Cities Alliance Project Output
A City in Transition: Vision, Reform, and
Growth in Lagos, Nigeria.
Transforming Lagos: A Mega City Addresses Its Urbanisation
Challenges
P107221
This project output was created with Cities Alliance grant funding.
A City in Transition: Vision, Reform, and Growth
in Lagos, Nigeria.
Michael O. Filani
Cities Alliance
United Cities and Local
Governments
Acknowledgements
Funding for this report was made possible by Cities Alliance, for which the author is most
grateful. The Foundation for Development and Environmental Initiatives (FDI), Ibadan,
Nigeria where the author serves as the executive director, provided seed funding for the
study and a congenial environment for executing the project.
The author appreciates the commitment and assistance of staff of the Lagos
State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, particularly the role of
Joseph Ayodele Adediran, Special Assistant to the Honourable Commissioner for
Physical Planning and Urban Development, in making available the bulk of the relevant
records, data, and information used in producing the report. He is also most grateful to
the Honourable Commissioner himself, Bolaji Francisco Abosede for his comments and
explanations on the various issues discussed in the report and on the lessons derived from
the reform process.
The author is particularly grateful to Professor Johnson Bade Falade, UNHabitat Programme Manager for Nigeria, for his incisive contribution to and editing of
the final draft of the report. Equally worthy of mention is the contribution of Paul
Okunnola, the programme officer of the UN-Habitat Programme Office in Nigeria
(HAPSO) who assisted with the editing of the final draft.
The author also wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Ijeh Chukunyere of
the University of Ibadan, my research assistant on the project; Elizabeth Owolabi,
Secretary and Administrative officer of HAPSO; and the secretarial staff of Foundation
for Development and Environmental Initiatives (FDI), particularly Abiola Elaturoti,
Abimbola Adegoke and Dupe Odegbaro for the word processing of the report.
This acknowledgement would not be complete without giving especial thanks to
the Cities Alliance Secretariat staff, particularly to the Programme Manager, William
Cobbett for his suggesting the concept of a study of the transformation process in Lagos,
and Chii Akporji, Communications Officer who task managed the project. Special thanks
also to Deepali Tewari, Sr. Municipal Development Specialist for her sound reviews and
comments.
Professor Michael O. Filani
Foundation for Development Initiatives
Ibadan, Nigeria
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page.
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
List of Figures, Tables and Plates
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Foreword
Executive Summary
i
ii - iv
v
vi – viii
ix
x - xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
1
1.1 Brief Context for the Study
1
1.2 Goal of Study
1
1.3 Structure of Report
2
1.4 Concluding Statement
2
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND TO LAGOS MEGACITY
3
2.1
Location and Natural Environment
3
2.2
Historical Origin and Development
4
2.3
Governance and Policy
7
2.4
Economy of Lagos
9
2.5
Summary of Challenges
11
CHAPTER 3: TRANSFORMING LAGOS
13
3.1
Catalysts of Change
13
3.2
Specifics of Reforms
13
3.2.1 Political Will and Leadership
13
3.2.2 Strategic Visioning of Development
14
3.2.3 Knowledge-Based Approach to Planning
16
3.2.4 Budget Reform and Its Linkage with Activities
of Government Institutions.
3.2.5 Institutional Reforms for Efficient Service Delivery
3.2.6 Popular Participation Partnership Building
17
17
17
(i) Popular Participation
17
(ii) Promotion of PPP
18
3.2.7 Policy, Legislative and Institutional Reforms
19
3.2.8 Resource Mobilisation; Transparency and Accountability
19
3.2.9 Application of ICT in Governance
21
3.2.10 Programmatic Interventions
21
3.2.11 New partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
21
3.2.12 Sustainability
22
CAPTER 4: INNOVATIONS/HIGHLIGHTS
23
4.1 Physical Infrastructural Development
23
4.1.1 Transportation
23
(i) The Mass Transit System
23
(ii) Light Rail Transit (LRT)
28
(iii) Water Transportation
29
4.1.2 Water and Power Supply
30
(i) Water Supply
30
(ii) Power Supply
30
4.1.3 Drainage and Sanitation
32
4.1.4 Solid Waste Management
33
4.2 Urban Planning and Environment
35
(i) Urban Planning
35
(ii) Environment
39
(iii) Land
40
(iv) Housing
41
4.3 Slum Upgrading, Redevelopment and Social Transformation
43
4.3.1 Slum Upgrading
43
4.3.2 Slum Redevelopment
43
4.3.3 Health
45
4.3.4 Security
47
4.3.5 Employment Generation
49
4.3.6 Revenue Enhancement
51
CHAPTER 5: LESSONS LEARNED
5.1 Evolving Institutional Framework for Effective Service Delivery
53
5.2 Promotion of Participatory Governance
53
5.3 Putting in Place Structures for Effective Resource Mobilisation
Transparency and Accountability
54
5.4 Planning and Strategic Visioning of Development
55
5.5 Use of ICT and Data for Planning
55
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION.
56
References
57
Figures
Page
2.1. Map of Nigeria Showing Location of Lagos State
4
2.2. Map of Lagos State Showing the Lagos Megacity and other
Districts in the State.
2.3. Population of Lagos showing Disparity between the
4
Figures of Lagos State and National Population Census 2006
2.4. Lagos Showing the Mainland Districts
7
8
4.1. The Bus Rapid Transit Network and Proposed Highway Improvements
27
4.2. Light Rail Route
29
4.3. Location of Model Cities in Lagos
38
Tables
2.1. Population of Lagos 1911-2006 in Millions
6
2.2. Household Size and Density in Some Local Government Areas of Lagos
Metropolis
12
2.3. Crime Reported in Some Local Government Areas of Lagos Metropolis 2005 13
3.1. Ehingbeti Summits and Thematic Foci 2000-2010
17
Plates
2.1 Aerial View of the CBD in Lagos Island
11
2.2 Slum Upgrading Challenges
13
4.1 Road Construction in Lagos
24
4.2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
25
4.3 Existing and Predicted Modal Split in Lagos Megacity
26
4.4 Infrastructural Upgrade
28
4.5 Production of Electricity through AES Nigeria (IPP)
31
4.6 Elsewedy Electricity Transformer Factory in Agbara
33
4.7 Waste Management Facilities in Lagos Megacity
34
4.8 Market Redevelopment in Lagos
39
4.9 Redevelopment of Balogun Market to a Shopping Mall
39
4.10 Environment and Physical Planning in Lagos Megacity
41
4.11 Slum Redevelopment in Lagos Megacity
45
4.12 Healthcare Delivery
48
4.13 Provision of Security Facilities in Lagos State
50
4.14 Skill Acquisition Programmes
50
Abbreviations/Acronyms
BCI
Nigerian-American Business Club Ikeja
BIR
Board of Internal Revenue
BRT
Bus Rapid Transit
BT
Bola Tinubu
CBDs
Central Business Districts
CCECC
Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company.
CDAs
Community Development Associations
CSA
Community Security Assembly
CSS
Central Security Surveillance
EBS/RCM
Electronic Banking System/Revenue Collection Monitoring Project
EDMS
Electronic Document Management System
FDI
Foundation for Development and Environmental Initiatives
FTZ
Free Trade Zone
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GIS
Geographic information Systems
HSRP
Health System Reform Programme
ICT
Information and Communication Technology
IDA
International Development Association
IHL
Ibile Holdings Limited
IPPs
Independent Power Producers
IT
Information Technology
KBA
Knowledge-based approach
LAMATA
Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority
LASACO
Lagos State Assurance Company
LASAMBUS
Lagos State Ambulance Services
LASEEDS
Lagos State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy
LASEMA
Lagos State Emergency Management Agency
LASEMS
Lagos State Emergency Medical Services
LASMI
Lagos State Microfinance Institution
LASUTH
Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
LASWA
Lagos State Waterways Authority
LAWMA
Lagos State Waste Management Authority
LBIC
Lagos Building and Investment Company
LCCI
Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry
LEDB
Lagos State Executive Development Board
LIRS
Lagos Internal Revenue Service
LMDP
Lagos Metropolitan Development Project
LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas Company
LRT
Light Rail Transit
LSDPC
Lagos State Development and Property Corporation
LUTH
Lagos University Teaching Hospital
LUTP
Lagos Urban Transport Project
LWC
Lagos State Water Corporation
MTEF
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework
MTSS
Medium-Term Sector Strategies
MW
Megawatts
MWAPA
Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation
NEEDS
National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies
NEPA
National Electric Power Authority
NEPAD
New Partnership for African Development
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization
NITEL
Nigeria Telecommunications Limited
NRC
Nigerian Railway Corporation
OPMESA
Operation Mensa (Military Joint Police Patrol Code)
PHCN
Power Holding Company of Nigeria
PPP
Public-Private Partnership
PSP
Private Sector Participants
RRS
Rapid Response Squad
SAN
Senior Advocate of Nigeria
SHIS
State Health Insurance Scheme
SSTF
State Security Trust Fund
TMP
Transport Master Plan
TMUs
Transport Monitoring Units
TPA
10-Point Agenda
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
VAT
Value Added Tax
Foreword
[[Please insert text.]]
Executive Summary
This study is about Lagos, Nigeria, the centre of excellence and the largest
conurbation in Nigeria. Despite the national controversy about population figure for
Lagos megacity, it is regarded as the 18th largest city in the world with 10.58 million
people and one of the fastest growing cities of the world. Projections are that by
2015, the population of Lagos megacity is estimated to rise to 11.66 million and to
14.16million in 2020, with global ranking of 17th and 12th positions respectively
(World Urbanization: Prospects: The 2009 Revision) Lagos is the economic and
social nerve centre of Nigeria and the West African sub-region, accounting for 32
percent of national GDP.
Over the past several decades, the city has had to contend with the challenges that
accompany such staggering growth rates.
Since 1999, however, the city’s governance has begun to improve. There is now
overwhelming evidence of Lagos’s transformation from its former status as an
erstwhile infamous, decaying metropolis into a modern, beautiful, and functional city.
This report, funded by Cities Alliance, documents the critical achievements of the
city’s governance over the past one-and-a-half decades, the major innovations that
accompanied various reforms, the catalysts of change, and the lessons learned in the
process.
Chapter 1 provides a brief outline of the study, its goals, and structure. Chapter 2
captures the origin and development of Lagos as a megacity. The city’s population
grew at a modest rate between 1891 and 1963, but from 1963 till today the population
has skyrocketed and the city has expanded to cover the mainland to the west and to
spread northwest by more than 40 kilometers, merging with Ikeja and Agege to form
a great conurbation.
Between 1967 and 1999 the country was under military dictatorship, with the
exception of a civilian administration in 1979–83. Lagos witnessed unprecedented
infrastructural development during these three decades. But as it faced explosive
population growth without effective land-use planning and city management, the city
had to contend with various developmental challenges.
From 1999 to date, the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola
administrations, through good governance and exemplary political leadership, have
brought about the transformation that is now ongoing in the megacity. The essentials
of the reforms that have taken place are captured in chapter 3, which discusses the
catalysts of change and the reform process. In particular it outlines the 10 attributes of
effective reform, which are a knowledge-based approach (KBA) to planning; budget
reform (and its linkage with the activities of government institutions); popular
participation and partnership building; policy change; legislative and institutional
reforms; resource mobilisation; transparency and accountability; the application of
information and communication technology (ICT) in governance; programmatic
interventions; and sustainability.
Chapter 4 documents the critical innovations of the various reforms. The
discussion is grouped under three broad headings: namely, physical infrastructural
development, urban planning and environment, and slum upgrading redevelopment
and social transformation.
The reform process in Lagos aimed to promote effective, equitable, participatory,
and accountable governance as well as security of life and property. Such initiatives
and their implementation present their own challenges from which several lessons can
be learned. These lessons are presented in chapter 5, and include the need for an
institutional framework for effective service delivery, the promotion of participatory
governance, the establishment of mechanisms for effective resource mobilisation,
increased transparency and accountability, planning and the development of a
strategic vision, and the use of ICT and comprehensive data in planning.
Chapter 6, asserts that during the past one-and-a-half decades, the megacity had
witnessed tremendous progress, attributable majorly to the combined efforts of the
Tinubu and Fashola administrations, especially during their tenure in office The
city’s transformation has resulted from good governance that has hinged, as
previously noted, on responsive leadership, strong political will, a strategic vision,
popular participation and partnership building, resource mobilisation, transparency
and accountability, and the mainstreaming of information technology in promoting
governance. But in spite of the success story told in this report, there remains a need
to overhaul the administration of physical planning in the state, especially the need to
expand the responsibility for planning beyond the Lagos state government alone to
include the local governments. With the expectation that Lagos will become the thirdlargest city in the world in 2015, the extent of federal government infrastructure in the
city area, and the extension of the megacity into certain parts of Ogun state require
cooperation between the federal government, the Lagos state government, the Ogun
state government, various local governments, and the private sector in promoting
service delivery and public welfare in this burgeoning Nigerian metropolis.
CHAPTERONE
Introduction
Brief Context for this Study
Lagos, the seat of Nigeria’s government until 1986, remains the nation’s commercial
capital, contributing more to its economic growth than any other city. With an
estimated population of 10.58 million, the city is the most populous conurbation in
Nigeria, the second-most populous and the fastest-growing city after Cairo in Africa,
and currently ranked the seventh-fastest-growing city in the world (World
Urbanization: Prospects: The 2009 Revision).
Until recently, Lagos, was generally written about in a negative light and
frequently satirised. Cyprian Ekwensi, a Nigerian author, is known for his many
stories that repeatedly portray negative images of Lagos. Among the themes covered
in his writings are sex, violence, brutality, and intrigue, portraying the lives of
prostitutes, shady politicians, businessmen, police officers, reporters, thieves, and
others who witness the seamy side of life. The recommendation to relocate the
political capital of the country from Lagos to Abuja in 1976 by the Justice Akinola
Aguda Panel was due to the city’s traffic congestion, which could be attributed to bad
governance that manifested in the little attention paid to land-use planning and the
provisioning of essential infrastructure to accommodate the city’s exploding
population growth. Today, things are different, and the city’s governance has begun
to improve. There is now overwhelming evidence that new and positive happenings
have begun to change this megacity, clearly manifest in beautiful new parks and
improved functionality.
“The changing face of Lagos,” as it is often called today, is due to a series of
transformations occasioned by a new style of governance adopted in 1999. Since
Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, the successive governors of
Lagos state have initiated and pursued a knowledge-based approach (KBA) to critical
reforms, which has manifested in a governance style that promotes sustainable
development. These reforms span resource mobilisation, local government reform,
innovative and inclusive approaches to spatial planning principles, transportation,
provision of educational facilities and health-care delivery, and partnership building
in development. Due to the remarkable achievements of these reforms, Lagos, once
infamous for gross urban decay in the period 1967–1999, is being transformed into a
modern, beautiful, functional 21st-century city.
Goal of the Study
This report is the tangible output of a critical review of Lagos’s governance over the
past decade and half, and the positive, visible transformations that have resulted. The
review was undertaken to identify relevant innovations and their impacts on urban
planning and management, provision of physical infrastructure, resource
mobilisation, crime prevention, employment generation and taxation, and the various
critical lessons learned in implementing reforms.
Concluding Statement
Lagos is a classic example of a modern city, having metamorphosed from a small
farming and fishing village in the fifteenth century to a bourgeoning world-class
megacity in 2010, when its population rose to over 10 million people. It has had to
contend with the many challenges of rapid urbanisation for decades, but not until the
past decade has its governance improved to the point that positive changes are now
evident.
That such a populous, sprawling city could be transformed in the span of a few
years might seem incredible, but the changes are real. The remaining chapters of this
report seek to explore their causes and the potential of their sustainability.
CHAPTER TWO
Background to Lagos Megacity
Location and Natural Environment of Lagos
Lagos megacity, located on longitude 3024’E and latitude 6027’N, is naturally
endowed and occupies two main islands separated by creeks in the Atlantic Ocean
(figure 2.1). The land area of the city region is 154,540 hectares, with 209 square
kilometres (km2) (19.6 percent) covered by water and mangrove swamps (figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1 Map of Nigeria showing location of Lagos state
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Figure 2.2 Map of Lagos state showing Lagos megacity and other districts in the
state
