By Steve Omolale– The megacity of Lagos is under a heavy yoke. While the Atlantic Ocean is coming down batteringly against it from the south, Nigerians from all walks of life and all the states of the federation, as well as people from outside the country, are trooping into the now heavily burdened city every minute from the west, east and north.
Despite the fact that it is no longer the federal capital, thousands of people still enter Lagos 24/7, seeking greener pastures and opportunities, both real and imaginary.
When the military dictator and self-styled president, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), hurriedly moved the country’s capital city from Lagos to Abuja on December 12, 1991, following the Gideon Orkar coup of April 22, 1990, that rattled him and other military top brass, it was obvious that Lagos would be like an orphan. And so it has remained orphaned since then, abandoned by the Federal Government and its numerous agencies and departments it served with all it could muster for several decades.
Despite the unprecedented pressure on its infrastructure by the increasing population of approximately 25 million people on its 1,171 square kilometres landmass, the second largest city-state economy in Africa after Cairo in Egypt, does not get any special fund, or assistance, from the Federal Government, apart from the statutory monthly allocation from the Federation Account, just like any other state in the country. Lagos Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew to approximately $259 billion last year. This is because of the spirited efforts of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, building on and surpassing the achievements of his predecessors who tried their very best to sustain the economic master plan developed by President Bola Tinubu as the governor between 1999 and 2007.
Home to many of the biggest industries in the country, including the world-class $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Lagos State topped the remaining 35 states by generating the highest Value Added Tax (VAT) yearly. In January, this year alone, it generated N533.40 billion, representing 58.39 per cent, in VAT. This is besides its heavy contributions in other sectors of the economy.
Ironically, the state received a gross allocation of N111.22 billion and retained N101.34 billion after statutory deductions, highlighting the disparity between its contribution and its share of the centrally-pooled revenue.
Those of us who have lived in Lagos for an upward of 40 years have painstakingly monitored this sustained monthly gross allocation to the ever-expanding city-state and have concluded that it is gross injustice taken too far.
Lagos as the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg is being grossly underfed at the expense of the other states of the federation, whose citizens who live in Lagos always unjustly and needlessly vituperate their frustration on the state government, not minding what their home state governments do with their own monthly allocations.
One witnessed it when Lagos city was shamefully the dirtiest in Africa prior to 1999, in the dark days of military dictatorship. But, not anymore. It remains one of the cleanest and liveable cities in the world today. We witnessed it when all the indices used to measure how a decent city should be were negative about Lagos. But at present, all the negative indices are positive, thanks to the efforts of the successive governments in the state, especially the current one.
The Sanwo-Olu administration, not minding the prolonged injustice done to Lagos in terms of revenue allocation, has proved to be resilient in the last seven years by increasing the Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) and revolutionising infrastructure provision to cope with the geometric increase in the population of Lagos megacity and the Centre of Excellence as a whole.
Because some states produce crude oil, they started collecting the 13 per cent derivation fund, which was enshrined in Section 162, sub-section 2 of the 1999 Constitution. How the fund directly benefit their citizens is a topic for another day. This fund is to cushion the effects of environmental degradation engendered by exploration in oil-bearing communities in the affected states.
But, what does Lagos get as the economic hub of the country and for the massive pressure on its infrastructure by its huge population from different parts of the country? Absolutely nothing. For this, one would have expected the representatives of the state in the National Assembly to sponsor a bill to give Lagos a special city status because of its melting point role for all Nigerians. The elitist Omo Ibile Eko (Lagos indigenes) and its traditional institution have a role to play by always bringing this injustice to Lagos to the fore. President Tinubu as a Lagos indigene and former governor also has a role to play in this.
While other Nigerians are abandoning their villages to seek better life in Lagos, because they believe the streets flow with milk and honey, thereby putting undue pressure on its infrastructure, the Federal Government must give Lagos its deserved special status. This is what is called justice.
*Omolale, a seasoned journalist, writes from Lagos.
