While addressing youths at a summit organised by the Youth Wing of the (APC) in Lagos yesterday Nov. 11. Speaking on the theme of the summit, “A New Nigeria by New Nigerians", Gov. of Lagos state Babatunde Fashola said that after years of Pres. Jonathan leading Abuja, first as an acting president and later his four-year presidential tenure, the Federal Capital still has challenges of irregular power supply, water shortage, poor accommodation, poor transportation, poor traffic management & security. "If Mr. President had managed the FCT well, there should be regular power supply at the centre of attraction in the country. I was in Abuja recently and I got hooked-up in traffic. So many things are not working in Abuja, the seat of our federal government.
In Lagos, we have strived to add value to peoples’ lives and living. We have demonstrated what a good government should be seen doing and that is why Lagos is attractive to people from far and near. The president should transform Abuja first for people to see. A new Nigeria that we desire should be a safer and more secured Nigeria, where our children will not be kidnapped and we will not be bombed out of existence but can live our lives to the fullest and we can enjoy electricity.
In the new Nigeria, citizens expect government to account for resources and put an end to the frequent disappearance of billions of dollars from the federation account without cogent explanation.” He said

APC propaganda,Jonathan till 2019.

Leadership is abt taking responsibilities and its abt leading the people aright. Jonathan doesn't represent anything gud.

Fashola doesn't stop to amaze me. Has he asked himself about the lekki-epe concessionary recently purchased and how expensive the road contracts in Lagos are and why they are never completed. Fashola is a media propagandist, fluent in oratory and charisma but also do not deliver in his promises. Most projects in Lagos are still work-in-progress.

Everybody keep citing the population of Lagos as an excuse. Fashola, always quick to blame the federal government for his inactions.

Fashola is the kind of leaders nigeria need. Whenever he speaks on any public issues, u see the leadership quality in him.

size38:
Fashola is the kind of leaders nigeria need. Whenever he speaks on any public issues, u see the leadership quality in him.

Nah is an average Nigerian politician that pays too much respect for godfatherism. Except you want our resources to be reallocated to a particular group of persons, he is a media propagandist and should not be taken seriously. Currently, he is fighting for political relevance as his tenure reaches the last lap.

Boss13:


Nah is an average Nigerian politician that pays too much respect for godfatherism. Except you want our resources to be reallocated to a particular group of persons, he is a media propagandist and should not be taken seriously. Currently, he is fighting for political relevance as his tenure reaches the last lap.

Fashola is right. Abuja is the capital city and Housing is a huge problem, masses are suffering while a lot of lands and properties acquired by senators, ministers, president's wife, house members are being abandoned in central area without use. During OBJ's tenure, he helped the civil servant to own houses with instalmental payment at low cost. Also, transportation is a problem. Commuters in the outskirt are really facing stress and difficulty daily. By now, a reasonable and serious government should have created alternative route to ease movement for the people. A over-head or underground system should be in the capital city to reduce the number of cars plying the road. You really don't need to drive everyday or enter cab to go to work or place of earning and they do travel abroad and see these things I wonder why they don't plan ahead for the future as population increases everyday.. Talking about electricity, that's no go area.

Traders in Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos, are crying over the deplorable state of the road to the market. The condition of the road has brought untold hardship to the people, just as it has adversely affected their businesses. Many customers that cannot stand the torment and distress of plying the road, have virtually stopped coming to Alaba, preferring to do their businesses somewhere else.

The craters and gullies on Alaba market road could swallow up a small car. Now and then, trailers carrying containers loaded with imported goods from seaports find it difficult meandering through these craters and gullies. On many occasions, containers have fallen, sometimes with the trailers. Apart from incalculable human casualties, goods worth millions of naira are damaged.

The market, which has a population of about 100, 000 traders, brings untold revenue to Ojo Local Government area, as well as the Lagos State government. They collect various levies and dues from traders, shop owners and others who provide ancillary or support services in the market.

Bemoaning the traders’ plight, Chief Stanley Okafor told Daily Sun that it was an irony that a market that is said to be the biggest electrical and electronics market in West Africa, has the worst roads. According to him, coming to the market to do business is nightmarish. As a result of this, customers now prefer going to other markets to do businesses, even when the prices of goods are fair here, he lamented.

“It is unfortunate, and one of the tragedies of this nation that the goose that lays the golden egg is starved to death. Apart from the statutory allocation from the Federal Government, this is the market that sustains the council, and the state government equally generates huge revenue from here. Yet, the last thing the government, both the local and the state could do was to put the road in good shape in order to make it conducive for smooth business operations and transactions. We pay all sorts of revenues and the government doesn’t see the reason to make life comfortable for the traders and other who access the road to their homes.”

Ibezimako is an importer. He told the reporter that he had been adequately punished by the bad road. In his words, trailers bringing his containers loaded with goods from Tin Can Ports had fallen on the road, with goods worth millions of naira damaged. He said it was regrettable that anything that does not affect or concern the men in power was not an issue in Nigeria.

“A sympathetic response to the suffering of their people is never a strong point in Nigerian leadership. Do you want to tell me that the local government chairman is not aware of the deplorable road or the state governor has not read in the papers how containers are falling and injuring people and damaging goods? Yet the owners of such goods could have obtained bank facilities to import them.”

He pointed out that about four years ago, during the electioneering campaigns when the traders threatened to vote against the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the state government realised that the traders could use their numerical strength to push them out of power. He informed that men of the Lagos State Ministry of Works were brought to patch the road, which the rain washed away few months after the 2011 general elections.

“They have started again. Their posters and banners are everywhere. Even the present chairman is aspiring to higher office. It will be interesting to see what he would tell us when he comes here to solicit our votes.  This time around, we are not going to tell them to come and repair this road. What we are going to do is in our hearts, and the election result will speak our minds.”

A trader, Rueben Obiozor, also poignantly told Daily Sun how importers groan under heavy levies for bringing containers to the market. According to him, every trailer with 40 feet container pays about N15, 000, while the one ferrying 20 feet container pays N10, 000. “These containers often fall because of the craters on the road, and it does not concern the government. If we are allowed to collect the levies for six months, we would use it to build the road to international standard,” Obiozor said.

The immediate past Chairman of Alaba International Market (Electronic Section), Chief Celestine Ezeani, implored the state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola to come to their rescue. “The last time the governor visited Ojo, we were reliably informed that he instructed the local government to liaise with the state commissioner for Works to commence work on the Ojo Igbede Road. But since then, nothing has been done about it. This deplorable state of the road is killing our businesses. The gridlock is scaring aware our customers. A market that does not have patrons faces extinction.”

Efforts made to speak with the authorities of Ojo Local Government area were unfruitful.

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Each time i travel to Abuja, i always feel appalled by the paucity of basic infrastructure in the capital of the giant of Africa, apart from the city centre every where else is a long stretch of thick bushes, although to be fair the roads are quite good, but you cant but wonder at the ghost town we all call our federal capital.