Why Eko Atlantic city project is a farce
Governor Fashola
The EKO Atlantic project is misguided and must be stopped now. There are a thousand and one alternatives to this gigantic and “money down the ocean” project. Here are only 20 projects that Fashola can embark on and that will leave a lasting legacy that will dwarf the achievement of people such as Jakande, Awolowo, etc.
- Provide pipe-borne water that will ensure every home in Lagos have water all year round.
- Provide state-of-the-art gas pipeline network for Lagos. This will ensure every household receives metered gas just like electricity.
- Provide state-of-art broadband technology that will put Lagos at par with other major cities of the world.
- Spend enough money on the Lekki region and other regions of Lagos and ensure they have a good sanitary system as opposed to the untreated waste being dumped directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Provide a network of small electricity generating plants capable of generating enough energy for small neighbourhoods such as a 1000 households.
- Provide a system of waste management that will be permanently entrenched in the way Lagos is run and that will be difficult for subsequent governments to change.
- Provide a super highway of around 6 lanes that will encircle Lagos and provide motorists with alternative road network such as the M25 in the UK or the federal highways in America.
- Spend heavily on repairing all Lagos roads and create policies that ensure they are adequately maintained all year round.
- Create beautiful recreations centres that will be self financing in small neighbourhoods so that kids and young adults will have local places to network, mix and belong to the society even more.
- Create a network of super libraries that will transform the lives of people and help create a better reading culture in the society.
- Build small estates on the outskirts of Lagos and resettle people with social housing in mind.
- Build a network of trams, over-ground and underground Train services in Lagos to make it the very best anywhere in the world.
- Lagos is blessed with coastal space; turn it into a holiday resort that can only be compared with the best places around the world.
- Build a few Super Hospitals that will attract the best doctors and Nurses anywhere in the world and stop the brain-drain from our society.
- Go on a spending spree and transform Lagos Primary and Secondary school and make them the envy of the world. Increase Teacher Pay and encourage teachers to concentrate on teaching and not buying and selling in order to supplement their incomes that lead to distraction and continued deterioration of education in Nigeria.
- Create free super education centres that will educate and re-educate adults and young adults who have missed-out on education.
- Spend heavily of the universities and enable them to attract the best lecturers and have state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities that will put them at par with top universities anywhere in the world.
- Create FREE Enterprise Zones in places like Ajegunle, Ilaje, etc where local, national and international employers are provided with grants, free funds, free land, etc to establish their industries and employ thousands of people.
- Create Centres of excellence where Nigerians are taught the art of excellence so that our buildings have perfect straight and curves where specified.
- Equip the police with modern telecommunications equipment that will help to fight crime.
Some may ask where the money will come from. Well, it will come from the same places where the funds for the EKO Atlantic project are coming from. A lot of people have compared the EKO Atlantic project to Dubai, but Lagos and indeed Nigeria does not need a Dubai now. What we need is a cohesive society and one that her citizens are proud to be part of. 50% of the people in Nigeria are under 18 and these people are the future; of what good is a Dubai to them now when they are meant to be receiving the best education and training so that we are able to ensure a bright future for our nation?
I have written this article in the comfort of my own home in London, but the question is why? There is electricity to see and do so many things that Nigerians can only dream of. Gas supply is steady and cooking can be done whenever I want; the trains are working and I can meet up with appointments just as I have planned with my clients. I can get in and out of London within a very short notice and my kids attend public schools that can only be compared with the best private schools in Nigeria. I have a say in Government as my vote counts and can even be posted if I so choose. I have witnessed the transformation of a slum in London into arguably, the very best enterprise zone in the world – the London docklands. My car works and I can drop into my car dealer’s workshop or get them to pick up whenever there is a problem anytime I want and expect to be treated like a valued customer and told the truth about issues with my car. I work from home with a 24mbps broadband that is available 24/7 and I only pay £16 for it monthly.
I created a company just about 3 weeks ago for £24 because an overwhelming benefit can be derived from incorporating it in England and not Nigeria. In the course of registering the same in Nigeria, the first NGN 20,000 (£80) spent went down the drain and another NGN 70,000 (£280) is in limbo without any signs that my company will get incorporated in Nigeria within the next few weeks. It is therefore no surprise that businesses are still running away from Nigeria.
Now is the time to make Nigeria truly great and it can only start from Lagos. Governor Fashola should use his 2nd term to show an example and make a lasting mark on the Nigerian nation. We love Governor Fashola and would like him and his government to consider these and many more like these instead of embarking on a project that will not add any meaningful value to Lagos and Nigeria. Lagosians and Nigerians need the highlighted social facilities now and not in future.
Eko o ni baje o!
By Kayode Adesiyan, CEO
Search Nigeria
http://www.searchnigeria.com.ng.
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i admire Mr. Kayode adesiyan’s write up.it did make an interesting reading if carefully note those important points in it. Eko atlastic, as Mr.Fashola has always said that the project is at no cost to the state, it is purely a private driven. I do go on Lagos road more often not because i keep appointment there but to see new thing the man is doing. He has been given second term and i can say the man will do his best, he alone can not do all this but let appeal the federal to partner with this man because this is a man who is not talking about vision 20:20:20,yet he is working as if he its champion, whereas those sing its song are not doing anything to realize this! Give Lagos more money and you will see the wonder the state will become. By then Mr. kayode would not continue to invest in UK he will take his money back to Nigeria. Very soon the Lagos/Badagry road expansion will become real just as the lekki free trade zone and other beautiful thing such as eko atlastic too. If a first class city of such magnitude with sophisticated infrastructure is in place then there will be a chain reaction of such in other part of the state. We can not afford to stop this project now.
Mr Kayode, get your facts right before going to print,Eko Atlantic City is at NO COST to the People and Government of Lagos, it is a wholly Privately funded Project, which any sensible government anywhere in the world would readily support.
Hi Mr
I dont think the project is misguided i think you are for the following reasons:
1) The project is funded by the private sectors and foreign investors and just less than 1/8 from the lagos state government. This is essential because we are dragging the right attention which will ensure a long term development of lagos state as to performing some of those projects which you talked about that would depreciate in a decade or so.
2) Nigeria is a country where power is dynamic. Today we have good leaders, tomorrow who knows?? Roads need maintenance, so does power plants and waterworks e.tc. A bad government next term would not care about you. This is why we need to move more of the power of the government to the people. With these investors coming in more revenue is generated. They have a social and economic responsibility which they have to adhere to. Crying to them is better than to a government that dosent send you.
3) Having said this… good roads, water etc wont bring investors.. Thats why i commend Fashola because he has commissioned projects that will help people and used projects such as eko Atlantic to ensure sustainable of these short term project. Strategy is key. Development is contagious. The development of the docklands brought development to Surrey quays and Canda water.
4)As you know.. or if you don’t the development of the docklands was mostly investor funds. the government only planned and supported it. That’s why they have dockland guards. That is why these towers are there. Every mega city needs a financial district not just for fun but to boost the revenue of the country. New York does, London does, Tokoyo does
Tfl is a private company though regulated by the transport department, the list goes on..
The point is CREATE AND SUSTAIN. Generate revenue and enhance. Always look long term and not short term.