Few hours ago, I had what I would consider an eye opening discussion with one of my intellectual mentors, a sound academic of Kalabari extraction who came in into the country a week ago from the US. A first class economist who holds the record of completing a Doctorate in record time in the US.

We got talking about Nigeria but most importantly this unfortunate war of words taking most of the productive time of Nigerians of Igbo and Yoruba extraction,online and offline. He sought my views and I told him that I am not interested in who owns Lagos, and will never be. I also let him know that from the look of things, I do not see myself living in Lagos by the time I clock 45 when the challenges and growing pains of communications technology would have been dealt with and I can do what I do even from the remotest part of Nigeria.

I am not interested in who owns Lagos, and will not break sweat over that issue. What I am interested in is that Nigeria as a country has what it takes to grow 36 cities to the status that Lagos enjoy today, but we are all here scratching the earth when we can soar with the Eagles.

Unthinking Leadership!

What will it take regional capitals like Ibadan, Enugu, Calabar, Kaduna, Jos etc to grow and become economically viable as Lagos. What will it take for governors of states to create spaces within their states so that graduates that finish from schools in their states find opportunities within the states instead of running off to say Lagos and Abuja where they will search for job, pay taxes, become part of the consumer class whose consumer power will add to the growth of the 'host' city.

When you look at Lagos from the air, a tiny strip of earth that is already suffocating,where land scarcity is so acute that presently there is no space to dump its refuse as the Ojota Dump Site is already a mountain. Where people are busy confronting nature, in monologue with the oceans , reclaiming lands through poor sand-fillings, while few minutes drive outside Lagos, yawning spaces are begging for development.

I remember a lecture Chinua Achebe gave at the World Bank Headquarters years ago aptly titled; Africa Is People. And I dare say, Lagos is people. The opportunities that make Lagos thick is the people who live and work in Lagos, they are the cause of its high property prices, and value, they are responsible for its huge VAT contributions, they are responsible for its high internally generated revenue,they are responsible for its exorbitant cost of living, they are responsible for its outrageous cost of hotel rates, they are responsible for making Lagos the largest market within the largest market in Africa.

It is the people!

Lagos is the people,and the people is Lagos.They are why everybody wants a piece of Lagos, and they are responsible for this blind 'war' over ownership of Lagos.Without them, the ships wont queue up for weeks at Apapa and Tin Can ports, without them the Banks wont be fighting over themselves localise in the city, without them the markets wont be the markets, and the office of the Iyaloja wont be that attractive to politicians.Reduce the present population by half, most of the businesses will look elsewhere. And without the people, Lagos will be like any other city in Nigeria.

But must we all die because of Lagos when a few policy tweaks would help open up economic spaces elsewhere so that other states and other cities will also blossom their potential? Is it not in the interest on this country that we have choices among mega cities instead of stifling in one corner of the country?

Thats Why I Am Not Interested!

I am not interested in who owns Lagos, rather I am interested in why the federal government has since the movement of the seat of government to Abuja not made any effort to develop other parts of Nigeria so as to decongest Lagos, and create opportunities for a more inclusive growth across the federation.

I am not interested in who owns Lagos, but I am interested in knowing why inspite of deep sea natural harbours and artificial ports in Calabar, Onne, Port Harcourt and Warri, the government of Nigeria has not come up with policies that will make these ports busy, and create alternative channels for the host of importers and exporters,instead of this madness we witness at Tin Can and Apapa Ports daily.

I am not interested in who owns Lagos, but I am interested in why Oil companies that have their operational bases in other parts of the federation have their head offices in Lagos denying their areas of operation the much needed taxes,and other resources that comes with such presence.

The Way Forward.

A Rail line from Lagos to Ibadan will do so much to diffuse this impending implosion. Developing Ogere and Shagamu into Satellite towns will open up a lot of economic space for the region.

From Port Harcourt to Aba is less than 30 minutes, even the two cities are silently engaged in a conversation with aim to merge in the nearest future. If the two governors can make use of that gray matter between their two ears, they will discover there are more revenue to get from cooperation than waiting for allocation from Abuja.

By next week, Ethiopian Airline will start direct flights to Enugu. This development is in itself a game changer, but there is the need to properly direct the ancillary development prospects form this. Emene Industrial Layout can be developed into an aeropolis,complete city detached from the Coal City with all accoutrements of a full blown city with plans to expand towards Okigwe on the Enugu Port Harcourt Highway which intersects Umuahia and Aba. Here is da bomb, only if we have a thinking leadership.

Asaba and Onitsha has been in a marriage of understanding for the past 100 years, this sprawling expanse holds the key to connect the South East with the South South, with one axis growing towards Awka and Enugu in the northern flank,while another axis moves towards Owerri on the eastern flank, with the southern flank expanding towards Warri and Benin. Every market in Lagos from Idumota to Alaba, ASPAMDA to even the problematic Ladipo can be replicated along this axis, better planned and well laid out and the buyers will still come from all over Africa.

The largest Shoe Market in Africa is located in Lome Togo, Igbo is the lingua franca in that market,and 70% of the traders are from Ohafia,thousands of buyers come from all over Africa to that market,with people from Nigeria constituting over 40% of the buyers. People who needs products will go to wherever the products are to buy.

I am not interested in who owns Lagos, because I too can create my own Lagos and with the benefit of hindsight, make it far better than Lagos.

After airing my take on this, Prof told me how doable my suggestions are and that it is in the interest of the present government to open up the Nigerian economic space. According to him, most of the sentiments that translate into ethnic agitations and fears are all about economic space. When people are not making headway as they wish, there is the tendency for them to think that someone else is occupying their space.This results in unnecessary squabbles. And I agree with him.

Thats why I chose to see this debate differently.

It is time to have a RETHINK.

But we first have to think.