The government must begin to see public infrastructure maintenance as a key accelerator of social and economic development. Most importantly, public safety lies at the core of any development initiative. The long delays in traffic, the wear and tear of motor vehicles, the cost of repairs and the associated health risks, tend to slow down labour productivity…

If, like me, you spend an average of four hours daily meandering to and from work in the city of Lagos, then ‘Baba Muri’, the mechanic, will certainly be on your speed dial. The sheer number of potholes one encounters while driving around Lagos (the sixth largest economy in Africa) is a sore reflection of the quality of care given to public infrastructure by the government.
So, while successive administrations in Alausa have consistently rolled out the drums to celebrate record amounts of internally generated revenue (IGR), basic public infrastructure, on the other hand, has been allowed to deteriorate.

It should concern residents that Lagos, having generated over N1 trillion naira from IGR alone in the last two years (according to the organisation, BudgIT) and allocating about N600 billion to general public services in that same period, has very little to show that the funds were judiciously utilised.

Of course, critics have decried the shadowiness surrounding the usage of public finance in Lagos (especially with regards to the costs of projects and profiles of contractors used to execute such projects). It is this lack of transparency and accountability that has now resulted in broken-down infrastructure – typically mirroring a landscape akin to a war zone.

Unsurprisingly, Mercer, a leading provider of data on the quality of living for employees sent to work abroad, in its 2019 Quality of Living Report, ranked Lagos 213 out of the 231 countries surveyed. Lagos only ranked better than 18 countries, 12 of which are either at war or are dealing with a high level of political instability. The ranking should embarrass any government who makes a claim to being the ‘Centre of Excellence’ when in reality, it is only the global capital of “potholes.

The Lagos State government should realise that the art of deceiving the public through the use of infrastructural development as a campaign tool, for propaganda or as an avenue to reward political cronies with bloated contracts, is now stale.

It is totally unacceptable for citizens who pay their taxes to be subjected to the pain of unforeseen motor repair costs, robbery, pollution and the risk of not being able to get to the hospital on time in the case of an emergency. It is now urgent for the Lagos State government to prioritise public infrastructure (particularly roads)…

The government must begin to see public infrastructure maintenance as a key accelerator of social and economic development. Most importantly, public safety lies at the core of any development initiative. The long delays in traffic, the wear and tear of motor vehicles, the cost of repairs and the associated health risks, tend to slow down labour productivity – which in turn slows the overall economic output.

In addition to the public safety threats amplified by multiple potholes and bad roads, which expose citizens to accidents, it has become common for criminal elements to exploit the opportunity provided by these potholes to rob unsuspecting road users who are forced to slow down in order to avoid the potholes. Also, ambulances on emergency services find it an uphill task to move patients to hospitals in record time owing to the deplorable state of the roads.

It is totally unacceptable for citizens who pay their taxes to be subjected to the pain of unforeseen motor repair costs, robbery, pollution and the risk of not being able to get to the hospital on time in the case of an emergency. It is now urgent for the Lagos State government to prioritise public infrastructure (particularly roads) by declaring a state of emergency in that sector.

While “Baba Muri” is a great man, having to see him every fortnight and part with hard-earned money was never part of the plan.

Ayodele Adio, a communication strategist, writes from Lagos.