Mr Fashola must set new standards for our urban roads. He should initiate a nationwide standard for such roads which all states must meet henceforth, ie EVERY road built in an urban area must have:

1) Covered drainage
2) Pedestrian sidewalks
3) Road markings and signs
4) Street lights
5) Bicycle lanes where appropriate (eg on major roads)





Any new road construction which does not comply with the new national standard will be rejected and its builders investigated.

The law, backed by the National Assembly, will operate retroactively, ie all states will be obliged to commence compliance with the new standard on already existing roads, in addition to new constructions.

Mr Fashola will write his name in gold in terms of infrastructure if he can enthrone this new national urban road standard.

I completely agree. Please add BIKE LANES, to encourage the healthy lifestyle of biking.

In the states, sidewalks are federally regulated. Developers must build sidewalks and the states must ensure that they're usable for everyone [blind,wheelchairs, disabled etc].

Nigeria should look into the same law.

IlekeHD:
I completely agree. Please add BIKE LANES, to encourage the healthy lifestyle of biking.

In the states, sidewalks are federally regulated. Developers must build sidewalks and the states must ensure that they're usable for everyone [blind,wheelchairs, disabled etc].

Nigeria should look into the same law.

Thanks ...added.

Roads fall under ministry of works not transportation

bigass:
Roads fall under ministry of works not transportation

Point taken.

bump..

How many did he do in Lagos?

Sweetguy25:
How many did he do in Lagos?

He now has access to the federal budget for works and executive powers to pursue and implement such legislation, so it's a different kettle of fish.

Rossikk:
Mr Fashola must set new standards for our urban roads. He should initiate a nationwide standard for such roads which all states must meet henceforth, ie EVERY road built in an urban area must have:

1) Covered drainage
2) Pedestrian sidewalks
3) Road markings and signs
4) Street lights
5) Bicycle lanes where appropriate (eg on major roads)





Any new road construction which does not comply with the new national standard will be rejected and its builders investigated.

The law, backed by the National Assembly, will operate retroactively, ie all states will be obliged to commence compliance with the new standard on already existing roads, in addition to new constructions.

Mr Fashola will write his name in gold in terms of infrastructure if he can enthrone this new national urban road standard.

I agree with this post. Long overdue in my opinion. Roads should meet a minimum standard of layout, quality of materials used and construction. Key to the success of this idea will be the ability to ensure standardized levels of quality are introduced, going forward, road builders and contractors must not breach. For example, drainage covers in one State cannot be robust and high quality galvanised steel while another State gets away with using cheap steel highly susceptible to rust which would mean it needs changing in a relatively short period of time. Fashola will have to take a ground-up approach but the results after a few years will be rewarding for Nigeria. Nice and needed post OP.

This is a world class idea

@OP.

Also, your comment about the need for roads to have pedestrian sidewalks cannot be overstated enough. Why, for god sake, are new roads still being constructed without them? Is it rocket science to deduce that roads must meet the needs of all users to include those who are walking or those riding a bicycle?

The problem is pervasive corruption that means politicians will attempt to cut corners, never mind the danger their action puts ordinary Nigerians in, so far as they keep more government money in their own pocket. For optimal safety, pedestrian sidewalks should be raised with toughened concrete edges i.e a kerb (see image below). This adds to cost significantly and Nigerians leaders, because many never see a need to walk amongst 'commoners' or go anywhere without a car, simply order their omission (sidewalk) so they can make extra millions. Fashola will need to be uncompromisingly tough sha.


[img]http://www.leics.gov.uk/figure-mc2-450px[/img]

Brilliant write up.
This should be on front page.
I believe Fashola is media savvy and lots of apc folks are here on nairaland.
Apc supporters; this is the change you should be promoting now while also collecting looted funds. This two are not mutually exclusive- both can go hand in hand.

The fact is good road networks spurns other areas of development. The time to act is now.

Psalm18:
Brilliant write up.
This should be on front page.
I believe Fashola is media savvy and lots of apc folks are here on nairaland.
Apc supporters; this is the change you should be promoting now while also collecting looted funds. This two are not mutually exclusive- both can go hand in hand.

