With the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential elections, Lagos State, which has always clamoured for a ‘Special status’ position, may eventually get its wishes fulfilled. This is because besides the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari to pay special attention to the state, Lagos Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, has also said that a special status for Lagos would be topmost in the agenda of the Eighth Assembly.
The clamour for a special status for Lagos has always been on the front burner, especially during the administration of former governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola. He never failed to use any opportunity that presented itself to harp on the need for a special status for Lagos. He often based his argument on the fact that being a metropolitan state with a population of over 15 million, the resources accuring to Lagos, combined with its internally generated revenue was grossly insufficient to cater for the needs of its inhabitants.
Fashola had always insisted that if Lagos were given a special status, the income that it will generate will also affect other states of the country in the long run. At one of the functions he attended while he was governor, he had said that the challenges of infrastructure and security were mitigating against the state and the nation as a preferred investment destination.
According to Fashola, “the state generates about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and as such the state has remained the economic centre of the nation.”
He said that without infrastructure such as electricity, it would be difficult to attract local and foreign investors.
“Without tackling insecurity issues, we cannot make this place (Nigeria) an investment destination.
We have identified areas such as agriculture, transportation, housing and power that will take Lagos to its investment destination but the state needs to be given special status to achieve this. Over and above this, I think in the national interest, Lagos now deserves to be treated as a special state. I do not say this because of Lagos but because of Nigeria. This is where all the food producing regions sends their produce. This is the market for the whole country. This is the point from which majority of imports that come into this country enters from the ports. If this state does not prosper, prosperity will be difficult for many parts of the country. Special status for Lagos means provision of financial support for the infrastructure and assets that have been built in the Federal Capital Territory. In other jurisdictions where capitals have moved, there has always been that special support by way of funding for the old capital” Fashola had said.
With his administration over, and a change of guard at the federal level, there is a renewed call for a special status for Lagos.
Recently, the newly elected speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, said that the pursuit of a special status for Lagos would be a priority of the Eighth Lagos Assembly.
The speaker promised that for this to be achieved, the Assembly would work hand-in-hand with other lawmakers, especially those elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the National Assembly, to actualise the quest, which he insists was long overdue.
According to him, this has become very imperative because apart from being a former federal capital Lagos still remains the economic and commercial nerve centre of the country and the destination of so many Nigerians seeking better life.
He said: “It is therefore important that the federal government takes special interest in the state by according it a special status and making necessary provisions to cushion the pressure on infrastructure in the state.”
Obasa had said this during the Assembly’s first plenary after the majority leader, Sanai Agunbiade presented a report on the June 12 Anniversary lecture which took place in Lagos in commemoration of annulment of the June 12 election acclaimed to have been the freest and fairest election and won by the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.
Agunbiade said one of the recommendations at the ceremony was that since the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formed the government at the federal level, the state should seize the opportunity to ensure that the state is granted the status.
He said almost all participants at the event agreed that there is no better time than now to push for special status since the state will have a listening ear now that the APC is in control at the centre.
Former Senate President, Senator David Mark had also sometime ago said during an event in Lagos that the people of the state were not asking for something special, neither was it asking for anything out of the ordinary. He had said, “I believe that the view of the governor on the status of Lagos State is the view of Lagosians. Let me also state that we are all conversant with Delhi in India and Rio in Brazil, among others. But I do know former capitals have special status in these countries.”
With the promise made by President Muhammadu Buhari after he won the general elections, that he would pay special attention to Lagos State since it was the former capital of the country, the clamour for a special status may yield fruits sooner than expected. During one of his visits to Lagos before the governorship elections, Buhari said that Lagos had so many potentials, and as such needed to be paid special attention.
He said: “Before the elections, Fashola informed me of the huge funds spent by the state government to maintain the federal infrastructures in the state. And I told him that if I win the elections, I will give it priority. I am extremely impressed with what Lagos State Government has done in terms of mobilising revenue to sustain the development of the state. It is in the best interest of Nigeria that special attention be given to Lagos, because whatever affects it, affects the country.”