Why Nigeria’s environment must be investment-friendly - Sanwo-olu
… as Lagos approves 3,000km metro fibre project
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu, says until the Nigerian environment is made investment-friendly through deliberate investment in key infrastructure, it will be difficult to attract diasporan Nigerians and foreigners to invest in the local economy.
This, according to SanwoOlu, is the reason the Lagos government is embarking on its ongoing infrastructure development programme.
This is also as the state executive council has passed a resolution approving the development of 3,000-kilometre metropolitan fibre project. The project when done will enable the state build several capabilities using technology. It will also facilitate state’s quest to become a smart city of the future driven by technology, and enhance Ease of Doing Business, which foreign investors can tap into.
Meanwhile, the state government, on Tuesday, opened bilateral talks with the Canadian government, and would be seeking cooperation from the Canadian authorities in the areas of cyber security, food security and technology, among others.
According to SanwoOlu, investment towards bridging the infrastructure gap in Lagos is a deliberate decision by the state government, because it would amount to a wasted effort to continue to request Nigerians abroad to return home to invest if the local environment is not made business-friendly.
Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, according to its immediate past governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is in infrastructure deficit that would require about $50 billion over five years to bridge.
Sanwo-olu, while receiving Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton City in Ontario, Canada, who led a delegation to the State House at Alausa, said the Canadian city shared similar history with Lagos, stressing that both cities had grown over the decades to become the hubs of commerce and information and communication technology (ICT).
The governor acknowledged the efforts made by the mayor to accelerate development in Brampton, which hosts a large population of Nigerians. He said Lagos would be seeking bilateral cooperation with the political leadership of the Canadian city to address cybercrime and increased food production.
“It feels great to know how much effort you, as a mayor of Brampton, you’re investing in driving development in your city and this is similar to what we have been doing in Lagos. We have embarked on intensive infrastructure to make Lagos more attractive to people in the diaspora to invest in.