Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on
Tuesday received the Certificate of Admission of the State as one of the 100
Resilient Cities (100RC) in the world pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation,
saying that it was a starting point and a positive partnership that would help
the State address the challenges of urban planning, transport gridlock,
environment and modern infrastructure.
Governor Ambode, who spoke at the presentation of the certificate held
at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, said the development was not only
historic in the annals of the State but a confirmation that the efforts to
build a globally competitive State had received international recognition.
The Governor said it was gratifying to note that despite the challenges
faced by the State in many areas including transportation, security, ocean
surge, flooding, high unemployment rate, pressure on physical and social
infrastructure, growth of slums and a huge housing deficit, Lagos remained resilient
and ever progressive.
While alluding to the objective of his administration to make every
community in Lagos economically liveable and stem rural-urban flight, the
Governor said deliberate initiatives have been put in place to address the
housing deficit, transport challenges and economic development, among others.
He said: “We acknowledge these challenges and needs; and now as a
member of the 100 resilient Cities of the World, we have a platform to compare
notes with cities who have similar experiences and create innovative and
mitigating strategies.
“Lagos is currently home to about 23 million inhabitants with an
estimated 86 people moving into Lagos every hour. This creates challenges of
managing a daily increase in human and vehicular movement,” he said.
The Governor, who said that resilience had always been part of the
Lagos story, said despite the fact that the State remained the smallest state
in Nigeria by geographical size, it is the largest by population and economic
power.
He particularly recalled the manner with which Lagos contained the
outbreak of the Ebola virus in 2015 and secured residents from a terrible
epidemic.
While speaking on the plans for the State, Governor Ambode said his
administration was currently in partnership with the Agence Francaise de
Development (AFD) to upgrade 2 blighted settlements in Bariga and Amukoko.
“We have initiated many interventions all over the State to shorten
road travel time and we are in talks with the Japanese International
Corporation Agency (JICA) to introduce rail transportation in the Ikoyi-Lekki
corridor. We have also engaged in massive road construction and opening-up of
our rural communities, continuous clearance of drainages and the upgrade and
construction of Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs). Our objective is to make
every community in Lags economically liveable and stem rural-urban flight.
“In response to the high unemployment figures, we created the Lagos
State Employment Trust Fund to provide cheap source of funding to our young
entrepreneurs and SME’s. The Fund started disbursement to beneficiaries in
December 2016 and more funds will be made available to in the coming months to
stimulate economic activity and get more of our young people employed.
“The ocean surge is a huge challenge and the Lagos State Government in
partnership with notable investors have invested in the development of Eko
Atlantic City to not only contain the ocean surge but to deliver a new city
which will be a future financial, commercial and tourism centre,” he said.
In his opening remarks, Lagos State Commissioner
for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Akinyemi Ashade said the
selection of Lagos among the 100 Resilient Cities was sign post of a new dawn
for the State in terms of ability to adapt to some of the risks and shocks it
may be exposed to and how to effectively treat and overcome them.
He recalled how Governor Ambode issued a directive
in August 2016 for commencement of process for Lagos to be selected, adding
that the feat, apart from taking the delivery of electoral promises a
notch higher in terms of concrete and measurable deliverables to the citizenry,
would also compliment the vision of the present administration to make Lagos
Africa's model mega city of choice.
Earlier, President of 100 Resilient Cities, Mr
Michael Berkowitz said out of the over 1,000 applications received and three
rounds of selection process, Lagos was chosen for its innovative leadership,
infrastructural strides and influential status not just in Africa but in the
world.
He said the organization, by the initiative, was
hoping to help cities change the way they think about their resilient
opportunities and to see an integration between challenges.
"Sometimes cities think about transport, just
about moving people; housing, just about housing people; economic development,
just about creating jobs but cities get better when they think about those
things in an inter-related way.
"We are trying to inspire a movement across
the world to change the way cities approach their risks and opportunities and
so Lagos is not just the most influential city in West Africa or the continent
but around the world and that was very appealing to us," Berkowitz
said.
The Governor later signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
Mayor of Paynesville, Liberia, Mrs Cyvette Gibson, which would facilitate
information sharing around resilience in the two cities with the view to bring
about economic development.
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