The fact is good road networks spurns other areas of development. The time to act is now.

This is true. Mods oblige us.

Rossikk:
Mr Fashola must set new standards for our urban roads. He should initiate a nationwide standard for such roads which all states must meet henceforth, ie EVERY road built in an urban area must have:

1) Covered drainage
2) Pedestrian sidewalks
3) Road markings and signs
4) Street lights
5) Bicycle lanes where appropriate (eg on major roads)





Any new road construction which does not comply with the new national standard will be rejected and its builders investigated.

The law, backed by the National Assembly, will operate retroactively, ie all states will be obliged to commence compliance with the new standard on already existing roads, in addition to new constructions.

Mr Fashola will write his name in gold in terms of infrastructure if he can enthrone this new national urban road standard.

Thanks for bringing this rather important subject to the fore, Ogbeni Rossikk.
I see you are back on familiar and less contentious ground

Let's all hope he does!

Gbawe:
@OP.

Also, your comment about the need for roads to have pedestrian sidewalks cannot be overstated enough. Why, for god sake, are new roads still being constructed without them? Is it rocket science to deduce that roads must meet the needs of all users to include those who are walking or those riding a bicycle?

The problem is pervasive corruption that means politicians will attempt to cut corners, never mind the danger their action puts ordinary Nigerians in, so far as they keep more government money in their own pocket. For optimal safety, pedestrian sidewalks should be raised with toughened concrete edges i.e a kerb (see image below). This adds to cost significantly and Nigerians leaders, because many never see a need to walk amongst 'commoners' or go anywhere without a car, simply order their omission (sidewalk) so they can make extra millions. Fashola will need to be uncompromisingly tough sha.


[img]http://www.leics.gov.uk/figure-mc2-450px[/img]

Agreed. I think the main reason they omit these things is that they can get away with it. The Nigerian public in general are not aware that a road is not complete without a sidewalk, or that open drains are unacceptable in most countries. I've seen governors hailed and celebrated for adding big open drains to roads with no sidewalks, whereas in other countries they'll be tried and sent to jail for it. So public ignorance is a large contributor to the problem.

Sweetguy25:
How many did he do in Lagos?

He did quite a few, especially in the Central Business District on the island.

op u are good, nice ideas and i believe the youths should be given a time in this present political atmosphere to also exercise their God given talents and ideas.
God bless nigeria.
Lalasticlala pls promote this sound idea to our new change agents.

iwantto:
This is a world class idea

It can be implemented too because Fashola will have the support of a President who likes discipline, order, neatness and an organised approach to everything.

OnReflection:


Thanks for bringing this rather important subject to the fore, Ogbeni Rossikk.
I see you are back on familiar and less contentious ground

lol

IbokUtoroh:
op u are good, nice ideas and i believe the youths should be given a time in this present political atmosphere to also exercise their God given talents and ideas.
God bless nigeria.
Lalasticlala pls promote this sound idea to our new change agents.

It really is a good thread because many relevant issues can 'mushroom' from the major topic of discussion. For example, bitumen is one of the main components used for road construction. Nigeria is estimated to have the second largest deposit of bitumen in the world next to Canada. We would expect Fayemi to look into how we harness the full potentials of our Bitumen deposits for our own use and even to sell to provide jobs and another national income earner that will help to lessen our dependence on crude oil as the main source of national income.
the article below is from 2013 which shows that we know the problems and even the solutions yet nothing ie ever done year in and year out because of lacking political will. Let us hope that will change now.

http://thecitizenng.com/public-affairs/nigerias-wasting-bitumen-wealth-national-mirror/

Nigeria’s wasting bitumen wealth – National Mirror
Posted by: The Citizen in Public Affairs November 12, 2013 0 inShare 2

