In as much as people will have to pay the price, Fashola should know that this new lagos thing is for the lagosians he is taking their means of livelihood from. He should have provided an alternatives for these people before demolishing everywhere. I wonder of what use a new lagos full of miscreants will be?

argent:

In as much as people will have to pay the price, Fashola should know that this new lagos thing is for the lagosians he is taking their means of livelihood from. He should have provided an alternatives for these people before demolishing everywhere. I wonder of what use a new lagos full of miscreants will be?

too bad the law says u provide alternatives for those whose properties are legal, not those who construct shops on the railways, mainroad or sumtimes over a canal

I will keep on saying that most of the people in Lagos have no business being in Lagos , and until something is done to make them relocate their lives, family and business they will not get better and Lagos will also not get better.

Crime is primarily caused by disorganization and an appearance of lawlessness. Rubbish dumps everywhere, uncontrolled street trading , illegal trading structures are invitation to crime because they are saying quite clearly that "Crime is welcome here".

People come from all over the country to Lagos hoping that their life will change for the better and eventually end up discouraged , but they sadly cannot return home for the shame , and eventually turn to criminal activities or some senseless trading thing , and destruction of the environment, instead of return home to their village to make the place better . We see the same attitude in frustrated Nigerians who have traveled to UK/US  , but the government of those places clearly have a better way of dealing with those unwanted dregs who are more of a nuisance to the place than any help . No they don't burn their illegal markets (which is never permitted to spring up anywhere) ; they put them in jail and deport them.

A few years back I had the opportunity to counsel a chap who had come to Lagos from Benin but keeps looking all over for some elusive job, and eventually ended up being sent on silly errands by all and sundry - without pay !! . I advised him to return home else his days are numbered because he is more likely than anyone else to be gunned down by the police as a suspect armed robber than anything. He took my advice and today he has a big farm and is happily married with children .

Let us have some order in Lagos. Anyone who has no business here should return home.

The long awaited idea of restructuring Lagos state is a welcome development.The case of Lagos situaton is likened to a body riddled with cancer in various parts of it.So it needs to be clinically X-rayed and surgically operated if the life of the victim is valued and to be saved.In that case,some flesh,body fluid etc will have to give way to the remedy.What the Governor is doing is for future generation.Although we suffer the stress it causes now.Transport fee high,things are costly,people lose means of livelihood etc.But Iam happy for changing Lagos for preparing to better the lots of our lives now and most importantly our future generation .The pains we undergo now is temporary.This makes a clarion call on the rich in our midst that this is the the time to extend the hand of help to those affected .Not only during the festive periods.if the past governments had done it,Lagos state would have been a reference city in the world.If we have not been to advanced world like USA, I believe we can see from our TVs or PCs the exquisite beauty and state-of the art scene of its cities.The question is:why have such things eluded Nigeria,especially Lagos,the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria?Does it mean Lagos cannot be restructured to match up or if not better the country cited so far?I believe we can.

My mesage to the government:If you create a dam to a flowing river, it is imperative to create a channel for it to follow a particular desired direction.The case of those displaced at Oshodi and other areas is similar to it .Kindly build ultra modern like those obtained in the advanced society and lease them out the the cost they can EASILY bear. People resort to this each time there is demolition.I think the response to this is the only only way to demonstrate the reason  for the ddemolitionfor now

I think the traders can help themselves by forming co-operative societies and patronizing microfinance banks if they think the prices of the shops are too high.

felifeli:

I will keep on saying that most of the people in Lagos have no business being in Lagos , and until something is done to make them relocate their lives, family and business they will not get better and Lagos will also not get better.

Crime is primarily caused by disorganization and an appearance of lawlessness. Rubbish dumps everywhere, uncontrolled street trading , illegal trading structures are invitation to crime because they are saying quite clearly that "Crime is welcome here".

People come from all over the country to Lagos hoping that their life will change for the better and eventually end up discouraged , but they sadly cannot return home for the shame , and eventually turn to criminal activities or some senseless trading thing , and destruction of the environment, instead of return home to their village to make the place better . We see the same attitude in frustrated Nigerians who have traveled to UK/US  , but the government of those places clearly have a better way of dealing with those unwanted dregs who are more of a nuisance to the place than any help . No they don't burn their illegal markets (which is never permitted to spring up anywhere) ; they put them in jail and deport them.

