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YARADUA’S LAGOS-OGUN MEGA CITY: A CALL TO NATIONAL CONSCIENCE
By Nasiru Nash Haruna
Published: February 24, 2008
On July 23, 2007 there were widespread publications by various national newspapers of President
Yar’Adua’s supercilious and preposterous meeting with the governors of Lagos and Ogun states of
his proposed mega city for Lagos, which would encroach on Ogun state. It is to ameliorate
whatever problems Lagos may be facing. The developmental problem facing Lagos is not different
from that of any other Nigerian city. It is all about failed federalism akin to colonialism saddled with
corrupt and inept leadership without the foresight and concern about citizens’ welfare and urban
growth and development. Even so, this is a belated plan and paradox of the movement of the federal
capital from Lagos to Abuja and failure to create economic and industrial states on regional lines to
diffused economic emigration to Lagos from other states.
There is need for constant review of the unpredictable growth of any city. The locals can best
handle it in a true federalism that is devoid of tribal imperialism and oppression of the disorganized
minorities. With all due respect and sense of responsibility, this is a misplaced priority, wasteful
economic empowerment of a single state and obvious irrelevance of south-south and the voiceless
Nigerian communities that need development. Such insensitive feeling to south-south conditions,
yearnings and aspirations is no doubt a call to national conscience, test of south-south leadership
and commitment to the development of south-south being the revenue generating center of Nigeria.
This meeting is a diversionary tactics under the drawing board of the present regime to derail the
much-anticipated development of the south-south. It is a modified ploy, designed to perpetually
impoverish and under develop the region. This can be seen in the continuous awful Benin-Lagos
expressway, inoperable seaports, lack of portable water and massive environmental degradation and
pollution of the region whose environment is being sacrificed daily for revenue generation.
Therefore, in about fifteen years from now, most diseases in the south-south would be idiopathic
and cancerous in nature due to lack of environmental regulations of hazardous waste and oil
pollution.
It is time for the south-south leadership to forget about political, cultural and religious bickering and
form a united front in proffering meaningful unbiased and desirable socio-economic plan to any
Abuja ego and power, not just for the entire south-south, but for the nation at large. Through
various political distractions and manipulations by president Obasanjo and his cronies, over fifty oil
wells of Delta state were given to Ondo state so as to make it a leading oil producing state by all
means. Also, Obasanjo ensured that the proposed mega gas plant was located in Ogun state, his
home state. This would no doubt bring development, job opportunities and huge taxes for that state,
just as it is the tradition of oil companies to pay taxes and royalties to Lagos state government where
they have their corporate headquarters and mega staff quarters located. Yet no south-south leader
dared Obasanjo for fear of contract denial or refusal of appointment into federal agencies or denial
of opportunity for reelection. Yet Bayelsa state has no major oil company infrastructural presence.
So, where is the mega city money coming from? Or better still where did Abuja money come from?
Even such failure to act led to the successful passing of the obnoxious Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) Act that empowers the federal government to deduct and contribute 15% of
the statutory allocations of the oil producing states to the NDDC. This is wrong. If there is going to
be any help for the development of Niger Delta that help must come from Abuja and the federation
account. Therefore, the south-south leaders should request for an amendment of that Act. It is
taking from Peters earnings to service his salary. In any case, it does not change anything or
increase Peters income or improve Peter well-being.
Currently south-south leadership is more concerned about who becomes governor, minister or
commissioner instead of focusing on the major problems of environmental degradation, economic
exploitation and deprivation. Sometimes they engage in trivial issues of communal dispute or
fabricated incident of governor conviction as ex-convict. Such actions are: divide and rule tactics,
designed by Abuja ego and power to create confusion and distraction amongst the south-south and
other minority ethnic groups so as to overshadow the injustice being perpetrated in these regions.
Hence, the bold assertion of the one time governor of Niger state, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure that south-
south has no “credible leaders†may some day need to be reexamined.