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development
Lagos experiences tropical rainforest climate typical of southern Nigeria, with
two main seasons. The first is the wet season extending from April to November, with
a brief dry spell in August. The second is the dry season from December to March,
which is accompanied by harmattan dry winds that can be very severe between
December and early February. The city experiences high temperatures and humidity
throughout the year. The hottest month is March with a mean temperature of 290 C
and the coolest month is July.
Origin and Development of Lagos
Historically, the city of Lagos was founded prior to the fifteenth century AD by the
Aworis and Benin people who named it “Eko.” In 1472 the name “Lagos” was given
to the city by Rui de Sequeira, a Portuguese explorer, because of the many lagoons
that surrounded the city. Lagos became an important port for the export of millions of
slaves from the eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century, when the British
abolished the nefarious trade (Melireti 1983). Thereafter, some of the slaves returning
from Brazil settled in the older parts of Lagos - such as Campbell Street and its
environs that are referred to as the “Brazilian quarters.”
Lagos has been administered under a variety of different territorial schemes
(Abiodun 2009). After it ceded to Britain in 1861, it was administered as a city state
with its own separate administration and operated as a separate colony until its
merger with Western Nigeria in 1951. In 1953 a federal territory was carved out of
the former Western Nigeria including the colony of Lagos, following the split of
political and administrative authority between the then top antagonist governments—
the federal government dominated by the Northern People’s Congress, which
controlled the federal territory, and the Action Group, which administered the rest of
Western Nigeria. The resultant fragmented political authority led to a gross lack of
coordination in service provision over the territorial space, which then constituted
metropolitan Lagos. Also, due to the greater financial resources and administrative
capacity available at the federal level, the federal territory of Lagos had a higher
degree of infrastructural development than the outer metropolitan area. This brought
about the evident contrast in the quality of urban services available in the two areas
within the metropolitan settlement (Abiodun 2009). In 1967, following the outbreak
of civil war in Nigeria, the country was split into 12 states of which Lagos state was
one. In 1976 the military administration decided to relocate the federal capital from
Lagos to Abuja.
Administratively, Lagos state, with its capital at Ikeja, comprises five divisions:
Lagos, Ikorodu, Ikeja, Epe, and Badagry. The divisions were further subdivided into
20 local governments in 1991, and 37 local government development areas based on
the principle of federalism and the imperative of promoting grassroots development
in 2006. This process of local government creation, however, has not been without its
own peculiar consequences. It led to the balkanisation of most major cities in the
country into several independent administrative units. For instance, metropolitan
Lagos was subdivided into eight local government areas, while the subsequent
creation of development areas by the state government further compounded the
balkanisation problems.
The population of Lagos estimated at 25,000 in 1866 rose to 40,000 in 1901; by
1911 the city had 74,000 inhabitants, due partly to the resettlement of freed slaves
from Brazil. The city grew to 126,108 inhabitants in 1931 and the 1952 census put the
population of metropolitan Lagos at 272,020. By the 1963 census, a population of
665,000 was recorded for metropolitan Lagos (table 1). The 1991 census recorded a
total population of 5.8 million for metropolitan Lagos, which accounted for 93
percent of the total population of the state. In 2006 the population of Lagos state was
9.1 million, although this figure has been vehemently disputed by the Lagos state
government, who conducted an independent census which came up with a figure of
17 million for the state (figure 2.3).
The physical growth and development of Lagos are tied to its expanding
economic and political roles, which aided by its rapid and explosive population
growth has been phenomenal. From a small fishing and farming settlement, Lagos
later became an important port. Between 1891 and 1952 the population of the city
almost doubled every 10 years. But between 1952 and 1963, the city’s population
grew at an average of 5 percent per annum. It has been projected to become the thirdlargest megacity in the world by 2015, with an estimated population of 24.6 million
inhabitants (UN-HABITAT 2006). It currently has a population density of
approximately 5,000 persons/km2.
Table 2.1 Population of Lagos in millions, 1911–2006
Year
1911
Population as per national census in millions
0.07
1921
0.10
1931
0.13
1952
0.27
1963
0.67
1991
5.80
2006
9.13
Source: National population figures.
Figure 2.3 Population of Lagos showing the disparity between the figures of
Lagos State and the 2006 National Population Census
Population as per
national census in
millions
18
16
Lagos State figure in
millions
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1911 1921 1931 1952 1963 1991 2006
Source: Falade (2010). Analysis of Population Growth in Lagos .
Over the years the city grew to cover the mainland to the west and spread
northwest for more than 40 km, merging with Ikeja and Agege to form a great
conurbation. The metropolitan area also covers approximately 16 of the state’s 20
local government areas and impinges imperceptibly on 4 local government areas of
the neighbouring Ogun state. Today the city is made up of the developed areas on
Lagos Island and Victoria Island, both connected to the mainland areas by three
bridges: Carter Bridge, which starts from Iddo Island; and Eko Bridge and the Third
Mainland Bridge, both connecting Lagos Island to the densely populated mainland
suburbs of Yaba and Oworonshoki respectively. The mainland districts include
Ebute-Meta, Surulere, Yaba, and Ikeja. Greater Lagos includes Mushin, Maryland,
Somolu, Oshodi, Oworonsoki, Isolo, Ikotun, Agege, Iju Ishaga, Egbeda, Ketu, Bariga,
Ipaja, and Ejigbo (figure 2.4).
Lagos megacity has several central business districts (CBDs), which reflect the
city’s internal structure approximating to the “multiple nuclei structure,” as postulated
many years ago by Professor Akin Mabogunje. The CBD of Lagos Island is made up
of several high-rise buildings and houses many of the city’s largest wholesale
markets, such as the Idumota and Balogun markets. It also houses the country’s
National Museum, a central mosque, the Glover Memorial Hall, the Holy Cross and
Christ’s Church cathedrals as well as the Oba’s palace at Iga Iduganran. There is also
the famous Tinubu Square, which is of historical importance.
Figure 2.4 Lagos showing the mainland districts
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development
2.3 Governance and Policy
According to Ajose (2010), before 1800 and up to the mid-1900s Lagos had minimal
socioeconomic and political problems to contend with, which made its governance
easy. There was no serious population explosion, dirty environment, high crime rate,
or social ills that characterise present-day Lagos.
But by the mid-twentieth century, the consequences of the influx of people into
Lagos due to its prosperity had begun to manifest. Due to rapid and increasing
urbanisation, the city changed from being a rural enclave to a modern, heterogeneous,
and metropolitan city with a dense road network, modern means of transportation,
and new high-rise buildings. As a result of the increasing population growth and
expansion of socio-economic activities, the existing infrastructure became inadequate
and problems of environmental sanitation emerged leading to the development of
shanties and slums and violations of planning regulations among other problems.
To address the issue of environmental sanitation, the Lagos Executive
Development Board (LEDB) was established in 1923. The LEDB was in charge of
the first slum clearance in Lagos, which led to the founding of Surulere. In later years,
health sanitation inspectors otherwise called “wolewole” were employed to address
the issue of environmental sanitation. The Lagos City Council, which was established
under the 1917 Township Ordinance, was in charge of the administration of the city.
The Municipal Transport Service was also established in 1958 for mobility, while a
slaughterhouse was built to promote public health.
From 1861 till 1951, Lagos was a separate colony administered by the British.
Thereafter, the Western Regional Government took over until 1953 when the city was
carved out as a federal territory administered by the federal government. This
situation more or less compounded the problem of planning and administering the
city. This was the situation until 1967, when Lagos state was created as one of the
then 12 states of the Federal Republic. Following its creation as a state, Lagos
inherited all the problems and liabilities of Greater Lagos and the surrounding areas
that were merged with it. As such the new state was saddled with the responsibility of
putting in place appropriate political, economic, and socio-cultural infrastructures that
would ease its take-off and growth. It also ushered an era of military dictators ruling
the Lagos state up until 1979. Nevertheless, between 1967 and 1975, Lagos state
witnessed unprecedented infrastructural development. In the area of construction,
many townships and rural and intercity expressways were constructed. Housing
schemes were also designed to address the urgent need for habitable accommodation
for all categories of Lagosians.
From 1963 onwards more people migrated into Lagos from other parts of
Nigeria, as a result of the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s. The attraction of Lagos as
a place where dreams were realised made many people to troop into the state. The
upsurge in population growth had a great impact on infrastructure and social
amenities, such as accommodation, sanitation, educational institutions, traffic
congestion, waste disposal, physical planning, and other vital sectors in the state. The
crime rate became a serious challenge to the capabilities of the security agencies. In
view of the explosive population growth, the absence of effective land-use planning
and city management was keenly felt.
In 1976 the decision to relocate the federal capital from Lagos to Abuja was taken
based on the recommendation of the Justice Akinola Aguda Panel. This situation was
necessitated by acute traffic congestion and the inadequate provision of essential
infrastructures, which, many believed, had ground the functioning of the city to a halt.
In the same year, the 1976 Local Government Guidelines was issued, which led to the
creation of new local governments. Due to increasing urbanisation, Lagos city had
grown to merge with outlying settlements such as Ikeja, Agege, Ojota, Oshodi, and
Shomolu. With the creation of local governments, Lagos metropolis was balkanised
into 20 local governments by 1991. This situation again compounded the problem of
governance and physical planning in the city.
From 1979 to 1983 the civilian administration led by Lateef Jakande, launched a
programme of action to address the problems of housing accommodation, road
construction, water, transport development, and provision of social amenities. These
interventions contributed to the socio-economic transformation of the state, which in
turn led to more prosperity for the people. This situation also led to rising
urbanisation and a population explosion.
Other governments and administrations that came after Jakande, especially those
who held fort between the periods immediately after 1983, jettisoned some of his
good programmes, though it is worth mentioning that they also made conscious
efforts to solve some problems of the state. By 1996 Colonel Buba Marwa’s
administration had achieved modest success by opening up new development areas at
the city fringes and building new housing as well as tackling waste disposal and
traffic congestion. The administration introduced Operation Sweep and
Neighbourhood Watch to strengthen the capability of the state security outfits. This
was the situation until the advent of the Tinubu administration in 1999.
Between 1999 and 2007 the mantle of leadership fell on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu. His administration like his predecessors had to contend with the worsening
situation in the state. The state’s rate of urbanisation had gone out of control and
Lagos state had grown to become a conundrum of cities, with a burgeoning
population—estimated to be about 12 million by the United Nations and with a
growth rate of 600,000 people per annum. Other challenges accompanying this
growth included the increased volume of traffic that lead to chronic congestion on the
roads, inadequate waste disposal, proliferation of shanties, and inadequate educational
and other social infrastructure. All of these were in a serious state of disrepair and
neglect. The Bola Ahmed administration confronted these problems frontally. His
administration set-up many agencies as parastatals for effective service delivery to the
residents of the megacity. These parastatals include Lagos Signage and
Advertisement Agency (LASAA) for controlling of advertisement, the Lagos State
Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) for waste management, the Lagos State
Bus Services (LASEBUS) for rapid bus service and the Lagos State Transport
Management Authority for transport (LASTMA) to checkmate the menace of traffic
congestions arising from illegal stops and parking along the highways. Since 2007
the Babatunde Fashola administration that took over the governance of the state,
continues to build on the foundation laid by its predecessor.
The Economy of Lagos
Economically, Lagos has two seaports and local and international airports. It is a
thriving industrial and commercial centre. Crude oil and bitumen are found within
Lagos state at Epe and silica sand is available in Badagry and Eti-osa. Clay is found
at Ikeja and Ikorodu, and wood (including teak, opepe, and abora) for timber products
is widely available. Maize and ginger are cultivated throughout the state, while
kolanut, cocoa, and cassava are found in Ikorodu. More recently, fish farm estates
have been developed to exploit the state’s water resources and combat poverty.
Much of the nation’s wealth and economic activities are concentrated in Lagos
megacity, with manufacturing and service delivery, banking, and telecommunication
services making more significant contributions than fishing, mining and quarrying,
agriculture, and forestry (which accounted for less than 2 percent of GDP.
Metropolitan Lagos accounted for 38 percent of total manufacturing employment in
Nigerian cities and over 60 percent of the total value.
Industries are concentrated in the Apapa, Ikeja, and Ilupeju industrial estates.
Among the factors responsible for the concentration of manufacturing activities in
metropolitan Lagos is the availability of sea, land, and air transport; concentration of
skilled and semi-skilled workers; and large markets offered by the teeming population
and fairly well-developed infrastructural facilities to support manufacturing
industries.
Traditional markets such as Balogun, Obun Eko, Ebute Ero, Egerton Square, and
Faji on the island, and outlying markets such as Tejuoso, Sabo in Yaba, Agege, Ojota,
and others are major outlets for commercial transactions.
Plate 2.1 Aerial view of the CBD on Lagos Island
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Information and Strategy
In terms of the urban economy, Lagos megacity is a city of many firsts in the
country. In 2006 it contributed 30 percent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP),
consumed more than 60 percent of its energy, collected 65 percent of its value added
tax (VAT), and accounted for 90 percent of its foreign trade and 70 percent of its
industrial investments. The three lighter terminals and two major ports at Apapa and
Tin Can Island in Lagos, today generate 50 percent of Nigeria’s port revenue. Most
corporates including manufacturing, financial, and insurance organisations in the
country have their headquarters in Lagos. The city has since become an economic hub
for West Africa, with the Murtala Mohammed International airport generating 82
percent of international airline departures within West Africa and between the subregion and Europe.
Lagos is also a major educational centre, playing host to several tertiary
institutions including the University of Lagos, the Lagos State University, the
National Open University, the Pan-African University, the Yaba College of
Technology, and the Lagos State Polytechnic. The city also hosts the Federal College
of Fisheries and Marine Technology, the Lagos State College of Health Technology,
and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and its College of Medicine. In
addition, there are other private polytechnics including the Grace City Polytechnic
and Wolex Polytechnic.
The employment generated by the various socio-economic activities in the city
continues to attract both domestic and international migrants to Lagos. Despite the
movement of the federal capital to Abuja in 1986, metropolitan Lagos has remained
the country’s dominant economic, social, and financial centre as well as the hub of
national and international communications.
Summary of Challenges
The peculiar location of Lagos is restrictive for accommodating its rapid and
explosive population growth. This calls for efficient utilisation and management of
the land and resources of the megacity.
Due to the pressure on land, extensive reclamation works have occurred in several
parts of the metropolis including Victoria Island, Lekki Peninsula, Amuwo Odofin
New Town, and Festac. Private developers who wish to own landed property in the
metropolis have encroached on areas zoned as a conservation belt in the Lagos master
plan. The continued pressure on land has resulted largely in unmet demand for
efficient urban infrastructural services such as water, electricity, access roads, public
transport, sanitation, drainage, and waste disposal.
The historical development of Lagos shows a city challenged by rapid
urbanisation. Unfortunately both governance and policy responses have not been able
to cope, plan, and manage the city’s development to achieve sustainable urbanisation.
Due to a lack of strategic planning of urbanisation, the city has had to contend with
the following challenges:









