Nigeria Content Online

It is back to the
politics once again after the much welcome break of romance and love
the past week. I thought to myself, what do I want in Lagos come May
2011. Sometimes, it is better to go to the market with your list in
hand so that you will not be swayed away by the sweet words of our
brothers from the East who have got the patent on making you feel good
as you depart with your hard earned cash. So back to my list and
hopefully the politicians will be reading or at least their staff or
friends. Let me start with the big guns before moving to my personal
favourites.

1. Power

Solve this and we
are on a fast track to becoming a global force to reckon with. It is
not only because constant power will be a life jacket to many start ups
that spend so much money on generated power in addition to P.H.C.N. but
the side effects of constant power will go a long way in treating other
issues. We all know that green is high on the agenda whether it is
planting trees or discussing climate change; our governor is all about
protecting and preserving nature but all his efforts would eventually
be checkmated by all the pollution caused by the toxic fumes being
emitted by generators. Then there is also the issue of noise pollution
and little by little Lagosians are going deaf. Have you noticed how we
are always shouting at each other just to get ourselves heard above the
din?

2. Water

By water I mean
access to clean potable drinking water. I remember when I used to live
in Abuja and the water we fetched from the tap or bought from the
Meruwa was good enough for drinking. Water is so essential for life’s
activities not just consumption and many families have to pay so much
from the little they earn for just a pail of water. One thing I would
propose is drinking fountains in all government owned public facilities
as well as schools.

3. Housing

This is a real
issue in Lagos that needs to be seriously addressed. There needs to be
affordable housing for not just the high, rich and mighty. And more
importantly, flexi-payment options not just the usual two years in
advance that most landlords demand of their tenants. While billions of
naira is being pumped into the choice parts of Lagos such as Banana
Island and Eko Atlantic City, we should not forget the other areas in
Lagos that need to be invested in especially those that are more prone
to flooding and erosion and those on the fringes like the water
communities. It is not good enough for the government to constantly be
patching up things and compensating people. Prevention they say is
better than cure.

4. Healthcare

I am really
getting tired and disillusioned with the whole doctors’ strike. It is
fast becoming the latest scarcity in town after petrol. Enough of the
dialogue, things need to be fixed as a matter of urgency as it is human
lives that are on the line here. How can we expect to become a mega
city if our human capital is dying off like flies because of inadequate
health care facilities and resources? My advice to the government, see
health care as a long term investment; if people are constantly sick,
how would they work and pay their taxes?

5. Transport

I want to see the
trains and I want to see them now. I want more work to be done on the
waterways. Traffic is another thing killing Lagosians slowly but
steadily. While we are working on improving existing infrastructure,
work needs to begin on developing newer and more technologically
advanced alternatives. I want to be able to go to the Island in one
piece and in peace without plotting a graph of my movement hours and
days in advance.