[size=14pt]Although Lagos State in its present form has being the only geographical entity within Nigeria that has not being altered since its inception in 1967. Apart from the capital of Lagos state moved from Lagos Island to Ikeja in February 1976 the state has more OR less being intact.

One should revisit the issue of splitting the state into 2 critically, in the light of the BBC programme welcome to Lagos which a lot of Nigerians find offensive, biased and derogatory considering that there are so many goodies that the programme left out, one is tempted to believe that the cause for Lagoon State is a cause that should be pursued with a renewed vigour irrespective of the size of present Lagos State. At least one can be assured when those silly and mischievous BBC Camera men come calling again they would be made to know that the mainland OR Lagos OR is it Agege State is different from the island and Lagoon State which is on the other side of the water. 

The topography of Lagos in a way reminds me of the bridge coming from New Jersey connecting to Manhattan. At one end of the Bridge you are in New Jersey while at the other end of the bridge you are at Manhattan, New York City, New York State. 

The whole essence of having smaller or breaking a province or region into further smaller administrative units is to be closer to the grass-roots. Lagos State although small in size is overwhelmed with developmental challenges. Lagos a metropolitan State with about 18 million people should not in any case be left to the perils of one administrative unit, although the thought of breaking it into 8 administrative unit would not make sense and cannot be feasible due to the constraints of size.

But let us put it in perspective, Lagos State’s population is the size of Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Oshun, Ekiti and Kwara state all put together that is 6 administrative units with all the paraphernalia of office as well as having the status of a full blown state to take care of the same population as is in Lagos State.

To buttress my point further what Lagos State gets from the federation account is just below what Oyo state gets, this is one state out of the six states. 

So what is the way forward given Lagos State cannot be divided into 6 states, thankfully Lagos has a natural boundary the Lagoon which separates the Island areas from the mainland areas, this can be a starting point, but then critics and other opposing forces would argue that the majority of the 18 million poor souls in Lagos are mostly in the mainland and that splitting the state into 2 would be an exercise in futility.

My take would be, where does the majority of those 18 million people work, going by the way traffic tend to converge in Lagos every rush hour morning, my instinct tells me a large swathe of these population work in Lagoon State OR the Island

The challenges for Lagoon State would be to house these workers, within her territory. The next question would be how feasible is this proposition. Well we are all aware the Island at the moment is embarking on several mega projects like the Eko Atlantic City, Lekki free trade zone and other schemes to be built in and around the Lekki corridor, all these developments would require a lot of low skilled personnel to operate and run all these industrial outlets and service industry. A clause would have to be included and entrenched into employee’s contract within Lagoon State that employers have to set aside a special fund that would help augment their workers in getting homes closer to work, so also Lagoon State on her part would enforce and entrenched a minimum liveable wage policy within her territory.[/size]

[size=14pt]Brownfield Development should be pursued in Lagoon State[/size]. – [size=14pt]it is a concept that became relevant around the early 00’s in the UK,  that is from 2000 to 2007. Brownfield development as the name entails is about curbing the incessant use up of green spaces especially in an area OR region that has limited green spaces. [/size]

[size=14pt]Eko Atlantic City would become the new financial and business centre for Lagos by the year 2030. We have to start asking ourselves what plans do we have for Marina in Lagos Island.

What is the government’s plan?  If no concrete plans are put in place for Marina today then suffice to say we would have a huge derelict site of old abandon high rise on our hands, a den where hoodlums and other miscreants if care is not taking would be able to find solace, as most of the prevailing businesses today would have relocated to VI and Eko Atlantic City[/size].

[size=14pt]Two things can be done with Marina instead of using up all the green spaces in the Lekki corridor[/size].

1. [size=14pt]Demolish all the high rises and rebuild liveable high rises  which would embrace high rises for the poor, the middle class and the upper class.(flats would only be allocated to people who have proof of working in any of the service industries in the Lekkia, VI, Ikoyi and Eko Atlantic City quarters.)[/size]


2. [size=14pt]Convert office based high rise into liveable high rise.- This would be a cheaper option if one where to look at the cost of wholesale demolishing and re-building.[/size]


[size=14pt]The high rise for the poor- design and conception[/size] – [size=14pt]Ideally a combination of bed-sit, one and 2 bedrooms would be the norm and standard. In fact some might be built like the popular face me I face you, that is a whole building might constitute of this so that it would be able to take more people. Fire fighting considerations should be giving a higher priority than what entails at the moment thus[/size].