Even at this time, when the imperative of aggressively diversifying the nation’s economy away from slavery to oil wealth (petro-dollars); and expanding her revenue base through other viable sources, such effort seems more prominent on the airwaves than in reality. [size=14pt]A case in point is bitumen, which Nigeria, with an estimated deposit of 42.74 billion metric tonnes, is documented to rank second to Canada as the world’s largest deposit of this essential natural resource. Interestingly, too, this solid mineral is said to be about twice the existing oil reserve in the country. It can be found in Ondo, Edo, Lagos and Ogun states. But the largest chunk of it is reportedly located in Agbabu in Ondo State. [/size]

Former Governor of Ondo State, the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, a geologist, in an interview last year, said the figure bandied on the bitumen reserve in the country could even be an under-estimation. “What we can see is mere surface of shallow wells, and I can tell you, it is a fairly rich deposit – that is the sand there has a great quantity that has the deposit in them [b]and the potential of commercially exploiting the deposit is fairly high, every other thing being equal”, Agagu was quoted as saying. Discovered in 1900 by some German scientists, only the General Ibrahim Babangida military regime (in power between the mid 1980s and early 1990s) showed the first serious commitment to its exploration when, after an on-thespot assessment visit to Agbabu, Babangida established the Bitumen Project Implementation Committee (BPIC) in 1989. The agency was mandated, among other functions, to put in place an enabling structure for the full exploitation of solid mineral in the country. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration attempted to take the initiative to another level in 2002, when two companies – Nissands Nigeria Limited and Beecon Nigeria Limited, out of 32 other firms, in a competitive bidding process, won the bid to start the exploitation of bitumen in a 120-square kilometre belt covering Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Edo states. However, two factors often described as disincentives to bitumen exploration/exploitation are the lack of technical expertise and the high cost of tapping the resource, in general terms. These, coupled with government’s obvious non-seriousness because of oil money, have stalled even the feeble effort to exploit the country’s bitumen resource. [/b]

Incidentally, not only bitumen is so neglected. Nigeria is endowed with numerous mineral resources, such as cassiterite, columbite, lead, gold, barite, gypsum and coal, most of which are hardly given their due consideration, except in terms of official rhetoric. It is also apparent that because of the lack of adequate official attention to such resources, room is provided for small scale profiteers to exploit the minerals for selfish interest, and illegally most of the time, if not all of the time. Illegal miners and their official collaborators rake in huge revenue which never smells government’s coffers. We hasten to note that the picture painted of the neglected mineral extractive industry in Nigeria is that of non-appreciation of its huge prospects in boosting economic activities and improving living standards.

Most areas harbouring such deposits are languishing in horrible poverty and deprivation, even when illegal miners are at work on daily basis. Government’s regulatory laws covering such sights are larger than life, but in practice, they are lifeless and halfhearted. We insist that a government is rudderless, which cannot use its initiative to create wealth, or tap God-given resources to improve the lot of the people. If oil is neglected the same way other resources are being treated with ignominy, the federal and state governments that rely on monthly oil revenue allocation to survive would have since closed shop. How fair is it that the government, from federal to state level, seems not sincerely interested in economic diversification? How can there be sustainable development under this non-committal circumstance? The relevant federal ministries in charge, National Assembly and authorities of all the bitumen states should collectively drive the process that would make the exploration and exploitation of the solid mineral a reality, in the interest of the nation and the deprived, non-privileged majority that have no access to oil wealth. Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in the states having the resource need employment and the good life. The government should create the enabling environment to make this and the positive multiplier effects possible.

Culled from: The Citizen Ng

Gbawe:


It can be implemented too because Fashola will have the support of a President who likes discipline, order, neatness and an organised approach to everything.

I concur. If this can't be done under a Buhari administration, then it can't be done. Btw, I had no idea Nigeria had the world's second largest bitumen deposits after Canada. That is stunning. We have no excuse to continue living like this.

Rossikk:
I concur. If this can't be done under a Buhari administration, then it can't be done. Btw, I had no idea Nigeria had the world's second largest bitumen deposits after Canada. We have no excuse to continue living like this.

