LAGOS HAS CAPACITY FOR POTENTIAL GROWTH – SSG

The Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello on Monday stated that Lagos has the capacity and potential of becoming the African version of a Hong Kong in the next 50 years.

 

Speaking at the Special “Lagos State Showcase Session” at the ongoing 2017 Nigerian Bar Association Annual Conference held at the Landmark Event Centre, Oniru Estates, Bello said the greatest challenge against that attainment is the present federalist structure.

In his words: “Let me give you a clear poser. Would the Apapa Port and the Lagos International Airport remain so derelict and obsolete if they were allowed to be managed by proper private investors under the local authorities as it is in most advanced economies?”

“The promise of true federalism is to unbundle and exploit the untapped and hidden potentials of each State, create employment opportunities for our teeming working population, particularly for the large army of unemployed to guarantee a better future for us all” he added.

 

Bello called for a stoppage to the present practice of skewed federalism or “military federalism” being camouflaged as genuine federalism, stating that most States are currently hemorrhaging socio-economically.

He added that the nation is supposed to have a federation governed by federalist concepts and principles, but in reality, the government is being run as a nation on a unitary platform.

He emphasized that Lagos has been leading in championing the principles of true federalism since 1999, adding that this has been done at a great inconvenience and is a humongous sacrifice.

The SSG observed that Lagos is the most cosmopolitan, economically viable and hospitable State in West Africa, noting that it has become a sprawling megacity characterized by rapid urbanization and an attendant increase in population.

He, therefore, urged lawyers to join forces with the Lagos State Government in genuine institution building, stressing that it is time now to collaborate and unlock the States, saying: “The time of sitting on the fence is over”.