Femi Ezekiel
In any dynamic society, the business of governance is such that rapid development takes place when a political office holder, in the case of a governor, thinks outside the box to provide the necessities of life to touch the lives of the people. Unarguably, the recent inauguration and subsequent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the Lagos/Ogun Joint Development Commission by the two governors, Mr. Jide Sanwo-Olu and Prince Dapo Abiodun, was an auspicious move long overdue to look into the myriad of problems and to fast-track various meaningful developments, such as physical planning, traffic, and transportation, urban renewal, water supply, sanitation, security, road infrastructure, revenue collection, amongst other opportunities which have eluded residents of border communities in the two states.
The commission is a baby of the two governors, no doubt about that. The inauguration and subsequent signing of the agreement would go a long way to setting the tone for the accelerated development of the neglected border communities that have been in dire need, owing to several years of conflicts, resulting in blame game by some state governments.
Oftentimes, the issue of revenue collection also leads to conflicts between states, which occasionally fight over ownership of the territories. The Commission is expected to saddle itself with the responsibility of resolving boundary disputes between the two states.
Governor Abiodun, in his welcome address, underscored the full operationalisation of the joint effort, a development he said underscored the readiness of both states to work together.
According to him, the official inauguration will further initiate and accelerate more projects necessary to aid ease of doing business, movement of people, goods, and services, as well as boost industrialisation in all the border communities. He believes this will also ensure the wholesome development of the states.
He noted that the success story was as a result of a formal and structured framework of the bilateral engagement that would soon get legislative backing.
“Yes, it is undeniable that we share historical and cultural affinities and long before now, successive administrations have mouthed and attempted to have some omnibus or spatial arrangement to have Lagos and Ogun states work together.
“But, again, never had there been a time that this was concretised or encoded nor, a law-backed structure, institutional arrangement; human and funding resource requirements formalised to actualise what remains the right way to uplift our people and also improve their prosperity.
“So, what we are signing today, is a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that takes cognizance of what had been envisioned, leading to the establishment of the Prof Akin Mabogunje’s Committee on Redeployment of Lagos Megacity Region Plan 2005-2006.
“Between the two of us-my brother Governor and I, it is a mission accomplished and a dream come true to put into action the thought about our two states forging a common alliance to jointly tackle issues bordering on security, sanitation, traffic and transportation, waste management, water supply, land use planning, infrastructure development and maintenance, urban renewal and slum upgrading for the mutual benefit of our people and the generality of Nigerians.
“All these development imperatives have to be streamlined for us to be serious and focused. What is more? This MoU we are signing is a culmination of various efforts by state and non-state actors who have seen beyond the geographical delineation of our states. Already, some state-owned institutions, like the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), and others have always recognised the twin or siamese relationship between our two states and have always been grouped Lagos and Ogun as one zone under their respective high command.
“This MoU is, therefore, a manifestation of the common dream that the nation’s largest economy and the nation’s industrial capital are forging, because both are deliberate, focused, and methodical to governance.
“Before now, together, we had jointly written, formally to President Muhammadu Buhari to release the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta and the Ikorodu-Sagamu roads, respectively, to us to jointly reconstruct. Another manifestation of our working together is the Adiyan Water Works that, though, is in Ogun State, is supplying water to the people of Lagos State, and will also be supplying water to Ogun State.
“We are cognisant of the fact that Ogun State is the only neighbour that Lagos has and that we are a natural overflow of Lagos. There is no way development in Lagos would not have a spiral effect or vice versa,” said Abiodun.
The governor stressed that Ogun State has a larger percentage of the population over-spill from Lagos State as witnessed in many of the border communities, like Ota, Akute, Alagbole, Lambe, Ojodu; Agbado; Mowe; Marewa; Isheri; and indeed all the eight local government areas that share boundaries with Lagos State.
In the same vein, the Sanwo-Olu, recalled the historical emergence of Lagos as a megacity with a population of well-over 22 million people and what the state government has done to realise its dream towards expediting action for greater synergy with other states, especially Ogun for sustainable socio-economic development.
He, therefore, described the MoU as a “game-changer” that would transform the urban agglomeration that Lagos State had attained. “In the light of the current global best practices, it has become imperative that the best way to accelerate socio-economic development in Lagos and Ogun states is by embracing a more collaborative approach for growth, development, and urban sustainability.
“The Joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a sustainable development agenda under which Lagos and Ogun states will combine resources to meet our present socio-economic needs and prepare for the future.
“Our commitment towards ensuring that Lagos becomes a 21st Century economy makes it imperative for us to strategically collaborate with our closest neighbour, Ogun State for the joint development of our states. The continued growth of our cities and the co-creation of value that encompasses good governance and urban regeneration,” remarked Sanwo-Olu.
While appraising the novel idea of the two governors, an investment expert cum a broker, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, who was once a gubernatorial candidate in the state, patted the duo on the back for the initiative, a development, he said, would go a long way to address the myriad of problems occasioned by the long years of neglects of the various border communities between the two states.
According to him, the birth of the Commission would serve as a catalyst to look at those areas, eight local governments, out of the 20 in Ogun State, that share common boundaries with Lagos, to have easy access to each other, with the provision of good road network, security, and physical planning, owing to their contiguous nature.
He said: “Apart from funding, the Commission can come up with various forms of sourcing to finance these projects, either through the government’s support or through the private sector or by approaching development institutions for funds or, special funds, or, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)-ecology and habitat-to buy into the development of this sector.
“Lagos State is already congested and it would aid the flow of the people into Ogun State where there are more available potentials to accommodate the influx. We have examples of our neighbours in the Atlantic Ocean, they are welcome.
“What these border communities require are linkage bridges over rivers and constructions over the terrains, to have access to good roads. What this translates into, is the birth of this Commission whose responsibility is to swing into action and provide the necessary intervention for the development of these communities.”
Besides, Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, who is also the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) to the governor, underscored the importance of the MoU, as beneficial to fostering collaboration in many areas of interest, such as physical planning, slum regeneration, and environmental challenges.
He believes this will engender cooperation in revenue and tax management, especially along with the border communities and that this will ensure effective coordination in transport infrastructure development; security collaboration, such as intelligence sharing and exchange; joint venture and partnership in agriculture and food security, given the size of Ogun state’s vast arable land and huge consumer demand in Lagos.
It will also aid industrialisation and cost-effective logistics development; and efficient port logistics can be achieved in collaboration with Lagos State through a coordinated call-up system where Ogun State provides holding bays/parks for trailers heading to Apapa ports, to reduce traffic congestion in Lagos, owing to significant vehicular movement within Lagos.
Invariably, it is expected that residents of Igbesa/Ijila in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area and Ibaragun, Akute, amongst others in Ifo Local Government Area, do not have any cause to worry, if and when the Commission is fully on track and it starts hitting the ground running. It can adequately cater for the swift development of these border communities. But it is to be noted that, with such developments to take place, inhabitants should show more understanding and expect to contribute to the cost implications, such as demolition of structures that might be affected in the cause of the rehabilitation or reconstruction of roads. It boils down to sacrificing or paying for it.
As a popular saying goes, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” It behooves the inhabitants to be alive to their civic responsibilities of paying their taxes and revenues as and when due. Through this gesture, it brings everybody into the tax net more than ever before.
Therefore, the revenues that are being generated from these areas can also be ploughed back to make provisions for the basic needs and even-spread of development to the border communities.
Ezekiel wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State