Uncontrolled urban sprawl
Inadequate and overburdened infrastructure
Housing shortage
Social and economic exclusion
Large informal sector arising from large in-migration of unskilled labour
High youth unemployment
Inadequate funding of urban development
Rising crime and insecurity
Cumbersome judicial processes resulting in delays and denial of justice

Low-level preparedness for disaster management.
The state is aware of these challenges and current efforts are geared toward tackling
them. There is evidence that some of these are yielding results as will be shown in
subsequent chapters of the report.
Table 2.2 Household size and density in some local government areas of Lagos
metropolis in 2004
Local government
Status by income
Persons per room
Household size
Eti-osa
High
1.6
5.6
Apapa
High
1.4
4.8
Ajeromi/Ifelodun
Low
5.8
5.8
Lagos Island
Low
5.4
10.8
Mushin
Low
8.0
8.0
Surulere
Middle
2.0
4.8
Source: Lagos State Government 2004.
Table 2.3 Crimes reported in some local government areas of Lagos metropolis in
2005
Local Status by Entry and Armed
Bank Threatening Common Murder
False Car theft Sudden and Total
governme income stealing
robbery
robbery and violence assault
pretence
unnatural
nt
death
Eti-Osa
High
10
16
1
4
23
1
22
62
1
140
Apapa
High
8
12
2
4
34
4
52
120
2
238
Ikeja
Middle
12
34
6
8
23
8
22
101
3
217
Surulere
Middle
8
14
4
6
44
11
44
186
4
321
Kosofe
Low
15
25
2
10
65
20
48
129
13
327
Oshodi
Low
12
16
4
28
188
12
12
200
10
482
Isolo
Somolu
Low
122
100
1
87
300
22
54
102
12
800
Agege
Total
Low
128
80
2
63
205
41
82
234
315
297
22
210
882
119
336
1,134
Source: Nigeria Police Crime Report 2005.
18
853
63 3,378
Plate 2.2 Slum upgrading challenges
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Information and Strategy
CHAPTER THREE
Transforming Lagos
Catalysts of Change
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 1997),
“governance and human development” are “indivisible” and “human development
cannot be sustained without good governance. Governance cannot be sound unless it
sustains human development.” The UNDP (1997) went further to argue that:
“whenever good things are happening, people point to good governance.” The
transformation currently taking place in Lagos can be attributed to good governance.
The actual catalysts of this transformation or reform process are:

Political will and leadership

Strategic visioning of development

Knowledge-based approach (KBA) to planning

Budget reform and its linkage with activities of government institutions

Popular participation partnership building

Policy, legislative, and institutional reforms

Resource mobilisation, transparency, and accountability

Application of information and communication technology (ICT) in
governance

Programmatic interventions

Sustainability
Specifics of Reforms
Political Will and Leadership
The Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, which came into being on May 29,
1999, inherited what amounted to a nearly failed state, in terms of governance,
infrastructural provision, socio-economic development, human rights, insecurity, and
poverty—a result of almost three decades of military dictatorship that represented the
darkest hours of Nigeria’s history. For 8 years, the Tinubu administration adopted
visionary and exemplary leadership approaches to promote development, resuscitate
the state’s value systems, and bring back its lost glory. At his inauguration as
governor, Tinubu’s maiden speech showed that he was aware of the development
challenges facing the people and was determined to make a difference. According to
him:
As flag-bearers, we are not unmindful of the heavy burden and responsibility
that we carry. We are not unmindful of the huge expectations of our people,
young and old, man and woman, able and disabled. Nor are we unmindful of
the misery and poverty that the generality of our people have had to endure
almost forty years after Independence. Our goal, as the Prophet of old
commands, is to lighten the burden of our people, alleviating poverty by
providing jobs for our youths, houses, secure homes, water, good roads and
creating efficient mass transportation system, industrial development and
providing life more abundant for our people.
The above quote captures the main thrusts of the development agenda and its
achievements.
In 2007 Babatunde Fashola (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), who was Tinubu’s
chief of staff, succeeded him as the governor with the same vigour and commitment.
In his maiden speech he acknowledged the achievements of his predecessor and
promised continuation of Tinubu’s purposeful and exemplary leadership, with an
emphasis on “education and the development of quality of human capital; job
creation and support for private enterprise; infrastructural development; public
transportation; crime fighting; justice delivery; healthcare and the environment.”
The governance style of both Tinubu and Fashola demonstrated strong political
will and exemplary leadership, and nowhere has this vision and mission been more
evident than in Lagos megacity.
Strategic Visioning of Development
To effectively manage the common affairs of the people being governed, those
responsible for governance must have the “vision, goals, targets and broadly accepted
performance measurements” (TUGI 2002). The UNDP (1997) identified strategic
vision as one of the key elements of good governance, which could be achieved
through the adoption of vision/mission statements, land-use plans, and poverty
reduction strategies. Through strategic visioning of development, political leaders and
the general public were able to envision and take both broad and long-term views of
good governance and human development initiatives as well as the resources required
for their accomplishment.
In 2003 Nigeria adopted a home-grown poverty reduction strategy called the
National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). This was
later decentralised to the state level in 2004. Lagos state, following the example of the
federal government, formulated and adopted the Lagos State Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (LASEEDS), which was put in place in
2005.
The LASEEDS is “a Poverty Reduction Strategy aimed at achieving cohesive
coordination of the development process through adoption of a bottom-up approach
and inclusiveness of stakeholders” (Ehingbeti 2008: 19). It also has a reform and
development agenda articulated using basic strategic planning techniques for
stimulating sustainable development. Its main focus includes empowering the people
(human development), developing the private sector (wealth creation), and reforming
the government and its institutions (public sector reforms). Its main objectives are to
create wealth, reduce poverty, generate employment, and reorient value systems.
Its 10-point agenda (TPA) comprises the following:










Environmental and physical planning
Roads and transportation
Power and water supply
Education
Employment
Health
Security
Food security
Shelter
Revenue enhancement.
Environmental and physical planning involves the beautification of the city,
community-based and integrated waste management, and so on. Roads and
transportation entails aggressive road rehabilitation in all the local government areas
and construction of new roads, as well as the introduction of the integrated Mass
Transit Programme for road, rail, and water transport services and effective traffic
management. Power and water supply include the establishment of Island Power,
Alausa Power, Akute Power, Odomola, and Adiyan II. Education involves curriculum
review, school infrastructure renewal, awarding of scholarships, and so on. The
employment agenda includes the graduate empowerment programme, job creation,
skills acquisition, and so on. In the health sector, emergency medical services are to
be provided; primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services are to be improved;
and also personnel capacity building to be developed. Security entails improvement
and empowerment of the security apparatus to reduce crime in the city. Food security
empowers the farmers to higher productivity and supports strategic food preservation
and creation of farm settlements. The shelter agenda involves the provision of
affordable mass housing schemes and creation of the New/Satellite Town
Development Scheme, and so on. Revenue enhancement includes revenue sources
and the tax net. All these have been put into operation since 1999, and the details of
how each programme has fared are contained in chapter 4.
One of the major goals of the LASEEDS is to make Lagos a model African
megacity that is a hub of financial and economic growth, not only in Nigeria but in
the West African sub-region.
The strategies adopted for achieving the goals of the LASEEDS and TPA include:

Continued communication and engagement with all relevant stakeholders

Conduct of research for planning

Application of geographic information systems (GIS)

Continuous institutional capacity building

Greater enforcement of town-planning regulations

Urban upgrading of blights (slums)