A lot of things are shocking about Nigeria and the extent to which we under-utilise our natural endowment which are some of the richest deposits in the world. My brother it is very frustrating and we should not continue like this as you conclude. I think I even read somewhere where an economist argued that Nigeria is the richest nation in the world in terms of its natural endowment. Arable soil, virtually 24/7 sunshine, crude oil, solid minerals et al. Fayemi must not fail. This is simply too frustrating and we have no business living like this at all.

Neglect of solid minerals: Why Nigeria remains poor

on June 29, 2015 / in Finance, News 8:38 am / Comments

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Reddit Print
By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor

Economists, geologists and surveyors have long agreed that under the Nigerian soil are wealth and riches untold. But majority of Nigerians are wallowing in poverty. The Nigerian Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative, NEITI report suggests that there are about 40 different kinds of solid minerals and precious metals buried in Nigerian soil waiting to be exploited. [size=14pt]The commercial value of Nigeria’s solid minerals has been estimated to run into hundreds of trillions of dollars, with 70 per cent of these buried in the bowels of Northern Nigeria.[/size]

[img]http://cdn2.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/300x228xsolid-minerals-300x228.jpg.pagespeed.ic.xiGaAQIKL8.webp[/img]
Solid minerals

President of Miners’ Empowerment Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Ekosin, reveals that Nigeria loses a whopping N8trillion annually in unexploited gold alone. He also says that Ajaokuta remains the key to Nigeria’s industrialisation and that getting it back to work is a matter of patriotism for President Buhari and his team.

Ekosin in an interview with Vanguard said: “If Nigerians were taking data seriously, we would have built a database, where we have authentic information. In 2012, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Steel, came before the nation and said, that from our precious metals alone, specifically from gold exploitation alone, Nigeria is losing N8 trillion ($50 billion) annually.”

The failure of Nigeria, since independence in 1960, to put in place a structure that will make the benefits of the exploitation of solid minerals available to all Nigerians has been the bane of the nation. At the moment mining of minerals in Nigeria accounts for only 0.3 per cent of its GDP, due to the influence of oil resources. The domestic mining industry is underdeveloped, leading to Nigeria having to import commodities it could produce domestically, such as salt or iron sheets and billets.

According to NEITI’s audit findings, solid mineral deposits are scattered all over Nigeria, with more deposits in certain areas than others. Over 40 million tonnes of talc deposits have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states. There are huge deposits of coal ranging from bituminous to lignite in the Anambra Basin of South-Eastern Nigeria.

There are lead-zinc ores within the Asaba Area of Niger Delta, while tin, niobium, and lead, are to be found around Oyo and Igbeti, with as much as over a billion tonnes of gypsum spread around Sokoto, Niger, Ondo and Ekiti states. Nigeria’s potentially most beneficial solid minerals are spread around the nation but most of them are in the North.

Limestone deposits occur in Cross River, Ogun, Benue, Gombe, Ebonyi, Sokoto, Edo and Kogi states; magnesite in Adamawa and Kebbi states; coal in Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Delta, Plateau, Anambra, Abia, Benue, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Kwara states; wolframite in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi and Niger states; silver is found only in Kano, with kyanite in Kaduna and Niger states; manganese only in the Northern states of Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara with diatomite found only in Yobe State, while ilmenite-rutile is only in Bauchi, Plateau and Kaduna states;

fluorite only in Taraba State with gold in Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and Zamfara and a little in Osun. Nasarawa State in the North has been appropriately tagged as Nigeria’s home of Solid Minerals. The state is one of the most naturally endowed states in Nigeria in terms of the availability of economically and commercially viable natural resources.

These include clay, columbite, ilmenite, mica, barytes, pyrite, galena, limestone, sodium chloride, ephalerite, silica sand, granites, tantalite, mica, sphalerite, talc, gemstone (tourmaline, aquamarine and sapphire), halcopyrite, topaz, cassiterite, columbite, tantalite, emerald, heliodor, amethyst, quartz, coking coal, marble, and iron ore. Bauchi is another richly endowed state in the North with metal ores, non-metallic ores and gemstones.

