Lagos
State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday said that the first
set of 5000 brand new buses under the Bus Reform Initiative, a brain
child of his administration, would be flagged off within the next six
months.
Governor
Ambode, who spoke when students of the prestigious Harvard Kennedy
School of Government, United States of America, paid him a courtesy
visit at the Lagos House in Ikeja, said that his administration was
working round the clock to revolutionalise the transportation system in
the State and improve the way and manner 23 million Lagosians commute
daily.
Fielding
questions from the visiting students, Governor Ambode alluded to the
fact that an integrated transportation system was key to growing the
economy of the State, Governor Ambode said the 5000 new buses would be
the first step by his administration to change the existing
transportation system predominantly driven by the yellow buses,
popularly known as danfo.
The
Governor said: “In the last one year, we have decided that we must
integrate rail, road water and air transportation systems in such a way
that the system of connectivity is improved upon and I would like to
have a direct partnership on how that can actually be actualised.
“Right
now we are cleaning out all the yellow buses you see in the State. As
we proceed in the next six months and a span of three years, we are
introducing 5000 new buses of European standard to actually clean up the
city because if you want to grow the economy of Lagos, transportation
is key and then it’s a major infrastructure for tourism itself.”
Governor
Ambode noted that the dependence on road transportation in the last two
decades, as the major means of transportation in the State has give
rise to a chaotic system where about eight million Lagosians commute
across the State every minute.
“The
question is how do you move 23 million people on a daily basis from
point A to point B with ease and comfort? So the way the city has been
so designed in the last few years, the city has actually concentrated on
only one mode of transportation, which is road transportation. There
has not been any comprehensive planning to integrate all the modes of
transportation in a way that makes it easy.
“There
are eight million people walking on the streets of Lagos every minute,
did we create more points for them. The answer is no. We have one-fifth
of the State on water, are we doing effective water transportation, the
answer is no. The rail system is still under construction in such a way
that it can move mass number of people from one point to another. That
is why we have a whole lot of congestion on the road,” the Governor
said.
Besides,
Governor Ambode said that State Government had made series of
intervention to improve road transportation network through the creation
of more bus terminals, lay bys, bus stops to accommodate the eventual
take off of the Bus Reform Initiative.
The
Governor also disclosed that the reforms in the water transportation
system was ongoing and would take off fully within the next six to nine
months, as a means to encourage residents to utilise it as an
alternative means of transportation.
Governor
Ambode also listed urban migration as one of the major challenges his
administration was contending with just as he revealed that about 86
persons enter into Lagos on a daily basis without any plan to go back.
He
said the attending consequence of such migration was evident on the
State’s healthcare system as well as the 13,000 tonnes of waste
generated daily in the State on a daily basis, saying that his
administration however must continue to think outside the box to provide
solutions to such infrastructural challenges.
People fly
in from Ghana to come and use our hospitals here in Lagos. So we now
have to sit down beyond what we have learnt in school to look at the
practical challenges of urban migration and good governance and things
we have to mitigate against a population that is unaccounted for,”
Governor Ambode said.
Thanking the
Students for choosing to visit Lagos, he tasked them to go beyond
acquiring leadership skills, but also get involved in policy formulation
and implementation in their various domains.
Earlier,
immediate past Vice President, International Affairs of Harvard Kennedy
School, Mrs. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji said the team was proud of the
exploits of the Governor in the last two years, noting that despite the
major challenges of urbanisation Lagos was facing, there was appreciable
level of progress.
“I
am overwhelmed with joy that I can bring some of the brightest and the
best brains in the world to come and see the beauty, the greatness, the
resilience, the talent and accomplishment of Nigeria. Lagos is the
staple success story of Nigeria. I know Nigeria is not where it ought to
be, but I know a State that is sustaining itself by itself under a
crucial administration that understands how people should feel, she
said.”
Thanking
the Governor for receiving the Students, she said that the visit was to
explore possible areas of partnership with staff of the State’s Public
Service through research fellowships, policy analysis exercises,
collaborations on talent, capabilities and constructive criticisms to
move the State forward.
