By Adeyinka Aderibigbe
The Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode inaugurated the Lagos Resilience Office on Tuesday, renewing government’s commitment to making the state work, in spite of disturbing challenges of urbanization.
He said the state’s mega city status has brought with it growing challenges such as traffic congestion, shortage of affordable housing, poor power supply and high rate of unemployment.
The event which took place at Protea Hotel, Ikeja, also signposted the State’s flag-off of activities as a member of Resilience Cities 100, an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation which started 20 years ago. Lagos was listed member of the RC100 in 2017.
Ambode, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Finance Mr Akinyemi Ashade said in spite of its limited land size, Lagos is home to 23 million inhabitants, with a growing challenge of developing capacity to accommodate future growth.
Ambode who inaugurated the Lagos Resilience Office (LASRO) and declared open the Resilience Lagos Week 2019, said LASRO has the madate of making Lagos better, through the promotion of the wellbeing of the citizenry and building their resilience by helping people, community and institutions to prepare for, withstand and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses that comes with living in the state.
“Indications are that Lagos is by nature susceptible to some challenges which could be best overcome through knowledge sharing with developed world countries that had encountered similar challenges in the past but have surmounted them,” he said.
Ambode said government would continue to aggressively pursue the transformation of its environmental challenges into opportunities such as waste to wealth, conversion of crime zones into beautiful areas, tree planting and greenery to mitigate climate change and the provision of affordable housing for all.
He stressed that the partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation through the RC100 programme would help Lagos amplify their city resilience framework which would help the state prepare for the increasingly unpredictable future.
According to him, statistics have shown that despite its small geographic size, Lagos State, the country’s economic and commercial nerve centre is home to a highly skilled workforce, with the greatest concentration of industries, key markets, financial and an information technology hub. is growing 10 times faster than any other major metropolis of the world.
Pesident of RC 100/Rockefeller Foundation Mr Michael Berkowitz said the admittance of Lagos State as a member of 100 resilient Cities which started in 2015, with the state’s application for membership, was concretised in February 2017.
Berkowitz, who was represented by RC 100 Deputy President Nse Umo Esema praised the state for coming up with the Lagos City Resilience Strategy (Lagos CRS), aimed at tapping into the deep reources and natural resilience of the people, with the hope of making the city more resilient to the current and future challenges.
According to Berkowitz, “with a growing population, environmental challenges, and the burden of poverty as well as huge infrastructural gaps, Lagos needs to be resourceful, flexible, robust and adaptable in meeting its growing challenges, in spite of its dwindling resources.”
He said LASRO’s mandate is to take a long term strategic view of the state’s challenges and develop its capacity to prepare for an uncertain future. As a strategic planning office, LASRO, he opined, is “expected to work with other implantation MDAs in order to align their activities, projects and programmes in order to make the state adaptable and resilient to challenges of urbanization.
The state’s Director, Development partnership Department in the Ministry of Economic planning and Budget mr Olalekan Bankole said the RC 100 membership would help develop a pragmatic response to the needs of megacity Lagos even as it grows into becoming a giga city (cities with 100 million population) by the end of the century.
He aid the theme of the Resilient Lagos Week 2019 which is Resilient Lagos 2030, 2050 and 2070 is to help develop a roadmap that would steamline government’s responses to the challenges of population explosion and managing urbanization in its limited land size.
He said the LASRO would not directly implement policies and programmes of government but support MDAs to attract partners and funding to carry out their strategic mandates. They would also continue to evolve the City resilience Strategy to be implemented by the government.
Among other lead presenters expected to speak at the four day event which would be rounded off on Friday are; former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Mr Supo Sasore, SAN, a lawyer and poet Aduke Gomez. Vassily Oye Barberopolous, Dr Andrew Nevin, Weibei Boer, Wateraid International Director John Garrett, RC100/Rockefeller Foundation official nse Esema, Martine Sobey, Rebecca Robert, Seyi Osiyemi, Muyiwa Agunbiade, Giles Omezi, papa Omotayo, Victoria Ibezim Ohaeri and ier Jonathan Ichaver, among others.
The top officials from the UK High Commission and embassies of Netherlands, Germany, and international Non Government Organisations such as Mercy Corps, Heinrich Boll Stiftung Nigeria, Space4Change, as well as government functionaries led by the Deputy Governor Dr Mrs Idiat Adebule, the Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, and body of Permanent Secretaries of strategic Ministries such as Transportation Dr Taiwo Salaam, Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Mrs Folashade Faseun, Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Abayomi Kadiri, the Chief Resilience Officer Mr Simon Gusah, Special Adviser to the Governor for 100RC Mrs Ibironke Sodeinde, and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor Mrs Yetunde Odejayi.