[size=16pt]The big question is Lagoon State feasible[/size] ? 

i laugh in egun

Egun people (non-Yoruba indegenes - Badagry area) and Ikorodu and Epe (Yoruba's) are crying that they are marginalised in Lagos, but they better stick with it.

We do not need new states, rather we need to implement true federalism. True federalism will bring in accountability and stop the so called "states" from going to Abuja on a monthly begging mission for money generated by other states.

One should revisit the issue of splitting the state into 2 critically, in the light of the BBC programme welcome to Lagos

is s.tupidity exclusively nigerian?

is s.tupidity exclusively nigerian?

[size=14pt]You have to understand that is not the only issue, the fact speaks for itself lagos state is under funded by the centre considering the population of the state. There are a lot of issues at stake here. [/size]

why wont lagos be underfunded and overcrowded when the whole of nigeria lives there?

let other states develop their areas more instead of making lagos the lone star state.

Nigeria needs 6 states ONLY. Two in the SE, one each in the SS, SW, NC and NE and none for NW. So every zone has equal number of states:7. Or we go back to zones (6 zones) and abrogate all the states- actually a preferred option.

Nigeria needs 6 states ONLY. Two in the SE, one each in the SS, SW, NC and NE and none for NW. So every zone has equal number of states:7. Or we go back to zones (6 zones) and abrogate all the states- actually a preferred option.

[size=14pt]So you are happy for the 3 to 4 million Igbo’s who have made Lagos their homes to be suffering and smiling in that great melting pot. Lagos I read somewhere is the largest single administrative unit in the world.

The reason why it is the largest single administrative unit in the world is because it is a City State. Another City State that is well known is Singapore and it gets and makes more than what the whole of Nigeria makes in a year, that should give you an insight of how grossly under funded Lagos is, [/size]

tpiah:

why wont lagos be underfunded and overcrowded when the whole of nigeria lives there?

let other states develop their areas more instead of making lagos the lone star state.

Lagos is underfunded, because like the rest of Nigeria, it does not create enough money. It has to rely on oil revenues from Abuja to survive. Why can't it survive on its own, is the question?
The problem of Lagos is the problem of all 36 Nigerian states; the country is structured wrongly. No state should fund another state. If a state cannot fund itself, it should be merged into a bigger unit. Lagos should be merged with the sorrounding states.

KnowAll:




[size=14pt]So you are happy for the 3 to 4 million Igbo’s who have made Lagos their homes to be suffering and smiling in that great melting pot. Lagos I read somewhere is the largest single administrative unit in the world.

The reason why it is the largest single administrative unit in the world is because it is a City State. Another City State that is well known is Singapore and it gets and makes more than what the whole of Nigeria makes in a year, that should give you an insight of how grossly under funded Lagos is, [/size]

Wrong!
You've never heard about New York City?

Beaf:

Lagos is underfunded, because like the rest of Nigeria, it does not create enough money. It has to rely on oil revenues from Abuja to survive. Why can't it survive on its own, is the question?
The problem of Lagos is the problem of all 36 Nigerian states; the country is structured wrongly. No state should fund another state. If a state cannot fund itself, it should be merged into a bigger unit. Lagos should be merged with the sorrounding states.

Obviously, you are not familiar with issues concerning Lagos. Though Lagos collects money from the centre, it does not completely rely on the centre to survive. Secondly, what state would you rather Lagos merge with? Lagos generates more money than all the states surrounding it and that makes that suggestion of yours untenable.

one would think na only lagos state dey nigeria . . . . . .

and beaf beast or what do you call yourself, stop repeating the same s.tupid lies over and over again.

face your own state or dont you have one.

Beaf:

Lagos is underfunded, because like the rest of Nigeria, it does not create enough money. It has to rely on oil revenues from Abuja to survive. Why can't it survive on its own, is the question?
The problem of Lagos is the problem of all 36 Nigerian states; the country is structured wrongly. No state should fund another state. If a state cannot fund itself, it should be merged into a bigger unit. Lagos should be merged with the sorrounding states.

would this be the same lagos that obj starved for over 6 months?