This is bore out of the fact that most south-south leaders only pretend to cry wolf to get juicy
contracts and Abuja settlement. Unfortunately, south-south indigenes are looked upon as cows and
slaves whose usefulness is only limited to the amount of oil and gas that can be extracted from that
region regardless of the pain and suffering inflicted on the people. Now all blames are being heaped
on the last governors of south-south of underdevelopments of the region. No one cares about
history any more because of individual ambition, greed and Abuja Lord Lugards tactics of divide and
rule. Of all the governors that governed Delta state, Chief Ibori has better track records, which may
be unbreakable in many years to come. Even his records cannot be matched by any of his
gubernatorial contemporaries in the nation. He constructed roads, bridges and provided access to
portable in the state, just to mention a few achievements. It is the only state without portholes in
Nigeria. Any porthole therein is on a federal highway. His travail is that he called for equitable
sharing of the national wealth and challenged the establishment for the interest of his state. People
are scare these days to talk about the neglect of any region to avoid being braided a terrorist or
seditionist. It is no surprise because the Boros, the Dele Giwas and Sarowiwas and so many others
were killed with reckless abandon for voicing liberty.
In every democratic rule or even military rule in Nigeria, the South-south has always gone with any
government concerned with the preservation of the unity of Nigeria, yet it has never benefited from
such misrule, except play a second fiddle or just observe like dairy cow. It is time for south-south
leadership to start forming alliances among themselves to reach out to other group concerned with
the pursuit of social justice and equality. Otherwise, the region would remain perpetual outcast
without any relevance. Various administrations often contrive different modes of intimidating the
region, either by out right killing or by unreported financial settlement of the leadership with carrots
or citizens’ punishment with batons and guns.
In any case, president YarAdua's mega city would no way prevent the perennial congestion of
Lagos so long as oil companies and oil servicing and contracting companies continue to have their
headquarters in Lagos, and Apapa and Tincan ports remain the most developed and sophisticated
port authorities in Nigeria. Whereas Chevron and Exxon-Mobil have mega estates for their
businesses in Lagos, such edifice are lacking in Niger Delta where they are drilling and making
farming and fishing difficult for the people. This is because major oil companies in Nigeria have
majority Yorubas as members of board of directors. So their policies in the area of infrastructural
development, employment generation and scholarship awards are designed to meet the wishes and
aspirations of board members. Every major business in Nigeria revolves around the oil industry. The
seaports in the Niger Delta are substandard and cannot berth major ships. Hence, large amount of
drilling equipment are shipped through Lagos ports. These put pressure on our highways and create
incessant dilapidation of the roads, especially Lagos-Benin Highway that the federal government has
since abandoned and is now a beehives of armed gang activities.
From the foregoing, Lagos will continue to grow haphazardly due to lack of planning and corrupt
officials who would approve any construction on any site including the green areas and on shores.
We have seen over 90% of collapsed buildings in Nigeria happened in Lagos in the last two years.
Also, the failure to provide state of the art seaports infrastructure or build more seaports on the
coastal water of Niger Delta and ensure that all oil companies, and oil and gas services companies,
including NNPC and its subsidiaries maintain their corporate headquarters in the Niger Delta with
their executive board members resident therein, will continue to position Lagos as the economic
Mecca as opposed to the rest of the nation, especially south-south.
Further more, the federal government should give tax incentives to corporations willing to establish
outside Lagos and revisit the call for the restructure of Nigeria in line with the 1963 constitution,
which was overthrown and distorted by the military on return to civil rule to protect their ill-gotten
wealth and political ambition. This allows for absolute local participation in governance and
minimizes corruption and incompetent leadership. Also, states with high incident of armed robberies
and cult violence should have their head of police dismissed for incompetence and possible
connivance with armed robbers. If Yar'Adua has any good intention of moving Nigeria forward
economically, he should propose a mega city for each region of the geopolitical zone. These regions
have various corporative advantages over one another which be exploited in localization of industries
and mega city construction. For example south-south may have oil and gas in abundance, but relies
on the north-central for its food supply.
