Why Lagos deserves special status by rasak

 Chief Lanre Razak, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos state and former governorship candidate, spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the Buhari and Ambode administrations, the agitation for special status for Lagos and other issues. What is your reaction to the rejection of the Lagos Status Bill by the Senate? I felt very bad when I heard the news. It shows that our senators are not true Nigerians. They are behaving as if they don't have the interest of the people at heart. Those who come from the north see themselves as northerners; as people who have nothing to do with Lagos. Those who come from the east and opposed the bill, see themselves as easterners; forgetting that Lagos occupies a very sensitive position in the economy of this country. Look at the contribution of Lagos to the Value Added Tax (VAT). What does the state get back in return from the Federal Government for that? The Ministry of Niger Delta was established to give back to the communities where we produce oil. Thirteen per cent of our earnings are assigned to give back to people in those communities. Lagos State alone produces about 70 per cent of the total VAT generated in this country. What do we get for? Lagos consumes about 60 per cent of our fuel. That means the Federal Government is earning a lot of money from the fuel consumed in Lagos, but what do we get back to improve and sustain infrastructure in Lagos? What they forget is that any status granted to Lagos is not for indigenes of Lagos alone; it is for all Nigerians in the state. Any status granted to Lagos is to strengthen the economic base of the country in general. So, they are playing dirty politics with lives of Nigerians from the four corners of the country. The denial they gave to Lagos is very saddening and I believe God will touch their mind; they still need to change their mind and reconsider their stand. They should know that for every action there is a reaction; equal and opposite. Lagosians need not behave as if we are militants; we don't need to do that. I believe that people in Lagos are civilized, but I still believe that those senators who shot down the bill have done terrible things to themselves and to those of us who live in Lagos, because all of us stand to benefit from the rejected bill. I want to appeal to them to have a rethink. What is your position on the debate to grant full autonomy to local governments? That is the way it should be; in a true federal set up, local governments should have full autonomy. But, when you look at the attitude of Nigerians to governance, local governments should be one of the strongest tiers of government in the country, because they are the closest to the people. So, they need more money to meet the needs of Nigerians at that level. The Federal Government does not need as much as 56 per cent revenue from the Federation Account. That is why corruption is pervasive at the national level. They should increase the amount of money that is allocated to the states and local governments. We need more service delivery at that level, so we also need key professionals to be in charge, render quality service to the people. Again, the political heads, a lot of them are there for economic reasons, not because they are matured enough to handle the duties of head of government at the local government level. They are not matured, but that is not the reason we should not give the councils autonomy. I am an advocate of economic autonomy, as well as political autonomy to local governments at the level they are operating. What is your take on the renewed clamour for restructuring? It is not strange to hear that. I congratulate the politicians and Nigerians. We have been under military rule for too long and at the time the military were leaving office, a lot of things were not tidied up. We were in a hurry to push the military away. But now that they are gone, like minds ought to regroup, to come up with political parties with ideology. If that is what you mean by restructuring, let it be; yes we know the party that cares. We know the party that truly wants to serve the people; we know the party that acquires power merely to milk the nation to death. During the People's Democratic Party (PDP) era we didn't see serious impact of political parties in governance. In the same vein, I am yet to see the cohesiveness, the bond in the All Progressives Congress (APC), to give support to their government to deliver its campaign promises to the people. As long as this situation remains like this, people will always ask for political restructuring. What can President Muhammadu Buhari do to alleviate the suffering in the land? People are clamouring for the devaluation of the naira, but since our economy is not export driven, such a policy will not help. How many companies are engaged in full production of goods at the moment? So, if we devalue we cannot exploit the opportunity to produce more for export. If you devalue and you only import, it will make the cost of the products very expensive and it will hurt Nigerians more. My advice is for Mr. President to look at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Are we getting it right at the CBN? He should look at his Economic Management Team; are we getting the best advice at that level? Let there be a serious pathological examination of all structures of government. We said the PDP mismanaged the nation for 16 years and most of