Wrong!
You've never heard about New York City

[size=14pt]New York City is in New York State. Buffalo is a city in New York State and there is a huge swath of country between the 2 cities miles and miles of country side.

Lagos on the other hand is one huge conurbation. That is there is little OR no green spaces left if you travel from VI to Epe now,  and the  little green left is vigorously consumed by developmental encroachment at a phenomenal rate. Same thing is happening in the Badagry corridor.[/size]

Nchara:

Nigeria needs 6 states ONLY. Two in the SE, one each in the SS, SW, NC and NE and none for NW. So every zone has equal number of states:7. Or we go back to zones (6 zones) and abrogate all the states- actually a preferred option.

Ole! why should SE alone have two states when other zones are getting one.

KnowAll:


[size=14pt]New York City is in New York State. Buffalo is a city in New York State and there is a huge swath of country between the 2 cities miles and miles of country side.

Lagos on the other hand is one huge conurbation. That is there is little OR no green spaces left if you travel from VI to Epe now, and the little green left is vigorously consumed by developmental encroachment at a phenomenal rate. Same thing is happening in the Badagry corridor.[/size]

if/when they clear the slums, you'll be the first one shouting.

oyb:

would this be the same lagos that obj starved for over 6 months?

Thank you. If this sort of treatment has been meted out to any of the states Beaf is advocating that Lagos should merge with, that state would have become bankrupt.

desgiezd:

Obviously, you are not familiar with issues concerning Lagos. Though Lagos collects money from the centre, it does not completely rely on the centre to survive. Secondly, what state would you rather Lagos merge with? Lagos generates more money than all the states surrounding it and that makes that suggestion of yours untenable.

As long as it collects money from the center, it is reliant on other states; therefore, it should be merged with surrounding states to make economic sense. There will be much less duplication of jobs, ministries, much less senators and reps etc. It makes better sense to merge it with others than to split it.

oyb:

would this be the same lagos that obj starved for over 6 months?

Oh boy!! we will never hear the last of this, even after almost a decade later . . . ** rolls eyes***

Beaf:

As long as it collects money from the center, it is reliant on other states; therefore, it should be merged with surrounding states to make economic sense. There will be much less duplication of jobs, ministries, much less senators and reps etc. It makes better sense to merge it with others than to split it.

^^face your own state instead of constantly spewing rubbish all over the forum.

desgiezd:

Thank you. If this sort of treatment has been meted out to any of the states Beaf is advocating that Lagos should merge with, that state would have become bankrupt.

There are a handfull of states that would not go bankrupt in that situation, but that is no argument for the splitting of those states, rather, they should be merged with less productive states and collect zero from the center.

Obj starved Lagos but the money was released eventually-with interest kpa kpa. We saw how Tinubu was rolling on the floor begging Obj. Without oil money Lagos and all the other states would be dead.

Kobojunkie:

Oh boy!! we will never hear the last of this, even after almost a decade later . . . ** rolls eyes***

dude, wetin man go do?

we have to refute bs na - for those whose lives revolve around 'resource control' and who want to promote the falsehood that lagos state will die without their much touted 'oyel money'

oyb:

dude, wetin man go do?

we have to refute bs na - for those whose lives revolve around 'resource control' and who want to promote the falsehood that lagos state will die without their much touted 'oyel money'

ROFLMAO!!! I am just saying I don tire to read that silly excuse over and over . . . a lame excuse used to justify almost 8 solid years of DECAY in the state . .  even after. You should have seen Ikorodu before and after pictures . . . it was worse than a stand still.

Beaf:

As long as it collects money from the center, it is reliant on other states; therefore, it should be merged with surrounding states to make economic sense. There will be much less duplication of jobs, ministries, much less senators and reps etc. It makes better sense to merge it with others than to split it.

