband internet to unleash a technology revolution. Already, Lagos has started laying fibre optics across the state. Then, the state is also investing in smart cameras that would be used not only for policing and security but also to plan for traffic and data collation.

And despite being the state with the smallest landmass in the country, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos can take advantage of the agricultural value chain with a focus on processing and value addition. And by 2030, he foresees that the Imota Rice Mill will be one of the largest rice mills in the world.

With the private sector, the government continues to partner to realise the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos Alaro City, Dangote Refinery which is the largest single train refinery in the world as well as the Lekki Deep Sea Port. Sanwo-Olu also talked of the ongoing Lagos-Badagry Expressway which would open up new investments in residential, commercial and industrial estates. There is also the Blue line corridor for the light rails that is projected to reach Badagry and even the Seme border. No doubt, tourism in this sector is just waiting to be exploited.

But Lagos is also dreaming of positioning itself for medical tourism. Sanwo-Olu said in the next 10 years, the state would build the largest children’s hospital in this part of the world. The state is also building an African Infectious Disease Centre as well as vaccine, health-technology-based infrastructure. According to Sanwo-Olu, if the state keeps at the pace it’s going, there should be a noticeable increase in the influx of people from West Africa and beyond into Lagos to take advantage of the health sector.

The Ehingbeti conference also hosted Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to her first public appearance as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation where Sanwo-Olu took her on issues bordering on the economy. There were also addresses by President Muhammadu Buhari, who promised continued assistance to the state, President of the Africa Development Bank, AFDB, Akinwunmi Adesina and businessman and philanthropist, Mo Ibrahim, among others. The event also assembled the private sector drivers in diverse fields of finance, technology, agriculture and services. Some corporate bodies that participated in the three-day conference were drawn from various fields like the banks, telecoms, insurance, media, and civil society organisations.

The first edition of Ehingbeti was held in 2000 during the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as governor. The conference served as a think-tank to brainstorm on ideas and provide workable solutions. Some ground shaking strides have been made since then. In his opening address, Sam Egube, the Lagos State commissioner for economic planning and budget and co-chair of Ehingbeti said that over the years, Ehingbeti has passed 203 resolutions and implemented 95% of them. According to him, the Lagos light rails project was a product of Ehingbeti.

That is the spirit of Ehingbeti,” Egube said, rounding up his opening speech.

“I like to say to you that the future starts now”

Many people won’t easily know but from 1999 when the civilian administration took over Lagos State, many things have changed. Started with the blueprint initiated by former governor Tinubu, the state has continued to grow.

There is more attention to providing infrastructures like roads and bridges, more schemes for residents to tap into like the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and others, the introduction of BRT buses and lanes, better access to healthcare and even provision of better security in partnership with the police and corporate bodies. This success in Lagos is derived from subsequent governors, including Sanwo-Olu, working according to a blueprint. However, in October 2020, Lagos faced its greatest carnage when #ENDSARS rioters went on a looting and burning spree across the state. But the state is undeterred.

“We must continue to maintain and nurture our audacious hope and intention to always bounce back from our adversity and build back better and bolder,” said Sanwo-Olu as he rounded up his speech.

As the Sanwo-Olu administration continues to deliver the democracy goods in Lagos, I particularly urge the governor to not only keep the vision alive but also speed up the actualisation of such visions.