Continue reading here : http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/neglect-of-solid-minerals-why-nigeria-remains-poor/

Gbawe, do states actually have the authority to develop/exploit these deposits independently, or must they obtain federal approval/consent? How exactly does it work?

They should also look into covering the existing open drainages, it proffers no beauty to the environment.

Very informative thread, thumbs up rossikk and gbawe

Rossikk:
Gbawe, do states actually have the authority to develop/exploit these deposits independently, or must they obtain federal approval/consent? How exactly does it work?

Not at the moment. The FG controls the right currently to grant mining concessions. States want the same power and I think they should gain it because they can then partner with the private sector, which will have the cash States do not have, to overcome the bane of commercial mining i.e the cash-intensive initial stage of research (eg EIA environmental impact assessment) and development plus the very expensive actual mining/refining process before commercial sales/export and profit is achieved. States can approach the FG to gain some level of freedom over commercial mining but the process is currently too bureaucratic and arranged in a way to continue frustrating anything that will benefit Nigerians to the detriment of what benefits the illegal mining sector making a fortune currently for crooked politicians. This is primarily one of the problems Fayemi has been brought in to tackle.

A clear path forward is for the substantive Minister to harmonise extant laws controlling mining , in partnership with the legislative arm, and improve upon them so that grey areas are abolished and States can leverage on private sector cash to make the commercial mining of solid minerals an employment and income asset for Nigeria. things must change because we are currently frustrating ourselves and our potentials. As you said earlier, if progress is not made under Buhari then one will indeed despair that progress can be made under any other government. I am actually optimistic because I know Fayemi was brought in to liberalise, to the benefit of Nigeria, the solid minerals sector. We need less central bureaucracy and more autonomy for States so that processes become more compartmentalised, more local and thus more effective.


http://www.nigeria-law.org/MineralsAndMiningDecree1999Chapter1.htm#Ownership of Minerals

(1) The entire property in and control of all minerals, in, under or upon any land in Nigeria, its contiguous continental shelf and of all rivers, streams and watercourses throughout Nigeria, any area covered by territorial waters or constituency, the Exclusively Economic Zone is and shall be vested in the Government of the Federation for and on behalf of the people of Nigeria.

(2) All lands in which minerals have been found in commercial quantities shall, from the commencement of this Decree be acquired by the Government of the Federation in accordance with the provisions of the land Use Act and the Minister may, from time to time, with the approval of the Federal Executive Council, designate such lands as security lands.

This can only be achieved on federal project and Fed. roads are highways which rarely need such. I don't think he has the power to tell the states/LG how to construct their roads. To make it a standard/must in road construction I think it needs an act

Good idea anyway.

Very much,let's not forget the effectiveness of traffic systems,in areas where overhead bridges can't be constructed for pedestrians,there's should be effective traffic indications to cross pedestrians at certain points of the road.

Proposal is good but I love to see actions that rise above mediocrity.

chaseTE:
This can only be achieved on federal project and Fed. roads are highways which rarely need such. I don't think he has the power to tell the states/LG how to construct their roads. To make it a standard/must in road construction I think it needs an act

Good idea anyway.

This can be binding on States too if Fashola will be clever to work with existing or new regulatory bodies. Part of the problem of Nigeria is that cabals that do not mean the nation well tuse the law to frustrate the progress of the general public. I am sure Fashola can achieve great success, as seen worldwide, with the usage and strengthening of regulatory bodies that, as Rossikke stated in his first post, would severely sanction contractors who carry out shoddy work falling below the set standards of quality and usability.

Regulatory bodies are very powerful , independent and effective worldwide and this is an area Nigeria must strengthen so that even States cannot hide behind the "legitimate tier of government " excuse to get away with sub-standard grade of road construction that cost Nigeria more in the long run.

You will be surprised to know that we indeed do have regulatory bodies. The problem is that they are always compromised by corruption and thus never do their job properly.

States are not independent Nations. They should be made to comply with national directives which are good for the development of Nigeria.

I am surprised this has not hit front page while 'Davido sits in first class' remains there forever.
Seun, Mods you're acting too slow for the change phenomenon.
Do the needful, pls!