A continental pro-democracy and human rights organization, Pan African Radical Congress (PARC), has faulted the recent report of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), ranking Lagos as the Fourth Worst City to live in the world.
The organization’s General Secretary, Folashade Aransiola, in a statement Tuesday described the ranking report as faulty, uninformed, ridiculous and unacceptable, asserting that the report was not only an effort in futility but also a good material for the trash can.
According to the statement, if Lagos is that bad, “why are people gravitating towards the city from all parts of the world for social, economic and cultural bliss?” putting it to the report researchers to tell the world why Lagos is the most sought after by those people moving towards the city for comfort, enjoyment and safety?!
The statement lectured the EIU that, the world over, people gravitate towards countries and states where infrastructures are developed, where there is security of life and property and where there is ease of doing business adding that, “all the aforementioned qualities of places to settle comfortably are found in Lagos since the advent of the present democratic dispensation in 1999.
If the recent worrisome events that shook the state to its very foundations were not expertly handled by the Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, perhaps, this jaundice report would have sunk properly but it is gratifying to realise that they were tackled with intelligence and expertise that allows the state to survive and its economy keeps booming.
Quoting from an interview granted by a renowned activist and National President/Convener of the Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), Comrade Razaq Olokoba, Aransiola said: “The sad experiences I was talking about were like what Japan suffered sometimes in the past. Japan has suffered Atomic crisis twice. That is a good excuse for Japan not to be in the comity of developed nations again. It was a very sad experience because the danger for any country to experience atomic crisis twice is enormous. But Japan survived and took a short cut to development. And here they are today. For you to mention 10 biggest economies in the world today, Japan would be one of such countries. When you want to gauge the quality of life in the world, Japan is number one. So, many things like that.”
The same thing, Aransiola continued, applied to Sanwo-Olu, whose administration tackled the COVID-19 pandemic and #EndSARS riot, wondering how he came out of COVID-19 pandemic neatly and #EndSARS imbroglio unscratched!
Thank God that the EIU report acknowledged this feat in their report confirming that, in the sphere of health, Lagos is a safe place to live in as testified to by the international bodies, the United Nation (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), that showered commendations on the governor for a good job done.
On the economy, the PARC Scribe called attention to its buoyancy that ranks just the state with other countries in Africa in terms of tabulation and Lagos found her way to be the fifth economy in Africa under Governor Sanwo-Olu’s leadership.
Aransioala however acknowledged the foundation laid by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1999-2007) and Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), 2007 -2015 when they were governors earlier and lauded Sanwo-Olu for being a good manager who sustains the tempo to get the state on top and become the reference point for others.
Talking about the Transportation System, the organization gave kudos to the present administration which he describe as a safe hand, reminding how Sanwo-Olu embarked on a tour of the United State of America (USA), to ship home new car metro train for the state’s rail project and since then, Lagos has become the cynosure of all eyes as the project has been progressing from one stage to another and thereby reducing the traffic hiccups in the city.
The waterway was not also neglected as at a time, seven (7) new boats were handed over to Lagos Ferry Service (LAGFERRY), by the governor to improve water transportation in the state, and thereby boost the economy of the state through safe and faster transportation system.
The Seven new boats were MF Elegushi (30 passengers), MF Apapa (30 passengers), MF Onigando (30 passengers), MF Majidun (30 passengers), MF Zangbeto (50 Passengers), MF Eko Akete (50 passengers), and MF Ehingbeti (Utility boat). And it is interesting to note that all the new boats were built by Nigerian boat builders with the promise of the governor to support local manufacturers. And since then, improvement has not ceased to be in progress.
Still on healthcare delivery, it could be recalled that, appreciating the damage unsafe water could cause in a densely populated city like Lagos and that, most water borne diseases like cholera are mostly communicable, Sanwo-Olu has since put in place machinery for water security in the state. we can go on and on, Aransiola stated in the statement.
Concluding, the organization asserted that, “if Lagos security is not tight and the ease of doing business in non-existent, no reasonable human being will make her his first choice in terms of where to live and do business,” Aransiola observed submitting that, “the report of the EIU on Lagos is nothing but fake and therefore, unacceptable.”