I wont ever join the chorus of splitting Lagos because it doesnt make any sense but I stand for the fact that Lagos can stand on its own without living-off revenues from other states. To achieve this, the state has to ensure that majority of the people pay taxes including petty traders. Also the lopsided federal system of government we are practising needs to be addressed. Lagos generates about half of the VAT collection in Nigeria yet derivation principle which is applicable to oil is not applied in sharing VAT revenue.

desgiezd:

I wont ever join the chorus of splitting Lagos because it doesnt make any sense but I stand for the fact that Lagos can stand on its own without living-off revenues from other states. To achieve this, the state has to ensure that majority of the people pay taxes including petty traders. Also the lopsided federal system of government we are practising needs to be addressed. Lagos generates about half of the VAT collection in Nigeria yet derivation principle which is applicable to oil is not applied in sharing VAT revenue.

You lie. VAT money is shared according to how it is generated. Lagos gets the largest share accordingly. That FACT was shown here in the past.

Nchara:

Obj starved Lagos but the money was released eventually-with interest kpa kpa. We saw how Tinubu was rolling on the floor begging Obj. Without oil money Lagos and all the other states would be dead.

Please let's put the facts in the right perspective for the benefit of those knowing this for the first time. There was no time Tinubu begged OBJ.

Nchara:

You lie. VAT money is shared according to how it is generated. Lagos gets the largest share accordingly. That FACT was shown here in the past.

Please could you provide the link because I don't think what you have said is right.

Kobojunkie:

ROFLMAO!!! I am just saying I don tire to read that silly excuse over and over . . . a lame excuse used to justify almost 8 solid years of DECAY in the state . .  even after. You should have seen Ikorodu before and after pictures . . . it was worse than a stand still.

As the Lagos State government intensifies efforts to decongest the city by encouraging residents to take up accommodation in the suburbs; residents in areas like Ikorodu are worried that without a commensurate infrastructural development, the population explosion in the suburbs would make life hellish for them. Decongesting the city Mr. Olujimi said that[size=14pt] the population of Ikorodu had doubled over the past ten years[/size], a situation he described as worrisome. “In 1998 when I started living here, there were not much people as there are now. You can go anywhere you want without worrying about beating the rush hour when coming back,” he said. Like Ikorodu, the state government had also focused on other suburbs in its bid to decongest the metropolis.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5574188-146/the_ikorodu_stalemate_.csp


even the western countries are saying enough is enough and sending everyone back home, so stop making pointless arguments.

it's not like you know anything about governance.

wont ever join the chorus of splitting Lagos because it doesnt make any sense but I stand for the fact that Lagos can stand on its own without living-off revenues from other states. To achieve this, the state has to ensure that majority of the people pay taxes including petty traders. Also the lopsided federal system of government we are practising needs to be addressed. Lagos generates about half of the VAT collection in Nigeria yet derivation principle which is applicable to oil is not applied in sharing VAT revenue.  

 


You hit the nail on the head Lagos probably don’t need a state, it is the revenue sharing that is loop sided. They should be getting 15% of takings from Nigeria Ports Authority, 15% of takings of MM Airport.

State creation has not solved any problems in Nigeria - it has simply enriched a few while the so called 'development' is still far away from the grass roots.

There is absolutely no need for creation of a new state, the current administrative structure of the state can meet the developmental needs of the state.

Besides, the creation of another state will do nothing to stem the loss of green space.

With regards to Beaf's statement about merging, this will not do any good. The other states around Lagos are not financially viable either (except maybe Ondo) so merging will simply compound the problem, not improve it.

It is unrealistic to expect states to stop collecting resources from the center - the aspiration is to reduce this dependence to a minimum.

tpiah:


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5574188-146/the_ikorodu_stalemate_.csp
even the whites abroad are saying enough is enough and sending everyone back home, so stop making pointless arguments.
it's not like you know anything about governance.

Yes, always the evil whites. .  . you mean the Ojuju's under your bed.

Actually, the population in Ikorodu MORE THAN DOUBLED IN THE LAST 10 years, even more in the last 3 years.(Check the state Website for more info)But I don't see how that should in anyway CHANGE The point I made there. However, I understand how YOU can think it does. I mean to you, decay is Ok if there is population growth . . . ROFLMAO!!

the lagoon state agitation is just pdp agidi - if you can't beat them - split them - some bizarre variant of lugard's divide and rule