the people in key positions and parastatals now are those appointed politically by the PDP. In one and half years plus they have not deemed it fit to remove some of the elements of the PDP in government. Do you think these elements will wish the APC government well? They may have their reasons for keeping them in government, but I don't think that is the right thing to do. You have been given the position of President of Nigeria to manage effectively the values, the resources both animate and inanimate objects that are available for you to meet the needs of Nigerians. That is what I think he should do. In your view, did the President appoint the right persons to run the economy, particularly in view of the recession? Loyalty is key in whatever you want to do. If you want to run a media house, for example, the first set of staff you look for first are those who would be committed to the set goal; who would be loyal to your mission. How can I honestly work for you? I agree that there are some appointments that should be made without partisan considerations and they will deliver. But, there are some that got their appointment on the ticket of a political party and the party in government didn't appoint them; such people can never wish you well; they can never wish you success and those are the things I think the President should look at and be properly advised. What are your expectations from the Senator Ken Nnamani-led committee on electoral reforms? There is no way you can stop war without removing the cause of war. What are the factors responsible for monetization of the electoral process by Nigerians? Eradicate poverty and a lot of things will change for the better. How would you rate Governor Akinwunmi Ambode's administration so far? We are lucky to have Mr. Ambode as governor of Lagos State. Also, I use this opportunity to thank the APC National Leader and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his choice of people managing Lagos. Look at the achievements of former Governor Babatunde Fashola and look at what Mr. Ambode is doing in Lagos. He is simply fantastic. He is fantastically doing good things in Lagos and he is a fair-minded person. He is spreading development to the nooks and crannies of the state. Recently, he took members of his cabinet to Badagry for two weeks, to hold executive council meetings and go round on projects inspection, to ascertain where there is need to provide the right infrastructure to boost tourism in the area. He is working in Alimosho and Abule Egba, providing fly-overs; providing overhead bridges in Ajah and other amenities. He is also in Epe, upgrading existing roads and providing new ones. But, there is one critical thing he should do for us in Epe: We appreciate all that he has done so far, but we may not be able to maximize the benefits if we don't have our road from Ibeju dualized to Epe. Again, Ambode has a special way he studies the infrastructural facilities and needs of people, regarding traffic management in Lagos. Look at the Third Mainland Bridge. Before now, if you leave Lagos Island around three o'clock on work days, you'll find traffic hold-ups from Lagos until you get to the old toll gate on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. But, he deployed experts to study that area and they discovered that the need was not as much as envisaged. After a scientific study, the bus-stop at Oworoshoki, on both sides was improved tremendously and today the traffic congestion there has fizzled out. They also moved to Alapere. There, the government created a road from the Oando Petrol Station to link Alapere straight and that showed that it is people that are turning to Alapere from Ogudu that were causing the traffic bottlenecks and once that was done the problem was solved. He has saved not only man-hours which in terms of monetary value you cannot quantify, but it also has a lot of ripple effects on our economy. For instance, the transporters, it has improved tremendously their turn around. Instead of doing two or three trips daily, they can now do more than 20 and earn more money from their business. So, even as a businessman who will be thinking how he will go to Lagos once a day and that is the end of the day's work, you can now go as many times as possible, because the traffic situation has improved tremendously. The Light Up Lagos Project is another worthy initiative of commendation. Even with the high cost of diesel, N210 per litre, Ambode is still getting money to buy diesel to light up Lagos. This is happening at a time some states cannot pay their teachers. If you get to most parts of Lagos at 2am, Lagos is awake; if you get to Lagos at 3 am, Lagos is still awake. That is fantastic and that is Ambode for you. The salaries of civil servants and teachers as well as pensions are being paid as at when due. We need to encourage and support Governor Ambode and that is why I felt terribly bad when I heard of the decision of the Senate to reject the Lagos Status Bill sponsored by distinguished Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District. This is a bill that ought to be considered, because Lagos needs special attention. Ambode is working and Lagos is working and Nigerians should pray for him for God to give him good health, long life, wisdom to continue with this good job he is doing in Lagos. We are very proud of him, especially those of us from Epe, where the governor hails from.  



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