Chukwudi Nweje
Ahead of his May 29 inauguration, Lagos State governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has assured that the Apapa gridlock will be resolved in his first 60 days in office.
Sanwo-Olu spoke at the weekend, in Lagos, during a congratulatory dinner organised in his honour by the 1999/2000 MBA class of University of Lagos (UNILAG).
He blamed the Federal Government for the gridlock, saying it is playing politics with the road.
He said: “If the government had been forward looking, it would have known that the volume of imports coming through the Apapa Wharf has since out-grown the port. The Apapa trailer issues is very serious. It was a campaign issue, it is a very serious issue. There is a lot of politics being played around it, but we cannot give excuses. I believe we are going to solve it in the first 60 days. We will take them out.
“Five to 10 years ago, if we were forward looking, we would have realised that the city has outgrown that port. The long term solution is to build another port because the amount of importation that comes through that port clearly shows we need another port.”
Sanwo-Olu also said Lagos as a mega city has its peculiar challenges but that what matters is how the government is positioned to turn the challenges into opportunities.
“Twenty years ago, Lagos did not have the kind of environment it has today. Lagos did not have 22 million population. Lagos did not have the highest vehicular density in Africa. What has happened is that we have seen growth, we have seen development all around the city, we have seen wealth being created and, of course, a mega city of this status will come with its own challenges, it comes with its own nuisances. But the issue is how can we turn all these nuisances and challenges to opportunities and how well is government positioned to be able to handle these challenges?” Sanwo-Olu said.
He said his administration will be focused on the central theme ‘THENES’, which he said is designed to capture all facets of governance and welfare of the people of Lagos.
THENES, he said, represents Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Needs, including housing, ease of doing business and power; Entertainment and Tourism; and Security.
He promised to pursue an integrated transportation system that will encompass road, rail and the waterways to address the transportation problems of the state.
“What we are trying to do is an integrated transport system using the BRT, the rail and the waterways. We are looking at a situation where road will work, water will work and rail will work.
“The waterway in Lagos is not like the waterway you see in Amsterdam or Boston that meandered well through the city. The waterway in Lagos is just one big massive water flowing from one direction to the other without any stoppage in between,” he said.