A few years back I had the opportunity to counsel a chap who had come to Lagos from Benin but keeps looking all over for some elusive job, and eventually ended up being sent on silly errands by all and sundry - without pay !! . I advised him to return home else his days are numbered because he is more likely than anyone else to be gunned down by the police as a suspect armed robber than anything. He took my advice and today he has a big farm and is happily married with children .

Let us have some order in Lagos. Anyone who has no business here should return home.

ure on point

i think i like the new look of oshodi. it is a good thing for everybody residing in lagos.

i also think that Govt would have relocated those traders before demolition. Because i want to imagine what would be going on in many homes affected by that demolition.

Beautification of a city is a good thing. we all like good things, but we must also think of the young and old who have been rendered jobless and hopeless. Ur own means of livelihood may have not been affected, rather u feel better because of the expected free flow of traffic. Let us be our brothers keeper.

A word to fashola if he can read this.
You are doing well, the demolition is ok but please find alternative location for these people. The Alternative shld have been before the demolition.

i can't wait to see that oshodi area of the agege motor road look like a road in V. I.

tosinaded@:

too bad the law says u provide alternatives for those whose properties are legal, not those who construct shops on the railways, mainroad or sumtimes over a canal

Well am sure if they could afford getting a place legally, they woludnt have constructed their shops on railways and mainroads. The government should know that there are poor masses who depend on petty trading to survive, building a new lagos doent mean you have to leave them poorer by taking away their means of livelihood.

Those criticizing this action don't understand the problem with our people.

You are talking about alternatives abi? When tankers were blocking the roads in Apapa, the government provided alternative park for them. Did they use the alternative? NO! they still block the roads at Apapa.

When Tejuoso market got burnt, they provided an alternative for the traders. Most of them did not go! you still see them hanging around.

We should be bold enough to say the truth here! There are shops inside Oshodi. Many of these traders would rather trade on the streets, because they will get more patronage than the guys in the shops.

Let He that wants to trade go rent a shop!, ranting about providing alternatives is just a cover up for the real issues. Our people should learn to do the right things, not cutting corners, thinking others who are orderly are not smart.

argent:

Well am sure if they could afford getting a place legally, they woludnt have constructed their shops on railways and mainroads. The government should know that there are poor masses who depend on petty trading to survive, building a new lagos doent mean you have to leave them poorer by taking away their means of livelihood.

If they want cheap they should try going back to Onitsha or wherever. Lagos is not a cheap place, neither is London or New York,  Poor people who chose to remain in Lagos can only hope to remain poor and even get poorer and eventually become armed robbers. My two kobo.

PS : I hope Fashola's crew visits Yaba/Tejuosho  again soon and  go on to Oyingbo  and Idumota

I really do not understand what we as Nigerians are looking for when we analyze situations like these. Just the other day, everyone was up in arms about the state of Obalende, etc and now we have a Governor who is finally doing something about the abject filth that is the state of Lagos but yet we are not happy! I can only guess that most of the people who offer their opinions on this forum are no different than those 'foreigners' who only see photos of Africa and venture to make an opinion albeit based on some misconception that Africans still live in trees and walk around in rafia skirts! In other words, as the Americans say; "Y'all ain't been home in a minute!!

I was in Oshodi market just three months ago and please believe me when I say that it is much worse than all those photos you see on the web - you literally cannot move anywhere - you have buses making u-turns just about anywhere, fights breaking out here and there and okada buzzing about the place like Tsetse flies. It really is absolute chaos. Did I even mention that for that stretch of road that is made up of three huge lanes, we were stuck in traffic for 6HOURS!!!??!?!?!? No movement, no nothing. And then you have all these people badging against the car and screaming at the top of their lungs, and horns blaring. Three quarters of the time I was sitting in the cab being paranoid about if we are about to be carjacked or even worse,

Before anyone even starts to rant about "it is the way naija has been and we like it like that", please speak for yourself. NOBODY likes it like that. The fact that we complain about it demonstrates that we do not feel comfortable with the situation. Nigerians ALWAYS have alternatives, we ALWAYS know the right thing to do, we simply choose to accept our present condition because 'we just dey manage am for now, !'

felifeli:

If they want cheap they should try going back to Onitsha or wherever. Lagos is not a cheap place, neither is London or New York,  Poor people who chose to remain in Lagos can only hope to remain poor and even get poorer. My two kobo.