Developing Lagos into a model city-state

Pursuit of systematic physical planning for sustainable development

A reliable database for physical planning

Enhanced partnership for governance
These activities have been actively pursued by the Ministry of Physical Planning
and Urban Development.
Knowledge-Based Approach (KBA) to Planning
Adoption of the KBA to management requires integrating and sharing of specialist
knowledge among various components of an organisation. The Lagos state
government adopts the KBA for knowledge sharing among the different ministries
and parastatals to promote sustainable development. This principle also underlined
the biennial organisation of the Ehingbeti Summit, which began in 2000 and
continues till date. To promote the KBA, the Ministry of Economic Planning and
Budget conceived the idea of an annual economic summit rooted in the Ehingbeti
state’s heritage, as a participatory forum for integrating stakeholders into the
economic planning and development matters of Lagos state.
From year 2000 the ministry has successfully organised the five state economic
summits in collaboration with other shareholders. Whilst the first was organised in
partnership with the Business Club Ikeja, the subsequent summits have been
organised under the aegis of the Lagos Economic Summit Group inaugurated in April
2001, as a framework or structure for public-private partnerships (PPPs) for
development. The group’s membership is drawn from the Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the Nigerian-American Business Club Ikeja (BCI),
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), some special interest groups,
and the state government, under the chairmanship of the Honourable Commissioner
for Economic Planning and Budget, with a private sector executive as co-chairman.
The outcomes are the summit reports, which have become critical policy inputs for
the state. Annual budgets have been published with the resultant conclusions yielding
fruitful dividends for the state.
Table 3.1 Ehingbeti summits and thematic foci 2000–10
Year
Ehingbeti 2000
Theme
Accelerating Economic Growth through Private Sector Partnership in Infrastructural
Development
Ehingbeti 2001
Improving Urban Development, Economic Growth and Social Responsibility through Effective
Partnership
Ehingbeti 2002
Lagos Megacity and the Challenges of Economic Development
Ehingbeti 2004
Transforming Lagos into Africa’s Model Megacity
Ehingbeti 2008
Lagos: Investment Opportunities in Africa’s Emerging Model Megacity
Source: Ehingbeti (2008) 4th Lagos State Economics Summit.
Budget Reform and Its Linkage with Activities of Government Institutions
One of the results of the adoption of the LASEEDS is budget reform, based on the
adoption of the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) that projects likely
availability of resources over a 3-year horizon (which should be documented in a
fiscal strategy paper), and a series of medium-term sector strategies (MTSS) that
identify goals and objectives for key sectors of government and translate these, within
the confines of sectoral indicative expenditure ceilings, into affordable, fully costed,
and well-defined sets of projects over the same period. The MTSS have been adopted
by all the ministries and parastatals.
Institutional Reform for Efficient Service Delivery
The Lagos state government has implemented several institutional reforms through
the creation of new agencies for effective service delivery in the areas of transport,
sewage management, resource mobilisation, and environmental and solid waste
management. These agencies include the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport
Authority (LAMATA), Lagos State Water Authority (LASWA), Lagos State Waste
Management Authority (LAWMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency
(LASEMA), Lagos State Emergency Medical Services (LASEMS), Lagos State
Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS), and Lagos State Microfinance Institution
(LASMI).
Popular Participation Partnership Building
Popular Participation
In line with the democratic ideals and respect for human rights, the state government
has adopted inclusive approaches to development planning, policy formulation, and
implementation. The formulation of poverty reduction strategy papers and land-use
plans were hinged on effective participation. Participatory approaches are well
practiced also at the local government levels. For instance, in Ikeja (one of the 20
local governments) men, women, and youth are involved in management and decision
making through holding of town hall meetings with local government officials on
development initiatives. The local government also invites different stakeholder
groups in different wards (including market women, landlords, representatives from
community development areas [CDAs] and community development councils [CDC],
pastors, imams, chiefs, and so on) to deliberate on draft bylaws or other issues
brought up by the local government before they are approved. The traditional rulers
serve as spokespersons for the community on such issues as granting permits for
lock-up [stores, tenement rates, and so on.
The traditional rulers are also said to be involved in decision making and are
usually consulted by the chairman of the local government and the councillors to
obtain their buy-in on important issues that affect the people. The Ikeja local
government involve the people in annual budget preparation. Each community is
represented by its youth, men, women, and traditional leaders from each of the CDAs.
Public expenditure by the local government is tracked by a statutory committee.
Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Lagos places great emphasis on the adoption of PPP projects as a mechanism for
infrastructure delivery against the backdrop of the inability of the public sector to
solely fund the infrastructure needs of a modern megacity. Perhaps the most farreaching in this respect is the ongoing construction of the N44 billion Lekki-Epe
Expressway and its accompanying coastal roads, which is the largest concessioning
project of its size and complexity in Africa. Several other projects delivered through
PPP arrangements by the administration include the rehabilitation of Bishop Kale
Close on Victoria Island by Starcomms Limited; rehabilitation of Olakunle Bakare
Street, Victoria Island, by Vee Networks Limited; rehabilitation of part of Molade
Okoya Thomas Street, Victoria Island, by Zenith Bank; construction of access roads
to Beach Resort Estate, Victoria Island, by Beach Resort Nigeria Limited;
rehabilitation of Orofin Street/Old Ojo road junction, Mazamaza, Amuwo-Odofin, by
Intercontinental Bank Plc; rehabilitation of Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, by
a consortium of companies; powering and maintenance of street lights on WEMPCO
road, Ikeja, by the WEMPCO group; rehabilitation of Adetokunbo Ademola Street as
a partnership between the Lagos state government and Eko Hotels; rehabilitation of
Danmole Street, Victoria Island, by Intercontinental Bank Plc; provisioning,
energising, and maintenance of street lights on Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria
Island, by Pan Ocean Oil Corporation; rehabilitation of Buraimoh Kenku Street,
Victoria Island, by Liquefied Natural Gas Company (LNG) Ltd; redevelopment of
Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, by Zenith Bank Plc; and rehabilitation of
Jimoh Odutola Street, Surulere, by Flour Mills.
One of the Tinubu administration’s greatest legacies to posterity is the very sound
financial pedestal on which it placed Lagos state. From a situation of near-total
dependence on statutory allocation from the Federation Account in 1999, the
administration reduced the state’s reliance on the Federation Account to not more
than 25 percent by the time of its exit from office in May 2007. As a result of the
sound management of the state’s finances, the administration was able to pay
salaries/emoluments totalling N180 billion to approximately 50,000 civil servants
between 1999 and 2007 and N70 billion as civil service operational running costs
within the same period; meet its financial obligations to the state’s 15,000 civil
service/teachers pensioners and 51,000 primary school teachers and local government
workers; and also promptly pay subventions to the 50 parastatals including tertiary
institutions in Lagos state. Not even the politically motivated seizure of over N24
billion of funds statutorily due to the local governments of Lagos state by the federal
government for over 2 years could destabilise the state financially or incapacitate the
local governments from functioning in the interest of the grassroots—another
indication of how rock solid the state’s finances were.
Some of the major projects which the administration was able to undertake solely on
the strength of internally generated revenues include the renewal, redevelopment, and
reconstruction of the Lagos Island Central Business District (CBD) comprising 16
highways at a cost of N15 billion; reconstruction and modernisation of key roads
(such as Awolowo road, Ikoyi; Akin Adesola road, Victoria Island; Adeola Odeku
road, Victoria Island; Oba Sekumade road, Ikorodu; Yaba-Itire-Lawanson-Ojuelegba
road; Agege Motor road; Ikotun-Igando road; and Kudirat Abiola road, Oregun) and
commencement of the LASU-Iba road and Ajah-Badore road; upgrading of facilities
and buildings at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to meet
world-class standards (thus ensuring through the vision of Asiwaju Tinubu that the
institution is today an acclaimed centre of excellence in health-care delivery);
construction and modernisation of high courts; expansion/rehabilitation of general
hospitals (in Lagos, Gbagada, Epe, Isolo, Ikorodu, and Badagry) and the Island
Maternity Hospital; construction of new hospitals at Mushin, Shomolu, Ibeju Lekki,
and Isheri-Iba; upgrading of existing health centers to full-fledged hospitals at Ijede,
Ketu, Agbowa, and Agege; massive rehabilitation and construction of new public
primary and secondary schools in all divisions of the state; provision of infrastructure
in newly constructed housing estates (such as the Abraham Adesanya Housing
Scheme, Ajah; Oba Adeyinka Oyekan Housing Scheme, Lekki; Ikeja GRA Housing
Scheme, Lekki 1; Millenium Housing Scheme; Ayangburen Housing Scheme,
Ikorodu; and Gbagada Housing Scheme), and massive rural electrification and microwater projects. It is impossible to give a detailed enumeration, in this short piece, of
the innumerable brick-and-mortar legacies of the Tinubu and Fashola administrations
across diverse sectors of the state.
Policy, Legislative, and Institutional Reforms
The state government undertook several policy and legislative reforms in the areas of
physical planning, transport, finance, PPPs, security, resource mobilisation, creation
of local governments, building control, solid waste management, and signage and
advertisement boarding. These include the following:

Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010.

Law on building construction and planning, February 2011.

Law to provide for physical planning, urban development, urban regeneration,
and building control in Lagos state and for corrected purposes, 2010.

Lagos State Model City Plan Law 2009.

Lagos Public Private Partnership Law 2004.

Lagos Transport Law 2003.

Traffic Law 2010.

Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority Law 2007.

Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board Law 2006.
These legislative and policy reforms impacted institutional restructuring and setup of new institutions for efficient service delivery as stated above.
Resource Mobilisation, Transparency, and Accountability
One of the hallmarks of the state’s success is aggressive resource mobilisation.
Another revenue-enhancing measure the administration adopted was the rejuvenation
and reorganisation of the state’s Board of Internal Revenue (BIR)—an outfit that used
to be a centre of corruption was re-engineered and its revenue collection capacity
enhanced through greater autonomy, professionalism, and motivation. The board was
strengthened to collect optimum revenue at least cost while earning the trust and
confidence of the public. Today, the BIR (now the Lagos Internal Revenue Service,
LIRS), has become a matter of pride to the state.
A third revenue-enhancing step by the Tinubu administration was a thorough
reform of the tax administration process through intensive computerisation of the
state’s tax assessment records, culminating in the introduction of the electronic tax
clearance cards (which is a fraud-free and convenient method of keeping taxpayers
records). This was accompanied by the continuous renovation/upgrading of the state’s
tax offices with modern facilities to aid electronic collection and reporting of taxes.
A fourth measure adopted to boost the finances of the state was intensive
publicity through the mass media to sensitise the public on the imperative of paying
their taxes willingly, voluntarily, and promptly as a pre-condition for the delivery of
quality infrastructure and social services by the government. Indeed, the
administration devised the strategy of having huge signboards with the inscription
“Tax Payers’ Money At Work” at various project sites. The result was an increase in
the number of those who willingly paid their taxes since they saw concrete evidence
that the revenue was being expended for the public good.
The introduction of the land-use charge, which consolidated the hitherto
fragmented collection of ground rents, development charges, and neighbourhood
improvement charges by the state and local governments also helped tremendously to
boost revenue collection to the advantage of the two tiers of the government. The new
Land Use Charge Law promulgated in 2001 stipulated that once a land-use charge
demand notice is levied on a property, ground rent, development charges, and
neighbourhood improvement charges will cease to apply. This led to the collection of
the sum of over N3.5 billion as land-use charges between 2001 and March 2007, and
the value of this revenue source keeps increasing.
As a result of these and other measures, the internally generated revenue of Lagos
state rose from N600 million per month in 1999 to a monthly average of N5.025
billion in 2006 and peaked at between N7 billion and N8.2 billion monthly as of
March 2007. Determined to deliver on its promise to undertake the radical
modernisation of infrastructure in Lagos state, the Tinubu administration was the first
to approach the capital market to source long-term funds to prosecute long-term
projects. Through this strategy, the first Lagos State Floating Rate Redeemable Bond
2005–06 was floated in September 2002 and the sum of N15 billion was raised in the
capital market as a refinancing option with a 2-year moratorium. The floating of the
bond enabled the administration to refinance locally sourced short-term funds while
fast-tracking the construction of major projects in diverse sectors, thus beating
incessant inflationary spirals that would have made the delivery of such major
projects impossible without the bond. On redemption of the bond in 2007, the state
had saved the sum of N22 billion in the sinking fund against the bond of N15 billion,
thus demonstrating the state’s creditworthiness and significantly enhancing its
financial rating. The bond was utilised to deliver key projects such as modern
highways with ancillary amenities comparable to the best anywhere in the world,
millennium housing schemes, global computerisation of the public service,
millennium micro-water works, construction/rehabilitation of high courts, waste
management projects, and millennium classrooms among others.
During this period, the Tinubu administration continued to strengthen the state’s
investment portfolio through the Ibile Holdings Limited (IHL), Lagos Building and
Investment Company (LBIC), and Lagos State Assurance Company (LASACO).
Thus, as of March 2007, IHL’s equity portfolio had a market value of N11.46 billion.
Through IHL, the state invested N3.84 billion in Celtel (formerly Vmobile/Econet) in
2003 and by the time it divested from the company in 2007, Lagos state had reaped a
dividend of N19 billion in 4 years. Also, through IBH the administration invested
N11 billion in the state’s LAGBUS mass Bus Transit Project with N6.5 billion going
into the acquisition of brand new Marco Polo buses and N4.5 billion into the
provision of infrastructure and maintenance facilities for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
system that is today a phenomenal success story. In the same vein, the administration
increased the share capital of the LBIC from N100 million to N500 million to
enhance its capacity to be an effective player in the modern mortgage business, while
also supporting the LASACO with over N1 billion to meet the Central Bank of
Nigeria’s directive on the recapitalisation of insurance companies.
Application of ICT in Governance
One radical measure taken in this regard, for instance, was the introduction of the
Electronic Banking System/Revenue Collection Monitoring (EBS/RCM) Project,
which enabled the utilisation of high-level technology to create a robust database of
tax payers, eliminate ghost workers, plug loopholes of revenue leakage, and enhance
revenue performance by partnering with the private sector to ensure more effective
monitoring of collected revenue.
Programmatic Interventions
The state’s overriding policy thrust to combat rising urbanisation with its several
challenges was hinged on “poverty alleviation and sustainable economic growth,”
which was given a greater fillip with the pursuit of the Lagos Metropolitan
Development Project (LMDP). This was initiated in collaboration with Cities
Alliance that funded the preparatory work, which led to the design of the project and
approval of the World Bank. The project, a product of Ehingbeti 2002, is a World
Bank–assisted comprehensive project directed at expanding trunk infrastructure,
enhancing the delivery of basic services for the poor, and straightening the capacity of
the state/local government to cope with future growth challenges. In this regard,
preparatory work has commenced on the generation of a database for planning. The
implementation of this project, which is still ongoing, has benefited physical
infrastructural development, urban planning and slum upgrading, urban regeneration,
opening up of lagoon channels for effective drainage, flood control, transport
management, and solid waste management.
New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)
The Sustainable NEPAD Cities Programme is the initiative of UN-HABITAT to
make key African cities functional, productive, safe, and environment friendly.
Consequent upon the above, and the selection of the state as one of the seven cities in
Africa to pilot this programme, the ministry, on behalf of the state government,
hosted the first NEPAD Cities Forum at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island,
Lagos, May 11–13, 2004. The Consultative Forum of seven NEPAD cities—namely
Lagos, Rabat, Lusaka, Bamako, Durban, Nairobi, and Douala—organised by UNHABITAT, the global focal agency for sustainable settlements, provided an avenue to
sharing ideas and best practices for making African cities places of opportunity,
innovation, security, integration, and prosperity. This has led to bilateral visits
between Lagos and Durban.
UN-HABITAT also extended an invitation to the governor and the state for
participation at the World Urban Forum held at Barcelona, Spain, in September 2004.
Currently, the state is collaborating with UN-HABITAT in conducting profiling of
Agege and Ifako, which will lead to the production of structure plans in collaboration
with the Foundation for Development and Environmental Initiatives (FDI), a national
non-governmental organisation (NGO) for promoting development.
Sustainability
One of the major features of the transformation in Lagos state has been its
sustainability for 13 years. This is mainly due to governance by the same political
party during this period and the common vision of successive governments. The
hallmark of this test of continuity has been the passage of good practices into law,
which will be binding on successive governments.
CHAPTER FOUR
Innovations/Highlights
This chapter is devoted to capturing some of the critical innovations that are fallouts
of the various reforms discussed in chapter 3. The presentation is grouped under three
broad headings, namely; physical infrastructural development, urban planning and
environment, and slum upgrading and social transformations.
Physical Infrastructural Development
Transportation
In response to the enormous transport challenges and the desire to reform the
transport sector, the Lagos state government in collaboration with the World Bank
has been implementing the Lagos Urban Transport Project (LUTP). This project was
designed to create an efficient and effective integrated Intermodal Mass Transit
System involving land, water, and rail transport and in the process contributing to
poverty reduction. The state government’s policy thrust in transportation development
is centred on:
 Provision of a sustainable, efficient, and safe integrated mass transit system.
 Improvement of transportation infrastructure and the traffic management
system.
 Introduction of rapid rail transportation.
The Mass Transit System
The Government enacted Law No. 3, 2002, established the Lagos Metropolitan Area
Transport Authority (LAMATA) to facilitate the project. The LAMATA, established
in 2003, has a mandate to ensure the provision of the highest level of service in public
transportation in Lagos megacity, play a leading role in undertaking transport
planning for the city area, and assist in transport policy formulation, coordination, and
implementation of major operational and investment decisions. The agency has
developed a strategic Transport Master Plan (TMP) for Lagos. The plan specifies the
transport infrastructure details of the modal routes required by the megacity by 2020.
It provides specific information infrastructure requirements for the state and ensures
that transport developments are geared toward inter-modalism with the keyword
being “integration.” The plan also provides detailed requirements including the mode
of achieving them and other targets.
Since its inception the LAMATA has embarked on improving the efficiency of
the road network. This is done through periodic maintenance of about 24 kilometres
(km) of road network, rehabilitation and improvement of about 35 additional
junctions, establishment of 3 transport monitoring units (TMUs), and implementation
of the transport system management along the bus franchise corridor to improve
traffic flow. It has also engaged in the enhancement of bus services through the
creation of bus by-lanes along the line of each route, provision of traffic system
management measures on the routes and at the bus depots, and garages for the
parking and maintenance of the bus fleet. The government has also invested heavily
on the periodic maintenance of roads, construction of new ones, and expansion of
existing roads as well as the construction of vehicular and pedestrian bridges (plate
4.1). The setting up of the LAMATA signalled the Lagos state government’s
intention to re-orientate the way in which transport services were managed and
implemented (Mobereola 2006).
Plate 4.1 Road construction in Lagos
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Information and Strategy.
The government also introduced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the Mile
12 CMS corridor (plate 4.2). The BRT system entails the operation of a fleet of highcapacity buses run on a segregated and dedicated roadway that are not affected by the
traffic snarls that have characterized Lagos for a long time (plate 4.3). The Mile 12
CMS BRT runs on a segregated lane for about 65 percent of the entire corridor and
mixes with other traffic for the rest of the route.
Plate 4.2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) 2010
The state government also introduced the Corporate Taxi Scheme to complement
the BRT. The objective is to provide secured taxi operations that will meet
international standards and best practices. The scheme is operated by reputable
corporate organisations, each with its own identified colours—such as, Yellow Taxis,
Blue Corporate Taxis, Red Cabs, Easy Cabs, Orange Cabs, and so on. There are about
1,225 of these taxicabs operating now in Lagos megacity.
Plate 4.3 Existing and predicted modal split in Lagos megacity
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Authority (LAMATA) 2010
The impact of the BRT system is diverse. It has reduced the major challenges of
mobility in Lagos megacity, most especially in the corridor and the catchment areas.
As of January 2010, it had moved more than 114 million passengers and brought a lot
of discipline and order in public transportation, promoting the queue culture as well
as order at bus shelters. It offers commuters affordable, safe, efficient, and reliable
public transportation and provides employment to more than 2,000 people, (Lagos
State Government 2009a). The BRT has reduced carbon dioxide emission by about
13 percent and greenhouse gases by about 20 percent. Six percent of car owners along
the corridor have opted to use the BRT because of its affordability, reliability,
timeliness, and safety. The journey time to the workplace has drastically reduced by
55 minutes as claimed by a commuter on the BRT; it has also reduced household
income spent on transportation. Today, the BRT is a key factor in the solution to the
transportation problems of Lagos megacity. Plans are already on to extend services to
other parts of the city. Figure 4.1 shows the BRT system projection for 2009–20 and
highway improvements for the same period while plate 4.4 shows the other proposed
Lekki–Epe Express Road expansion and the Lagos–Badagry 10-lane expressway
project. Work has started on both proposals.
Plate 4.4 Infrastructural upgrade
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) 2010.
Fig 4.1 The Bus Rapid Transport Network and Proposed Highway Improvements
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) 2010
The LAMATA Act recognises the need to engage civil society in validating major
infrastructure investment and policy changes (Mobereola 2006). This calls for active
involvement of all stakeholders through information, consultation, and participation
in various consultative, interactive, and participatory fora. The identified stakeholders
include the government, development partners, mass media professionals and
institutions, civil society, transport associations, the police, the organised private
sector, the general public, and the United Nations (UN)/donor/bilateral agencies. This
community engagement and participatory strategy encourages the citizens of Lagos to
lay claim to the ownership of BRT and the success of the system.
Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Lagos state government has planned to provide the Lagos urban rail network, which
is expected to have seven rail lines covering a total of 264 km. Two of the rail lines,
the Blue and Red Lines are being developed as a matter of priority. The design of the
two rail lines has been completed, bidding has been done, and the contract has been
awarded (Lagos State Government 2009b). The Blue Line runs from Okokomaiko in
Ojo to Lagos Island West, covering a distance of about 27 km. It is projected to have
an annual passenger demand of 200 million. The Red Line, on the other hand, runs
from Agbado in Lagos North to the Marina with a connection to the Muritala
Mohammed International Airport Ikeja, covering a total distance of 24 km (figure
4.2). It also has a projected annual passenger demand of 200 million. Construction
work on the rail lines has begun. When completed, the rail line services will further
diversify and ease Lagos city traffic and at the same time provide employment most
especially for the youth.
Figure 4.2 Light rail route
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) 2010
Water Transportation
Seven corridors were indentified for water transportation These are the Badore
corridor, the Badore-Admiralty-Osborne-Marina corridor, Ikorodu-OworonsokiMarina corridor, Ijegun-Egba corridor, Oke-Afa-Festac-Mile 2-Marina corridor, and
Iddo-Ota area-Marina corridor. Of these, the Ikorodu-Marina and the BadoreAdmiralty-Osborne-Marina corridors have been opened with daily water transport
passenger services across the channels. Old jetties have been rehabilitated and new
terminals built to facilitate smooth operations of water vessels. The new jetties
include those in Ipakodo, Badore, and Osborne. Provision has been made for terminal
buildings with park and ride facilities. There are also provisions for banking,
shopping, and dining. The development of water transportation has enhanced the
integration of transportation in the city and brought relief to residents of the
neighbourhoods of the water transport corridors.
The Lagos State Ferry Services has been upgraded to the Lagos State Waterways
Authority (LASWA). The authority is a regulatory agency, charged with the
responsibility of ensuring that the safety on water is maintained and best practices are
used to achieve sustainable water transportation. It has also opened other avenues of
investment and employment opportunities, at the same time relieving the roads of the
burden of mobility.
Water and Power Supply
Water Supply
Out of a total estimated water demand of 1,800 million litres per day, only 600
million litres per day or 30 percent of the estimated demand is supplied by public
agencies in Lagos state. To improve water supply, the state government has invested
a substantial sum on the rehabilitation of waterworks and the privatisation of the
Lagos State Water Corporation (LWC). Other methods adopted in its policy for the
provision of the potable water system include:
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Construction/refurbishment of other micro and macro water works.
Improvement of power generation to power the various schemes.
Provision of efficient bill collection.
Repair/rehabilitation of collapsed boreholes.
In the first phase of the water project coordinated by the LWC and constructed by
Naston Engineering Nigeria Ltd, 15 mini micro waterworks have been constructed
with a capacity to produce 30 million gallons per day across various local government
areas and local council development areas. The long-term plan of the state
government is to resuscitate the Adiyan/Iju waterworks both with a total production
capacity of 130 million gallons per day.
Power Supply
The population in Lagos state consumes between 45 percent and 50 percent of the
electricity generated in the country and generates only 20 percent of its electricity
supply. Lagos megacity requires 6,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity but only 1,000
MW is being met by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). Consequently,
power supply has been prioritised among the state government’s economic reforms.
The Lagos state governments’ previous attempts at partnering with the federal
government on energy supply improvement for Lagos through an international
consortium named ENRON Corporation were aborted.
In recent years the government has involved some independent power producers
(IPPs) to assist in alleviating the power supply problems, most especially in Lagos
megacity. Among these are AES Nigeria, a subsidiary of AES USA, responsible for
generating 270 MW through the IPP and Akute Power Limited (IPP) responsible for
the installation of the 12.15 MW plant supplying electricity to the Adiyan/Iju
waterworks. The government has also partnered with El Sewedy Electric of Egypt to
build a transformer production factory in Agbara (plates 4.5–4.7).
Plate 4.5 Production of electricity through AES Nigeria, an independent power
producer (IPP)
Source: Ehingbeti (2008) 4th Lagos Economic Summit.
Plate 4.6 Elsewedy electricity transformer factory in Agbara
Source: Ehingbeti (2008) 4th Lagos Economic Summit.
Drainage and Sanitation
Several drains have been rehabilitated or reconstructed. Most of the clogged canals
have been cleared, for example, the Macgregor Canal which serves several
communities such as Ijeh, Obalende, Dolphin, Ikoyi, Osborne (and others within that
boundary), and Lagos Island. Apart from cleaning up the canal, it has also been
properly aligned all the way to the Lagos Lagoon. A chain-link fence has also been