Nasiru Nash Haruna Esq wrote from Charleston, SC USA
843-207-9890
By Nasiru Nash Haruna
Published: February 24, 2008
On July 23, 2007 there were widespread publications by various national newspapers of President
Yar’Adua’s supercilious and preposterous meeting with the governors of Lagos and Ogun states of
his proposed mega city for Lagos, which would encroach on Ogun state. It is to ameliorate
whatever problems Lagos may be facing. The developmental problem facing Lagos is not different
from that of any other Nigerian city. It is all about failed federalism akin to colonialism saddled with
corrupt and inept leadership without the foresight and concern about citizens’ welfare and urban
growth and development. Even so, this is a belated plan and paradox of the movement of the federal
capital from Lagos to Abuja and failure to create economic and industrial states on regional lines to
diffused economic emigration to Lagos from other states.
There is need for constant review of the unpredictable growth of any city. The locals can best
handle it in a true federalism that is devoid of tribal imperialism and oppression of the disorganized
minorities. With all due respect and sense of responsibility, this is a misplaced priority, wasteful
economic empowerment of a single state and obvious irrelevance of south-south and the voiceless
Nigerian communities that need development. Such insensitive feeling to south-south conditions,
yearnings and aspirations is no doubt a call to national conscience, test of south-south leadership
and commitment to the development of south-south being the revenue generating center of Nigeria.
This meeting is a diversionary tactics under the drawing board of the present regime to derail the
much-anticipated development of the south-south. It is a modified ploy, designed to perpetually
impoverish and under develop the region. This can be seen in the continuous awful Benin-Lagos
expressway, inoperable seaports, lack of portable water and massive environmental degradation and
pollution of the region whose environment is being sacrificed daily for revenue generation.
Therefore, in about fifteen years from now, most diseases in the south-south would be idiopathic
and cancerous in nature due to lack of environmental regulations of hazardous waste and oil
pollution.
It is time for the south-south leadership to forget about political, cultural and religious bickering and
form a united front in proffering meaningful unbiased and desirable socio-economic plan to any
Abuja ego and power, not just for the entire south-south, but for the nation at large. Through
various political distractions and manipulations by president Obasanjo and his cronies, over fifty oil
wells of Delta state were given to Ondo state so as to make it a leading oil producing state by all
means. Also, Obasanjo ensured that the proposed mega gas plant was located in Ogun state, his
home state. This would no doubt bring development, job opportunities and huge taxes for that state,
just as it is the tradition of oil companies to pay taxes and royalties to Lagos state government where
they have their corporate headquarters and mega staff quarters located. Yet no south-south leader
dared Obasanjo for fear of contract denial or refusal of appointment into federal agencies or denial
of opportunity for reelection. Yet Bayelsa state has no major oil company infrastructural presence.
So, where is the mega city money coming from? Or better still where did Abuja money come from?
Even such failure to act led to the successful passing of the obnoxious Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) Act that empowers the federal government to deduct and contribute 15% of
the statutory allocations of the oil producing states to the NDDC. This is wrong. If there is going to
be any help for the development of Niger Delta that help must come from Abuja and the federation
account. Therefore, the south-south leaders should request for an amendment of that Act. It is
taking from Peters earnings to service his salary. In any case, it does not change anything or
increase Peters income or improve Peter well-being.
Currently south-south leadership is more concerned about who becomes governor, minister or
commissioner instead of focusing on the major problems of environmental degradation, economic
exploitation and deprivation. Sometimes they engage in trivial issues of communal dispute or
fabricated incident of governor conviction as ex-convict. Such actions are: divide and rule tactics,
designed by Abuja ego and power to create confusion and distraction amongst the south-south and
other minority ethnic groups so as to overshadow the injustice being perpetrated in these regions.
Hence, the bold assertion of the one time governor of Niger state, Alhaji Abdulkadir Kure that south-
south has no “credible leaders†may some day need to be reexamined.