PS : I hope Fashola's crew visits Yaba/Tejuosho  again soon and  go on to Oyingbo  and Idumota

Am not against what lagos state government is doing, I love what he's doing and I am so eager to see a new lagos. Even London and New York have some of the poorest people living there. Whether we like it or not, the poor will always be among us, because not everybody knows what you know or is as privilege as you. So we should learn to accept and find a way of taking care of them and that includes Fashola providing alternative for them.

Thank God for fashola, Eko oni baje o, but my fear is continuity, will the next governor continue Fashola's good works

A-town:

I pity this nation if people like you end up in govt because you have no clue as to what is going on. Are you a graduate? Shame on you.
How many times do i need to tell people on here that ELECTRICITY is a F!UCKING federal issue. Until it is fully deregulated, there is nothing any state govt in the federation can do. For now, any independ power station still has to supply the National Grid before it gets redistributed. If States had full autonomy over power, then you can make that excuse.

Your comment on flowers makes me laugh. So you'd rather have lagos looking like the dump it was several years ago. You are an idiot. Go onto forums for expats living in lagos and you will see how they are all happy about how lagos looks now. A beautiful city attracts tourists and foreign investors which leads to investments and added revenue for the state. Do you expect the state to depend on the paltry sum from the FG?

With regards to VGC, ok you're still a fool. You don't need to be rich to be conscious of your environment. Lagos needs a strong hand to instill these qualities in its populace.
Were you born during IDIAGBON's time?
All your noise about continuity is unwarranted. Fashola is simply continuing from where Tinubu stopped. Times have changed. THis is a democracy. There is no going back. Lagos will keep getting better.

I agree corruption has to be tackled. This will not happen in a day. Nigerians took over 40yrs to become this bad. It will take time for corruption to be wiped out. 90% of the people on here are corrupt. If you've never bribed a policeman/govt official, let me see ur hands up!

There are sacrifices that need to be made in order to achieve a mega city. I'm not saying the poor should suffer but hey, the market on its own was illegal from start anyway.
Lagosians are smart and hardworking. I'm sure there are alternatives being worked out for them.

[color=#990000]i couldnt have replied that text any better!!!!nice job!!!!there are many illitrates on the streets but it seems there are deeper and more dangerous ones on nairaland coz the've got a weapon called the internet and they spread like wild fire!!!
Most of the people in lag have no biz here n thats the harsh truth.i dont know what all the noise is about, were those traders meant to be there in the first place??answer:NO.now y should the govt look 4 alternative means for them(i no i sound evil), if thats the case e b like say me sef i go go  build shed for 3rd mainland bridge so it can get demolished and govt can get me a new shop at VGC,aint that gonna be cool.
How many of u can boast of walking oshodi at 11pm at night and recieve a phone call?walk oshodi with ur laptop or anything valuable??can any of u boast of wanting to go through oshodi with ur car at anytime and guaratee that its the best alternative or even the next best alternative to the worst??how do u  feel when u meet a new friend and u ask him where he lives and he says, 'i stay at oshodi,are u coming to visit me this week'??what is ur perception of someone that stays in oshodi and whatz ur perception of someone that stays on the island??do u view urself as a foreign investor and oshodi is where u wanna deal??please let anyone bring out the positve growth of oshodi as a place so i can get educated o!!una want the best of things and u seem not to understand that for every smile therez a frown, some people just have to pay n its the illegal ones that are paying now so, ?watz the noise for?[/color]

Being poor does not translate to being dirty, unruly or even give excuse to commit crime. As a responsible leader governing a state that has Oshodi as a constituent ; you ask yourself that "what do i do about this place". You have options of leaving it or reducing the filth and chaos or Redeveloping it.

If you chose to redevelope like LASG has done, next thing that comes to mind is "Compensation or resettlement". But between me and you ; How do you allocate BILLIONS of Naira to relocate or compensate ILLEGAL occupants/traders. It does not make so much sense to me.