constructed to prevent further abuse of the canal. The same thing has been done in the
Achapo Canal, Ajegunle. The communities adjoining these canals do not experience
flooding as in the past. A major channel called System 5, which runs all the way from
Surulere down to Apapa, through Orile and Ajegunle has also been cleared through
dredging. Work is going on in the Oko-Oba channel in Abule Egba and also at the
Gbagada and Medina channels.
Sanitation and waste disposal have many components. One of these is highway
sanitation, that is, the cleaning of major highways. The Highway Sanitation Unit,
formerly under waste management services, became a department of its own in
September 2006. The department appointed “Litter Marshals” who were charged with
the responsibility of cleaning the highways. The success of the Litter Marshals’
programme led to the establishment of a new private partnership, whereby over 90
companies (private sector participants) referred to as “service providers” registered
with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). They provided
cleaning/sweeping services at various strategic locations (highways and streets) in the
state. About 5,000 workers were employed by these companies to help in keeping
Lagos state clean. Apart from providing employment, this programme made almost
all the major roads and streets in Lagos metropolis litter free. Over 150 trucks patrol
the highways to collect bags of refuse that are collected all over Lagos, keeping the
city clean everyday.
Transfer loading stations have been constructed and they serve as transit camps
for refuse to be regularly compacted (plate 4.8).
Plate 4.7 Waste management facilities in Lagos megacity
Source: Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) 2010.
A school advocacy programme has been established through which schools are
supplied with beautiful bins for refuse storage before collection instead of the
previous incinerating or burning of refuse. The schools are also supplied with wastesorting bins to teach the pupils how to sort their waste. The essence of this
programme is to catch the students young so that they can become agents of change
in their various homes and environments. Another aspect of the state’s waste
management strategy is the waste-to-wealth programme. This is a strategy to convert
waste into fertiliser and use it for beautification.
Solid Waste Management
The state’s population of almost 18 million people generates over 6,000 metric tonnes
of municipal solid waste daily. To tackle this problem, the state government created
the LAWMA, which was charged with the responsibility of managing waste
generated within the city. Other agencies involved in waste management included the
Ministry of Environment as a policy regulator, the local government by virtue of its
constitutional role, and private sector participants (PSP operators) who were assigned
with the task of collection, transportation, and disposal of waste. An informal labour
force was also actively involved in the collection of residual wastes that may have
been left uncollected.
The state policy in waste management is geared toward providing an enabling
environment for effective public-private partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure
maintenance. Through such partnerships, Lagos has become the largest producer of
compost which it supplies throughout Nigeria and to the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture. It has also improved its management of medical waste to prevent its
comingling with domestic waste.
The mission of the LAWMA is “to provide a professional efficient and
sustainable waste management and disposal service to the generality of Lagosians,
corporate bodies and Governments (Local and State) in Lagos State.”
Its vision statement includes:
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Provision of unprecedented efficient waste management services to all its
domestic, industrial, and commercial clients, including the government.
Provision of unparalleled professional services to the government, especially
in the area of landfill management.
Adequate provision of waste receptacles as an alternative to indiscriminate
waste dumping.
Promotion of unequalled professionalism and efficiency in public service
administration.
Adequate public enlightenment and education for reorientation and decent
waste collection and disposal habits.
Effective partnership with the private sector and other stakeholders in waste
management.
Ensuring a conducive work environment and promotion of a good working
relationship, among the workers and general public.
Establishing the organisation as a household name in the area of waste
management and other related services.
The agency provides services such as industrial/commercial waste collection,
market waste collection, medical waste collection, hazardous waste collection,
destruction of classified and expired waste products and materials, licensing of PSPs
for industrial/commercial waste collection services, waste collection/sale of waste
receptacles, issuance of waste dumping permits, and industrial cleaning.
The LAWMA manages three major landfills/dumpsites. These are:
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The Olushosun landfill site. Situated in the northern part of Lagos within the
Ikeja local government, it receives approximately 40 percent of the total waste
deposits from Lagos. Its size is 42.7 hectares and it has a residual life span of
20 years.
The Abule-Egba landfill site. The site occupies a land area of about 10.2
hectares in the western part of Lagos and receives waste from the densely
populated Alimosho local government area. Its residual life span is
approximately 8 years.
The Solous sites. Situated along the Lagos State University–IBA road, Solous
II occupies 7.8 hectares of land and has an average life span of 5 years. Solous
III is a new site with approximately 5 hectares of land and an average life span
of 5 years. Each site receives an average of about 2,250 cubic meters of waste
per day.
The LAWMA also has a monitoring, enforcement, and compliance department,
which is charged with the responsibility of ensuring regular monitoring of the state of
the environment, enforcing environmental laws on defaulters/violators, and
promoting strict compliance by the citizenry of Lagos state. It is also charged with the
responsibility of enlightening the public, especially market men and women, on the
best environmental practices in their areas. The department is divided into three units,
namely, monitoring, enforcement, and compliance. The monitoring unit monitors the
state of the environment, prepares daily monitoring reports, monitors the stateapproved PSP operators, and issues sanitation alarms to government agencies, public
communities, and other stakeholders.
The enforcement and compliance unit investigates public complaints relating to
issues affecting the state of the environment, issues abatement notices, enforces
sanitation laws of the state, and produces weekly enforcement reports and pictorial
representations. It also holds mediation meetings between aggrieved parties from the
public and private sectors. It documents reports and generates data related to waste
management.
Urban Planning and Environment
Urban Planning
Since 1999 the Lagos state government has overhauled planning activities in the state.
This manifested in the review of the Lagos State Regional Planning Law in 2005. It
witnessed the setting up of several commissions of consultants to prepare land-use
plans for several districts and local governments in the state. Along with the passing
of new planning laws the State Building Code was also adopted.
The vision of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development is to
develop Lagos megacity into a place where people live, work, and recreate in an
environment having world-class infrastructure, utilities, and services that support an
improved quality of life and cultural diversity. The mission is to plan and facilitate an
organised, safe, green, dynamic, economically and culturally vibrant, and sustainable
city which supports optimal land use.
In the area of planning the following have been accomplished to achieve the
above vision and mission:
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Preparation of district plans.
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Draft of state town plans and regulations.
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Preparation of layout plans for excised villages.
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Preparation of interim regional and structural plans.
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Resettlement of saw mills in Epe.
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Preparation of the Metropolitan Master Plan for Ikorodu.
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Preparation of model city plans (for Victoria Island and Ikoyi).
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Creation of sites for motor dealers at Mowo Badagry.
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Determination of alignment for proposed major state roads.
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Setting up of the Central Lagos Redevelopment Scheme.
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Urban renewal.
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Markets development.
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Creation of a new building control authority to ensure the construction of safe
and good-quality buildings.
Establishment of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which is located about 80 km
from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja. This is an
international PPP between a Chinese-government-sponsored company
(CCECC) and the Lagos state government. It is conceived as a hi-tech
industrial zone which will incorporate petrochemical facilities that will utilise
Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources. The zone will also accommodate a
new international airport, a deep-sea port complex, and other top-of-the-range
facilities such as high-class residential apartments, shopping malls, and
recreational and service centers. Planned to rank among the most-vibrant free
trade zones in the world, it will stimulate development, better public transport
facilities, steady electricity supply, decent health facilities, and efficient road
linkages, among other infrastructures in this sleepy suburb. The zone will
provide enormous job opportunities, international business havens, and
immense economic benefits for the existing host communities.
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One of the major components of all these plans and interventions is that they are
based with the active consultation and engagement of all the stakeholders. Right from
the data-gathering stage up till the final plan, beneficiary communities, individuals,
community development associations (CDAs), traditional rulers, and other interest
groups were, as a matter of course, invited to town-hall meetings where they were
thoroughly briefed about the objectives and contents of the plans. Contributions from
such meetings usually formed critical inputs in the decision-making process.
The model city plans already prepared are those of Alimosho, Badagry, Ikeja,
Ikorodu, Ikoyi/Victoria Island, and Lekki and Mainland (figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Location of model cities in Lagos state
Source: Lagos State Government (2009) Lagos State Regional Plan
Work has started on the urban facilities upgradation through the redevelopment of
old regional markets such as Tejuosho, Oluwole, and Balogun into shopping malls
(plate 4.9 and 4.10). Local governments were mandated to begin re-development of
the various local markets into modern shopping centers provided with small stalls (KKlamps) to accommodate street traders, thereby removing street trading which has
been the bane of Lagos traffic and the cause of environmental degradation.
Plate 4.8 Market redevelopment in Lagos
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Plate 4.9 Redevelopment of Balogun Market into a shopping mall
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Environment
The objective of the Lagos state government has been to create a safe, friendly, and
sustainable environment which is conducive for living, business, and pleasure (Lagos
State Government 2009a).
This objective involves the following:
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Efficient community-based waste management.
Aggressive greening and beautification of open spaces, decrepit loops, verges,
and medians under Operation Green Lagos (plate 4.11).
Social rehabilitation and economic empowerment of “area boys” (miscreants)
through their engagement in environmental beautification and landscaping
projects, thereby adding value to society and upholding the dignity of labour.
Upgrading of the Olusosun landfill, Ikeja, through construction of three access
roads to tackle the perennial Oregun traffic, as well as the installation of
deodorisers to eliminate pollution, thereby enhancing the air quality and
public health of adjoining neighbourhoods.
Construction and equipping of eight waste-transfer-loading stations at Yaba,
Ogombo, Ebute-Elefun (Simpson), Oshodi, Ishasi, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, and
Oba Ogunji Street, Agege.
Procurement of 240 waste collection trucks and 3 Tana giant landfill
compactors for efficient management of waste at the landfills.
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Introduction of Dino bins in over 2,000 locations across the state and
evacuation of illegal dumpsites at 10 locations including Obele Oniwala
(Surulere), Oba Ogunji Street (Agege), Opebi (Ikeja), Ajah (Eti-Osa), and
Festac Gates (Amuwo), as part of a new waste disposal/environmental project.
Establishment of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency
(LASEMA).
Building of seven mini fire stations situated at the Palm Shopping Mall;
Lekki; Simpson Street, Lagos; Ojo-Alaba Market, Ojo; Oriade; Ikotun; and
Apapa Dockyard to complement existing ones.
Plate 4.10 Environment and physical planning in Lagos megacity
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Information and Strategy.
Land
The sprawling nature of Lagos as a megacity makes land issues important, both in
terms of land ownership as well as in the case of the boundary between the different
communities being integrated into its continuous built-up area. Access to land within
the megacity is governed by the Land Use Act of 1978. This act, whilst conferring the
right to grant statutory certificates of occupancy to parcels of land to state governors,
also makes their consent mandatory for any land transaction, either for mortgage or
assignment purposes. The act also allows the state or federal government to acquire
land for public purposes on the payment of compensation as and when the land is
utilised. Non-payment of compensation has encouraged encroachment and
development of squatter settlements on such land.
As a result of the Land Use Act, land has become one of the major sources of
revenue for Lagos state and over the years successive administrations have put in
place effective and dynamic reforms to ease land-use procedures and in turn boost
state revenue. In 1999 the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration designed a
policy that made land administration a strategic resource block for the realisation of
social and economic prosperity. The government created a Lands Bureau for this
purpose. The Fashola administration that followed introduced some reforms at the
Lands Bureau which included:
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The deployment of professional personnel to achieve optimum performance of
the bureau.
The minimisation of land abuses especially those relating to corrupt practices
and red tape.
Change of the mode of payment (to direct payment to designated banks) for
services delivery by the Lands Bureau.
The creation of of templates for the conduct of business in the bureau.
The introduction of the Electronic Document Management System (EDMS).
Consent of Governor within 30 days instead of the prior 365 days.
Digital mapping of Lagos state to complement the effect of EDMS.
The reduction of consent fees, capital gains tax, stamp duty, and registration
fees.
The establishment of the Directorate of Land Regularisation to eliminate the
hitherto defective ratification procedure, to ensure easy access to land and
checkmate corruption.
The introduction of new land administration policies to aid industrial,
commercial, and housing requirements particularly affecting private
developers’ schemes.
The introduction of new urban renewal policies that would create new towns
out of old communities.
The introduction of a proactive policy on property regularisation and
registration to develop a reliable database.
A review of the change-of-use policy to prevent the massive abuses of town
planning and urban protection laws that have adversely affected Ikoyi,
Victoria Island, and others and turned them into an urban slum. Both Ikoyi
and Victoria Island were initially developed and high-brow middle class
housing areas which over the years have increasing witnessed the conversion
of residential buildings to offices, shopping plazas, banks and churches among
others. The insensitive application of development control in these areas have
occasioned the un-imaginable growth of vehicular traffic in residential areas
as well as the nerve-breaking traffic congestions witnessed in these earsthwile
quiet and beautiful residential neigbourhoods tht have been increasingly
turned into high streets and central busnesnes districts.
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A massive reclamation and expansion programme to increase the land mass
available to the state for its use.
Mortgage registry.
Acquisition and excision registry.
An automated validation of receipts of payments.
The Lands Bureau has become a major revenue-generating source for Lagos state
since 1999. The total revenue rose from 6.7 million in 1999 to 4.2 billion in 2004 to
8.8 billion in 2007 and 17.3 billion naira in 2008. Today the bureau is the secondhighest income-generating agency in the state with the Lagos State Internal Revenue
Service being the first.
Housing
The challenge for housing the ever-increasing population of Lagos metropolis is
enormous. There is a serious overcrowding with a room occupancy of five to seven
persons. Housing needs have been estimated for about 8 million, requiring an annual
delivery of about 40,000 units. The land on which houses can be built is also in short
supply and corporate financing of mass housing, particularly for the poor, is nearly
absent. The organised private sector’s involvement and financing of housing has been
directed mainly to cater for the medium- and high-income brackets. It has been
suggested that there is a sense in which the proliferation of slums in the Lagos
metropolis, especially in the peripheral areas, can be ascribed to the difficulties of
producing houses for all categories of income levels, especially the low-income
groups.
As a first step in the creation of a conducive environment, the state’s land policy
reforms involved the following:
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Land tenure and ownership reforms.
Establishment of a mortgage division in the Lagos state high court.
Thirty-day consent by the Governor (down from 365 days), mortgages 0.02
percent of loans, and consent 15 percent of land value.
Establishment of electronic land registry with web access.
Securing of tenure/titling through regularisation of illegal occupation of
government land in slum communities.
Granting of certificate of occupancy in 90 days (down from 365 days).
Preparation of area action plans.
Controlled reclamation and development of land.
Introduction of housing mortgage financing.
The Lagos state government has also realised that the housing demand of about
18 million people in Lagos cannot be met by the government alone. The government,
therefore, has redefined its role in the delivery process by enhancing the role of PSPs.
In doing this, the government re-evaluated the operational environment with the
objective of removing existing bottlenecks and strengthening the private sector
delivery process. It then provided a conducive, enabling environment for private
sector participation in housing delivery. In addition, the government made equity
contributions in terms of providing land for genuine investors. For this, the Ministry
of Environment developed a template for appraising interested private developers and
facilitated the necessary sign-off from relevant ministries and government agencies
on behalf of private developers.
The efforts of the government at encouraging PPPs in housing have started
yielding fruits. Some private sector investors have completed their projects and others
are at advanced stages of completion. Foremost among these are Messrs Cortex,