This is bore out of the fact that most south-south leaders only pretend to cry wolf to get juicy
contracts and Abuja settlement. Unfortunately, south-south indigenes are looked upon as cows and
slaves whose usefulness is only limited to the amount of oil and gas that can be extracted from that
region regardless of the pain and suffering inflicted on the people. Now all blames are being heaped
on the last governors of south-south of underdevelopments of the region. No one cares about
history any more because of individual ambition, greed and Abuja Lord Lugards tactics of divide and
rule. Of all the governors that governed Delta state, Chief Ibori has better track records, which may
be unbreakable in many years to come. Even his records cannot be matched by any of his
gubernatorial contemporaries in the nation. He constructed roads, bridges and provided access to
portable in the state, just to mention a few achievements. It is the only state without portholes in
Nigeria. Any porthole therein is on a federal highway. His travail is that he called for equitable
sharing of the national wealth and challenged the establishment for the interest of his state. People
are scare these days to talk about the neglect of any region to avoid being braided a terrorist or
seditionist. It is no surprise because the Boros, the Dele Giwas and Sarowiwas and so many others
were killed with reckless abandon for voicing liberty.
In every democratic rule or even military rule in Nigeria, the South-south has always gone with any
government concerned with the preservation of the unity of Nigeria, yet it has never benefited from
such misrule, except play a second fiddle or just observe like dairy cow. It is time for south-south
leadership to start forming alliances among themselves to reach out to other group concerned with
the pursuit of social justice and equality. Otherwise, the region would remain perpetual outcast
without any relevance. Various administrations often contrive different modes of intimidating the
region, either by out right killing or by unreported financial settlement of the leadership with carrots
or citizens’ punishment with batons and guns.
In any case, president YarAdua's mega city would no way prevent the perennial congestion of
Lagos so long as oil companies and oil servicing and contracting companies continue to have their
headquarters in Lagos, and Apapa and Tincan ports remain the most developed and sophisticated
port authorities in Nigeria. Whereas Chevron and Exxon-Mobil have mega estates for their
businesses in Lagos, such edifice are lacking in Niger Delta where they are drilling and making
farming and fishing difficult for the people. This is because major oil companies in Nigeria have
majority Yorubas as members of board of directors. So their policies in the area of infrastructural
development, employment generation and scholarship awards are designed to meet the wishes and
aspirations of board members. Every major business in Nigeria revolves around the oil industry. The
seaports in the Niger Delta are substandard and cannot berth major ships. Hence, large amount of
drilling equipment are shipped through Lagos ports. These put pressure on our highways and create
incessant dilapidation of the roads, especially Lagos-Benin Highway that the federal government has
since abandoned and is now a beehives of armed gang activities.
From the foregoing, Lagos will continue to grow haphazardly due to lack of planning and corrupt
officials who would approve any construction on any site including the green areas and on shores.
We have seen over 90% of collapsed buildings in Nigeria happened in Lagos in the last two years.
Also, the failure to provide state of the art seaports infrastructure or build more seaports on the
coastal water of Niger Delta and ensure that all oil companies, and oil and gas services companies,
including NNPC and its subsidiaries maintain their corporate headquarters in the Niger Delta with
their executive board members resident therein, will continue to position Lagos as the economic
Mecca as opposed to the rest of the nation, especially south-south.
Further more, the federal government should give tax incentives to corporations willing to establish
outside Lagos and revisit the call for the restructure of Nigeria in line with the 1963 constitution,
which was overthrown and distorted by the military on return to civil rule to protect their ill-gotten
wealth and political ambition. This allows for absolute local participation in governance and
minimizes corruption and incompetent leadership. Also, states with high incident of armed robberies
and cult violence should have their head of police dismissed for incompetence and possible
connivance with armed robbers. If Yar'Adua has any good intention of moving Nigeria forward
economically, he should propose a mega city for each region of the geopolitical zone. These regions
have various corporative advantages over one another which be exploited in localization of industries
and mega city construction. For example south-south may have oil and gas in abundance, but relies
on the north-central for its food supply.
Nasiru Nash Haruna Esq wrote from Charleston, SC USA
843-207-9890