It is just like see people illegally trading on a  piece of land that belongs to you;  I guess many people will do exactly what LASG did to those in  Oshodi to the illegal traders in their land

FACT: A VARSE LAND IN ILASAMAJA WAS PROVIDED AS ALTERNATE TO THE ILLEGALLY DISLODGED TRADERS IN OSHODI MARKET.

SOURCE: STV NEWS 9AM YESTERDAY.

fyneguy:

Those criticizing this action don't understand the problem with our people.

You are talking about alternatives abi? When tankers were blocking the roads in Apapa, the government provided alternative park for them. Did they use the alternative? NO! they still block the roads at Apapa.

When Tejuoso market got burnt, they provided an alternative for the traders. Most of them did not go! you still see them hanging around.

We should be bold enough to say the truth here! There are shops inside Oshodi. Many of these traders would rather trade on the streets, because they will get more patronage than the guys in the shops.

Let He that wants to trade go rent a shop!, ranting about providing alternatives is just a cover up for the real issues. Our people should learn to do the right things, not cutting corners, thinking others who are orderly are not smart.

Glad you were bold enough to be sincere. A huge chunk of it is discipline which on a national level in pretty much every aspect is lacking. Hence, Lagos being a very Nigerian city just shows that and i don't see anything wrong with instilling a culture of discipline at all. It is easy for one to be sentimental considering we are talking of people here, it would be even worrying if people did not consider the human side of it. However like you have stated, the mess was there because it was allowed to happen. Consider the implications of manhours lost in traffic alone and that makes it worth it. Less time in traffic and more time being productive at work, reduction in crime which such a chaotic situation invites, a more attractive environment for more added value industries and businesses that can generate more cash and even hire more people, the list goes on.

On the other hand, a number of people keep on saying things like "lagos is not for everybody". Though that may be true in some aspects, but at a point it does begin to sound elitist and amusing when people throw in names like New York and London. Abuja is a beautiful city but to be honest it is a very elitist one (personal opinion). It seems to be for the rich alone. A good city in my view should be able to cater to people of varying economic classes and dispositions and places like New York, Paris, Tokyo and to a lesser extent London have this characteristic of being able to accomodate people from a wide income spectrum and that is one of the beauties of these places, it wecomes everyone and there is opportunity for everyone.

The problem with Lagos on the other hand is Nigeria. Can you imagine if there was no Abuja or to a lesser extent Port Harcourt? You can't fault people for wanting to go to the cities in Nigeria especially with what it actually means to live in rural Nigeria (isolation from development, etc). Using that as an excuse does not address the problem at all. Lagos cannot continue to bare the dreams of all Nigerians. Lagos is the smallest state and yet is projected to be one of the most populated cities in the world in years from now. I have already took it to heart that Nigeria does not have a functioning presidency or federal government, which is a shame because a good way to decongest Lagos is for other cities and states to develop too so that not everyone would be flocking to the delusional "promised land" that is meant to be lagos. Lagos cannot comtinue to bear the aspirations of all Nigerians because expecting it to cope with such would be quite an ask. Port Harcourt needs to get its act together and so do cities like Ibadan, Kano, Enugu etc. All these cities with all the money and amusingly they have been usurped by a city like Calabar which in a state with one of the lowest allocations can boast to be the cleanest city in the country.

honeric01:

FACT: A VARSE LAND IN ILASAMAJA WAS PROVIDED AS ALTERNATE TO THE [b]ILLEGALLY DISLODGED TRADERS [/b]IN OSHODI MARKET.

SOURCE: STV NEWS 9AM YESTERDAY.

Illegally dislodged trader ? I will be surprised if there is even ONE of them  who is "illegally dislodged" , being all street trading illegally.

Let's face it there is no easy or "creative" way to deal with filth , lawlessness , crime, and indolence . It has to be hard and to shock people back to life . ANYONE who is living in Lagos and has no job and no discernible "business" other than selling groundnuts in a tray in traffic and harassing people to buy used underwear or some other useless nick-nack by sticking it into their face , should be made to feel unwelcome and also actively hounded out of such an expensive place as  Lagos because they are merely serious crimes just looking for a place to happen.

i think i like what the govt of lagos state is doing as regards the clean ups. This is what lagos really need even though the govt might need to step on toes to achieve good result. This is not the end of the show, more things ahead.

felifeli:


Illegally dislodged trader ? I will be surprised if there is even ONE of them  who is "illegally dislodged" , being all street trading illegally.