Marimpex Imperial Homes, and First World Communities whose efforts have led to
the completion of several housing units.
Another major challenge in the housing sector is the issue of
sustenance/maintenance of these housing estates and their existing infrastructure. The
government has upgraded the infrastructure in these estates, renovated the buildings,
improved the common facilities, and beautified their surroundings. The estates which
have been renovated in the state are the:
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Millennium Housing Estate Gbagada I
Millennium Housing Estate Oko-Oba Agege
Millennium Housing Estate Alaagba Agege
Millennium Housing Estate Amuwo Odofin
Millennium Housing Estate Shasha
Millennium Housing Estate Oke-Eletu
Millennium Housing Estate Ibeshe
Millennium Housing Estate Lekki Scheme II
Oba Adeyinka Oyekan Housing Estate Lekki
Howson Wright Housing Estate Ojota
Ayangbunren Housing Estate Ikorodu
Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate Ikorodu
Jakande Housing Estate Amuwo-Odofin
Jakande Housing Estate Eric Moore
Michael Otedola Housing Estate Omole Phase II
Millennium Housing Estate Ojokoro
With the exception of the estate in Ikorodu, all others are within the Lagos
megacity region. The renovation works in the estates have not only enhanced the
value of the houses, but have also created healthy environments for the inhabitants.
They have also provided backward and forward linkage for activities in the housing
sector by generating employment for the locals who are encouraged to pay their taxes
from incomes derived during the renovation period. Structures have also been put in
place by the Ministry of Environment to engage professional facility managers to
continue the maintenance of the upgraded facilities in the estates for sustainability.
The government has also commenced the process of issuance of deeds of sublease to allottees, so that they can be registered to secure their property. The
documents provided can then serve as collateral for raising new funds.
Slum Upgrading, Redevelopment, and Social Transformation
Slum Upgrading
In the last one and a half decades, the Lagos state government has progressively
embarked on upgrading the slum communities and bringing them to a level conducive
to healthy living. A comprehensive Urban Renewal Programme was launched in
2001, which was based on a 1995 World Bank Study and covered 750 hectares of
largely swampy terrain. The government created the Lagos State Urban Renewal
Authority, which adopted a citywide approach supported by a $200 million World
Bank (International Development Association, IDA)–assisted credit intervention. It is
a 7-year upgrading project that commenced in October 2006 and ends in March 2013
(Lagos State Government 2009a). The project involves the upgrading of the worst 9
of the 42 slum communities identified in 1983. It targets 1.1 million inhabitants and
150,000 households whose average monthly income is about $170. The intervention
involves upgrading dilapidated roads or footpaths, provisioning public
toilets/bathrooms, sinking boreholes to provide water, building new schools and
upgrading existing ones, developing health facilities, and creating youth
empowerment through skill acquisition and capacity building.
Slum Redevelopment
For slum redevelopment, the government came up with a strategy of redeveloping
slums in partnership with the private sector for funding the project. The upgraded
slums in most cases feed into the redevelopment scheme.
Under this arrangement the property owners and tenants of the slums are duly
consulted. The owners contribute their properties for redevelopment though a
cooperative. Property developers are brought in to develop the property as high rise
building so as to prevent displacement of the occupiers. As most propertires affected
are mainly bungalows, the tendency is to redevelop the properties to 3 to 4 storey flats
to compensate for land use allocation to roads, drainages, open spaces in the new
developed areas and to avoid displacement of any of the residents of the slums. The
property owners are given reasonable compensation for contributing their properties.
After redevelopment, the property owners are allocated a three-bedroom flat in the
high building and given the opportunity to purchase additional flats from the
compensation received (plate 4.12).
During redevelopment the occupiers are temporarily displaced and provided
transit housing. They are also given relocation allowances during this period. A
typical example is the case at Oluwole in the Lagos Central Business District (CBD)
where 39 displaced families were provided better alternative accommodation and also
financially assisted to relocate. The residents were also equity holders in the
redevelopment of their former abode with a reversion of the entire development after
the redevelopment period.
This approach by the Lagos state government is a unique and a welcome strategy
for Nigeria. It is significant to note that past slum redevelopment in Lagos (such as
the one in Isale Eko, Maroko, and others) always led to some social dislocation. In
addition, the slum redevelopment projects in Lagos were preceded by surveys to
profile the communities. Community inclusion is an essential component of the urban
regeneration process, which allows communities to prioritise their needs and inform
the executing agency
The pursuit of slum redevelopment in this way ensured participation as the
fortune, future, and social networks of the property owners were assured. This project
was conceptualised at Isalegangan and to date about 13 families have signed up to
submit their properties for redevelopment. This is a win-win approach for everyone.
Plate 4.11 Slum redevelopment in Lagos megacity
Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Information and Information and strategy
Health
The peculiar demographic and geographical features of Lagos state have created more
challenges to its health-care system than any other state in Nigeria. The fact that 40
percent of the land mass is riverine, coupled with increasing urbanisation due to the
continuous flow of migrants from other parts of the country has posed great
challenges to health-care delivery. Thus, there are acute problems of communicable
diseases, malnutrition, and poor maternal and child health care.
As in other parts of Nigeria, the health-care system is organised along primary,
secondary, and tertiary levels. The government’s health-care policy and programmes
have been focused on the following:
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Free community-based primary health-care services.
Provision of comprehensive secondary health-care services.
Institution of the Health System Reform Programme (HSRP), which includes
take-off of the State Health Insurance Scheme (SHIS).
Improvement of the health-care system and its management.
Reduction of the disease burden and improved access to health services.
Fighting HIV/AIDS as a development issue.
Improvement in health resources and their management.
Improvement in the quality of health services.
Improvement in consumer awareness/community involvement.
Promoting of effective partnership/collaboration and coordination.
Establishing of a communication strategy for the HSRP.
Establishing of a performance monitoring and evaluation system.
Given the above, the Lagos state government embarked on the provision of propoor health-care programmes, including the following:
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Eko Free Malaria Programme.
Blindness Prevention Programme.
Limb Deformity Rehabilitation Programme.
Free treatment for expectant mothers, children upto 12 years of age, and
elderly people aged 60 years and above.
Emergency medical services incorporating the Lagos State Emergency
Medical Service (LASEMS) and Lagos State Ambulance Services
(LASAMBUS).
Commencement of the construction of maternal childcare centers in six
locations: Isolo, Ajeromi, Gbaja, Ikorodu, Ifako-Ijaye, and the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). These are expected to ease the
pressure on Ayinke House, the state’s premier gynaecology and obstetrics
centre.
In Nigeria tertiary health facilities are the preserve of the federal government. But, in
Lagos, with its population of about 18 million, the challenges of health-care services
are enormous. Prior to 1999, there was only one tertiary hospital, the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which was totally inadequate. This resulted in
the government sending a lot of people abroad for tertiary health services. It therefore
started improving health-care services from the tertiary level. The Ikeja General
Hospital was made a teaching hospital by Bola Tinubu’s administration, and the
government refurbished and upgraded the hospital to a level that was comparable to
any tertiary institution worldwide. Several projects that were started by the Tinubu
administration were completed by the Fashola administration. These included the
commissioning of the Bola Tinubu (BT) Ward, the B.T. Pediatric Complex, and the
diagnostic centre. A clinical service complex was built for lecturers working in the
College of Medicine of the Lagos State University and a cardiac/renal centre is under
construction at the upgraded Gbagada General Hospital. A trauma and burns centre is
also being constructed while the planning of a cancer centre is at an advanced stage.
The secondary tier of health-care services, which is mainly the preserve of the
state government, has also been improved tremendously. There are at present 24
general hospitals most of which have been or are being refurbished. Their scope of
services is being increased to bring them to the level of a fully fledged general
hospital. The state government has worked closely with the local government to
address the issue of primary health care. It has also made a conscious effort to look at
preventive health care as a strategy. For this, immunisation campaigns have been
intensified and many facilities been put in place at the primary health-care level. The
administration has equally focused on non-communicable diseases that have a high
mortality rate and have become prevalent in the state, including hypertension,
diabetes, and cancer. Preventive services including public enlightenment, screening
programmes, and public education have been embarked upon.
High mortality rates have been ascribed to the poverty level of Lagos’ inhabitants.
The state government has, therefore, embarked on the policy of free medical services
for tuberculosis patients, children under 10 years, and adults aged 60 years and above.
Antenatal and general basic maternal care are also free.
The institutional framework for health-care services has been revamped. The
Health Management Board has been decentralised and each hospital now has its own
governing board. The old Hospital Management Board has been repackaged to
become the Health Services Commission and its sole responsibility is to address the
issues of human resources (such as recruitment, training, remuneration, and so on) in
the health sector.
Plate 4.12 Health-care delivery
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Health.
Security
Security is an important pre-condition for human existence. Economic prosperity
thrives only in a situation of safety and security. Nowhere in Nigeria is the issue of
security more critical than in Lagos, which has a high incidence of armed robbery and
violent crimes including assassination attempts; car snatching; transportation union
unrest; religious, ethnic, and political riots; the menace of area boys/girls and other
miscreants; and vandalisation of pipelines and other installations. Ensuring the
security of lives and properties of about 18 million people as well as the continuous
influx of visitors within and outside Nigeria is essential to the development of Lagos
megacity. In addition only a safe and secure environment will bring in domestic or
international investors.
Although efforts had been made in the past to make Lagos safe, the government
has, since 1999, taken on the challenge and embarked on several strategies to combat
crime. These include the following:
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Establishment of the State Security Trust Fund (SSTF), in partnership with the
private sector.
Evolving of a comprehensive security strategy called the “Safe City Project,”
which will enable central security surveillance (CSS).
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Expansion, reorganisation, rekitting, and remotivation of the state’s Rapid
Response Squad (RRS).
Establishment of the Surveillance and Command Centre at Alausa, Ikeja.
Purchase of over 200 patrol vehicles.
Installation of a new communication system linking all security formations
(plate 4.14).
Provision of comprehensive insurance cover for all RRS members.
Establishment of Nigeria’s first dedicated emergency call centre, which can be
reached toll free on “767” and “112” numbers on all networks.
Launch of a joint military-police patrol code named Operation Mesa
(OPMESA) to complement the efforts of the State Police Command.
Installation of street name posts and directional signs to guide emergency
relief to crisis points/centres on time.
Installation of streetlights on major roads and streets to deter criminals and
enable effectiveness of security cameras.
Beefing up of the “Neighbourhood Watch,” a complementary community
security outfit made up of members of various communities who serve as
volunteers within their respective neighbourhoods.
Introduction of the Community Security Assembly (CSA) to educate people at
the grassroots about safety to their lives and property.
Publication of telephone numbers of senior police officers from the
commissioner of police down to heads of police departments for public usage
in case of distress.
Introduction of police information/complaints boxes at strategic locations all
over the state by the Force High Command.
All these interventions have gone a long way to drastically reducing crimes
especially armed robberies, car snatching, and riots, and have raised public
confidence in the capacity and ability of police officers to respond to distress
situations in different parts of the city.
Plate 4.13 Provision of security facilities in Lagos state
Source: Lagos State Government (2010) Ministry of Information and Strategy
Employment Generation
The issue of unemployment constitutes a major challenge to economic development
in Nigeria. In Lagos metropolis, the restiveness and evil tendencies among the youth
and particularly the “area boys” has been a problem. The “area boys” are the
unemployed, able-bodied men, possibly drug dependent, that harass people, mostly
motorists for money in broad daylight. Unemployment has been addressed by the
Lagos state government since 1999 through the introduction of several programmes
including training, creating projects that engage the hitherto unemployed, and
providing employment opportunities for several people.
The state has provided employment and employment opportunities for a lot of
people in the science and technology sector. Over 7,000 graduates called
“Millennium graduates” have been employed. They are given special training in
information technology (IT) and then become trainers themselves. They are
dispatched to various agencies of the government to train everyone from the top
echelons of the public service organisations to the lowest levels on the use of IT.
The government also created the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty
Alleviation (MWAPA) in 1999 to improve the lot of women and youth through
sustainable economic empowerment programmes. Various skills acquisition
centers were established at various locations for vocational skills/courses in areas
such as refrigeration and air conditioning, tile laying/pave-lock making,
aluminium fabrication, vulcanising/wheel balancing and alignment,
screen/transfer, printing technology, and shoe making.
Plate 4.14 Skill acquisition programmes
Source: Lagos State Government (2008) Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation
The ministry also introduced other poverty reduction initiatives, which included
microcredit lending through microfinance banks, and financial and material
empowerment of parents with multiple births and those that are physically
challenged. The first of such centers was commissioned in 2007 and since then one of
such centers has been established in each of the 20 local government areas of the
state. A total of 5,300 students have graduated from these skill acquisition centers.
Some of these graduates were formerly “area boys” whose incessant menace has now
been reduced drastically in Lagos.
Apart from this long-term training, the government has been organising regular
short-term vocational training and over 30,000 women across the state have benefited
in skills such as catering, soap and pomade manufacture decorations, production of
stove thread and insecticide, tie and dye, beads stringing, hat making, and hair
dressing (plate 4.15). The government established the Lagos State Microfinance
Institution (LASMI) to provide easy access to micro-credit loans for women and
youth to start their own businesses, especially those who benefited from the vocation
skill acquisition training programmes.
Credit loans are given automatically to the beneficiaries to purchase equipment
and commence their businesses. Such loans range from N20,000 to N100,000 and are
collateral free. The only requirement is that the beneficiaries inform the LASMI as to
where they live and provide them with a guarantor. The repayment of such loans has
been almost 100 percent. This is possible because the beneficiaries are particularly
sensitive to loan repayment, and they fear the consequences of default especially
within the highly regarded social system in which they reside. The LASMI has
partnered with eight banks for this programme. These are the Integrated, Gapbridge,
LASU, Ojokoro, MIC, City Serve, G.L., and Infinity Micro-Finance banks. Almost
25,000 persons have benefited from the programme since its inception in 2008. The
government’s micro-credit scheme has been a useful tool to alleviate poverty and
create employment.
One of the major job-creating projects is the construction of the Lekki Free Trade
Zone (FTZ), which is being developed with a Chinese consortium. While the Lagos
state government has provided the land as equity contribution, the Chinese
consortium is funding the infrastructure (including power, water, sewage, and some
roads) for the first phase. The agreement with the Chinese is that there would be some
skill transfer to the local Nigerians. There are four Nigerians working with every
Chinese on this project to acquire the necessary skills. The local communities are
given jobs that they are capable of handling, which is a source of employment
creation.
Under a special arrangement, the Lagos State Drivers’ Owners Association has
been assisted with loans to purchase brand new vehicles to create jobs, alleviate
poverty, and improve the transportation system within Lagos megacity.
Revenue Enhancement
The key sources of revenue generation in Lagos state are taxes, federal monies
(allocations), bonds, land-use charges, sales tax, development assistance, lotteries,
joint ventures, and concessioning arising from PPPs.
The state’s internally generated revenue profile has been rising since 1999. It rose
from N7 billion a month in 1999 to N11 billion in 2008 and was more than N15
billion in 2010. It is expected to reach N25 billion in 2020.
Improved government financial controls and other steps intended to create a
favourable climate for investment have seen confidence grow in Lagos as a
destination for investors. An agreement for the largest direct funding of a sub-national
government had been concluded between the Lagos state government and World
Bank. Multilateral donor partnerships include $150 million for public transportation,
$100 million for water expansion, and $200 million for a slum-upgrading project.
Some programmes are designed to train and educate all sectors of the society.
Together with job creation strategies, these create large corps of skilled employed
people and, in turn, develop new markets.
The potential in the growing market of Lagos for investment is already recognised
by many foreign companies. For example, LG Electronics, a global home appliance
company, has opened a N600 million plant in Apapa to produce products for Lagos
state and beyond. As stated by Mrs. Olusola Oworu, Special Adviser to the Governor
on Commerce, Lagos “is ready for business.” The intention of the government is to
make Lagos “the Dubai of West Africa.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Lessons Learned
The implementation of the different reforms discussed in chapter 4, were all aimed at
promoting effective, equitable, participatory, and accountable governance as well as the
security of life and property. No doubt the implementation of these reforms presents its
own challenges from which several lessons can be learned. In this chapter, an attempt has
been made to capture some of these lessons including the:

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
Evolving of an institutional framework for effective service delivery.
Promotion of participatory governance.
Putting in place of structures for effective resource mobilisation, transparency,
and accountability.
Planning and strategic visioning of development.
Information and communication technology (ICT) and use of data for planning.
Evolving Institutional Framework for Effective Service Delivery
The growth, structure, and extent of Lagos megacity and its fragmentation into several
local governments (eight in number) demands an innovative governance structure. This
manifests in the reforms undertaken for policies, legislations, and institutions in the past
decade and a half. The state government passed several legislations and policies and
established many metropolitan-wide parastatals for effective service delivery in such
areas as solid waste management, health-care delivery, transportation, security, water
supply, pollution, and land-use planning. These are citywide services that constituent
local governments cannot handle in isolation. These response needs are to be extended to
the handling of central sewage disposal in the city. These parastatals include the Lagos
State Emergency Management Authority ((LASEMA), Lagos State Emergency Medical
Services (LASEMS), Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Lagos
Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), and so on. There is the need to work
out a modality for promoting effective interagency relationship between these parastatals
and local governments for service delivery.
Many cities that are fragmented into several local governments, which is an emerging
and enduring phenomenon, can learn from the Lagos experience by creating a similar
structure.
Promotion of Participatory Governance
In the spirit and principle of democracy, which means “government of the people by the
people and for the people,” the state government embraced a participatory approach to
promoting development. The government made it a point of duty to mainstream
participation in promoting development issues in all sectors of development. This
practice is a complete reversal of the top-down approach, which characterised the
military era.
Stakeholders’ engagement has been institutionalised through active consultations with
a broad spectrum of the community that is either going to be affected or benefit from a
policy, programme, or project. For any project, the government does the preliminary
work and comes up with a draft proposal that it presents to a target audience at a formal
gathering within the beneficiary community. For policy formation, which oftentimes
results in legislation, the stakeholders’ engagement is even more involving. After the
initial series of consultations leading to policy formulation, the draft legislation is sent to
the state assembly (legislature) which after the first and second readings and committee
considerations, organises the stakeholders’ forum on the proposed bill. Inputs from such
interactions eventually result in modification to the bill before its enactment. The Lagos
State Urban Regional Planning and Development Law 2005 went through this process
before its enactment. It contains elaborate and copious provisions for the preparation of
an urban development plan.
In addition, town hall meetings have been institutionalised. Here the various
communities aggregate at the community centers where they are briefed about
government programmes and positions and achievements by members of the executive
council and high-ranking government officials. At such interactions, questions are asked
and requests made by members of such communities for government action. The media is
also often used and press briefings are done periodically for informing the general public
about the government’s plan, programme, or policy.
One of the major lessons from the Lagos experiment is the importance of community
participation and inclusion in the decision-making process for any undertaking that
concerns the community. The Lagos state government and consultants on development
projects organise stakeholders’ fora to include communities in the planning and decisionmaking process and ongoing strategies, which consider the cosmopolitan background of
the people of Lagos.
Another lesson learned is the effectiveness of the application of the bottom-top
approach rather than the traditional top-down approach, which has been put into place at
the three levels—local, state, and federal. Public enlightenment is used to bring planning
to the grassroots.
Urban management and development programmes and projects are capital intensive.
In Nigeria, as in most other developing countries, there has been a continuous
dependence on government statutory allocations. In Lagos the success of many projects
has been attributed to the strategy of public-private participation.
Also a major lesson from the Lagos experience is the usefulness of data collection,
storage, and utilisation. Lagos state is perhaps the best in Nigeria in the statistical
documentation and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to resolve
complexities of land use and as an aid to making day-to-day decisions.
Putting in Place a Structure for Effective Resource Mobilisation, Transparency, and
Accountability
The hallmark of the achievements of the Lagos state government over the decade and a
half under consideration is the aggressive attitude toward resource mobilisation, using
internally generated revenue (IGR), and involving the private sector. This has been
matched also by putting in place an effective and transparent accounting system.
Participation is also one of the strategies for ensuring prompt payment of taxes—the state
government involves the people, educating them on the values of paying taxes. The
government-introduced e-payment system has cut off ghost workers and ensured a
transparent and accountable system.
Planning and Strategic Visioning of Development
Another lesson is the role accorded to planning, especially, fiscal planning and
projection, strategic visioning of development, and adoption of long-term land-use plans
for all sectors in the state, which is highly commendable and enviable. All settlements in
the state have land-use plans. The state has an operative poverty reduction strategy,
which is backed by 10-point agenda focusing on poverty reduction. The strategy paper is
also backed by a medium-term sector strategy, which ensures that funds are available for
implementing government projects.
Use of ICT and Data for Planning
The state accorded high priority to the use of ICT and establishment of databases for
planning, monitoring, and evaluation. The state needs to be commended for use of a georeferenced database through the use of GIS images, a strategy worth emulating by other
cities in Nigeria.
CHAPTER SIX
Conclusion
The accounts of this report indicate that rapid urbanisation transformed Lagos into a
megacity with associated social and environmental problems, which make demands on
good governance. It has documented the challenges of developing the city, the reform
processes, changes that have taken place, and the success story of these efforts from
1999–2011 during the Tinubu-Fashola administrations.
Undoubtedly, in the last one-and-a-half decades a lot of progress has been made in
the good governance of Lagos megacity. The accounts underscore best practices in city
governance, planning, development, and management as well as institutional reforms and
resource re-mobilisation.
With Lagos megacity merging imperceptibly with settlements in Ogun State, there is
the need for inter-governmental cooperation between Ogun state, Lagos state, the federal
government, and the various local government areas in promoting service delivery in the
megacity. Lagos megacity is one of the largest conurbations and emergent urban
corridors in West Africa. The Lagos megacity region consists of the 153,340 hectares of
built-up area, comprising most of the local government areas of Lagos state and four
local governments in Ogun state namely Ado-Odo/Otta, Ifo, Obafemi Owode, and
Sagamu. The case for this kind of collaboration has been well made by the Presidential
Committee on Re-Development of Lagos Megacity Region which says that:
An institutional arrangement to facilitate the implementation of the
many recommendations for transforming and re-developing the Lagos
Megacity Region is proposed. It is a three-tier arrangement with a
President’s Council for constant dialogue and strategic decisionmaking by the President with the governors of both Lagos and Ogun
States; a Megacity Intergovernmental Committee of relevant
Ministries at both the Federal and the two-state levels; and a Lagos
Megacity Transportation and Planning Authority with a Policy Board
of political actors and a Management Board of professionals.
With the expectation that Lagos megacity will become the third-largest in the world
in 2015, there is need to overhaul and expand the responsibility for its planning and
development beyond the Lagos state government alone. Apart from the public sector
involvement through the other levels of government, the emphasis on public-private
partnership (PPP) should continue and all the strategies that have created the success
reported in this study should be continuously adopted. All the legislative reforms
necessary to make multi-government and private sector participation possible must be
undertaken so that the right, friendly, and sustainable social, political, and economic
environment will be available to the city’s inhabitants.
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