Let's face it there is no easy or "creative" way to deal with filth , lawlessness , crime, and indolence . It has to be hard and to shock people back to life . ANYONE who is living in Lagos and has no job and no discernible "business" other than selling groundnuts in a tray in traffic and harassing people to buy used underwear or some other useless nick-nack by sticking it into their face , should be made to feel unwelcome and also actively hounded out of such an expensive place as  Lagos because they are merely serious crimes just looking for a place to happen.

LOL, you seem to be well versed in selling used underwear in oshodi and all the nuances involved in sucessfully marketing the product .
Unfortunately poverty isn't always a life style choice.

Sky Blue:

Unfortunately poverty isn't always a life style choice.

My point exactly, just wish people are a bit more sensitive.

The unfortunate thing  is that many people needlessly misdirect their emotions. Yes poverty may not be a choice ; but continuing to live with poverty IS a choice. The quick way to get people out of poverty is to make them SEE WITHOUT DOUBT  that they are poor and getting nowhere with it, and will not get out of it even though they pray and fast without break for a whole year (that is why spiritualists are the only people prospering in these poverty ridden neighborhoods) . As a Yoruba proverb says - the day a lunatic realises that he is mad , he should begin to get better.

Many people have been fortunate enough to have been  forced out of their poverty by "BRUTAL" actions like the Lagos government is carrying out , and they have gone elsewhere and their life has been a lot better for it. Tenants have become landlords because wicked  landlords evicted them ; messengers have become employers because they had been sacked by wicked managers. Most people are living like headless chicken in Lagos slums while they are actually destined to fly like eagles in another place. I may have sounded insensitive but I have experiences behind me in life , both in Nigeria and abroad , both myself and people close to me. As a matter of fact even though I have a good business in Lagos  I have relocated out of Lagos because I think the cost of living is quite silly. If anyone prefers to stay there, it is a choice  and you must be ready to live within the law and pay the price for not doing so no matter how harsh.

I am sorry if anyone's means of living was coming from the affected area(s), but the fact still remains that we can't get anywhere if we keep politicing our future. It is also a fact that someone has to GIVE ( i.e. sacrifice) for us to leave something for our children ( both born and unborn) because our leaders had eaten the present (2day).

Sometimes i wonder if it was God that developed Europe, Asia and America, but the turn around in GHANA took away my imaginaton.

Governments in the past had made alternatives but our people will not go there even if you give out the shops free. I am sure if you go around Lagos you will find similar markets built by the govt but are now empty.

We want development
we are not ready to pay TAX
we are not ready to sacrifice
How do we now develop when the government must provide everything for people that are not prepared to give anything.


God bless naaija
we 2 sturborn sha

i never expected that my post was going to bring out intense opinions from nairalanders.it really shows that we are able to grasp and analyse issues as they unfold.

anyways,i passed through oshodi today and fortunately,it still wears the new look.methinks that governor BRF has a planned agenda for the urban development of a city reputed to be one of the heavily populated in the world.For a tree to grow,a seed has to fall into the ground and die.

Basic logic:=heads may roll now but in the next few years,we'll give the guy a pat on the back.C'mon its not like if he bulldozed the main market,he only demolished shacks and kiosks adjoining a major road linking agege via mushin to idumota.

let's move the country forward

NEXT STOP! TEJUOSHO or KETU MARKET or ALABA or ALL OF THEM AT ONCE because there is a lot to do and so little time.

Everyone that have gone through my post will know what I will have to say about all this.

I have always supported anything that involves the restructure of lagos. it isnt possible for a city like lagos to chnage and become a megacity with everybody being pacified during the process. heads will roll, people will count their loses but it must be done.

the place must be sanitized and other zones will follow no matter what.


And pls if you are intelligent I expect you to understand that ELECTRICITY is not any state government's baby to handle.

i think this is a good way to start. Lagosians have to start taking their governor seriously - just like the people of the FCT had to take el-Rufai seriously. True, I feel sorry for those who are financially affected by this, but in the end, it would be to the good of all.

I agree with u completely

p.s : dont build structures, that will be demolished 20yrs time and leave ur grandchildren homeless

meaningless post