By Segun Ajayi

The agenda was clear-cut, followed with a determination to translate the plans to concrete developments. The quest for a new Lagos driven by the T.H.E.M.E+ template is intentional in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global initiative aimed at transforming the world into a fairer, more prosperous and peaceful society by the year 2030.

The SDGs, 17 of them were sequel to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and adopted in September 2015 by member-states of the United Nations. It was a clarion call to end poverty, achieve gender equality, improve health and education and make our cities more habitable by combating climate change, protect the forests and more. 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu actually drove the message home at the inception of his administration in 2015 by establishing the Lagos Office for Sustainable Development Goals to empower Lagosians and drive progress towards the United Nations spelt out SDGs.  A critical appraisal of the Sanwo-Olu era vis-a-vis government programmes and initiatives epitomises a deliberate alignment with SDG aspirations. For instance, hardly is any programme that speaks to the SDGs more than the state’s transportation model.

The multi-modal transport initiative being implemented by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) in addition to engendering ease of movement, addresses SDG 13, climate change. It came to government’s realísation that for people to enjoy better quality of life, certain practices and habits that impacted adversely on the environment must be jettisoned. After all, a modern city like Lagos requires a paradigm shift from heavy reliance on road transportation and its concomitant hydro-carbon emissions, to a cleaner energy-driven forms of transportation that causes less damage to the ozone layers.

Therefore, government intensified its efforts, culminating in the completion of Blue and Red lines’ trains. Only recently in far away China, Sanwo-Olu signed an Memorandum of Understanding for take-off of the Green Line from Lekki to Marina. How the rail projects will impact on the quality of lives in Lagos is found in sharp drop in carbon monoxide emissions to the atmosphere. This will be made possible as more cars are taken off the roads when the light trains go full throttle. We must not lose sight of the hazards of green house gases to human health and the environment. So, moving Lagosians en-masse by train and water speaks to increased life expectancy. With light trains, travel time is abridged, movement becomes less stressful and Lagosians can plan their daily schedules.

Also found in the inland transportation space are the newly introduced Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric buses. Not only do they complement the diesel-powered Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses, they run on cleaner energy. By implications, CNG and electric buses will save Lagos roads from congestion and the environment from pollution. 

As much as Lagos boasts of impressive showing in the health sector, there are concerns that the state is not insulated from the phenomenal mass exodus of health workers to other lands otherwise (known as japa syndrome). Also in the mix is government’s medical outreach programme for vulnerable Lagosians under Eko Cares Initiative which has received wide applause since its emergence.

Determined to mitigate the shortage of medical personnel for optimisation of SDG3 (good health and well being), the state concluded plans to flag off a University of Medical Sciences before the year runs out. The objective is to produce about a thousand doctors per annum and by that address the perennial problem of brain drain in the sector. 

Remember the state’s health roadmap, which  is tailored to unhindered healthcare delivery, also featured comprehensive upgrade of infrastructure in the government-owned health institutions which began last year. The upgrade is being executed in phases with the primary goal of revamping health facilities across the state’s primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare system. In addition is the health insurance scheme aimed at accommodating the poor and vulnerable under in the state’s universal health coverage plan. 

The transformative agenda in the education sector vis-a-vis children’s unhindered access to basic education in Lagos alligns with SDG4 (education and technology). Being a major development agenda of the Sanwo-Olu administration, the policy had led to total upgrade of the state’s institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Gone were days when students in public schools studied in unwholesome environment. Today, public schools stand toe-to-toe with private schools owing to their infrastructural upgrade  and teachers motivation. Meanwhile, the  results are visible viz high demands for placement in public schools and reduction in the numbers of out-of-school children.

There is also Eko Excel initiative designed to achieve  excellence in learning for about 500,000 pupils across 1,016 primary schools, which has been up and running. The reform programme also aims at successfully developing more highly skilled teachers by offering them adequate training, support and by motivating them to leverage on technology for effective teaching. 

Also captured in the  master-plan is the elevation of two of the  state’s tertiary institutions to universities. They are Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and former Lagos State Polytechnic which transited to Universities of Education and Sciences and Technology respectively.

Also worthy of mention is the state’s prime tertiary school, Lagos State University (LASU). Hitherto,  infamous for unrests and incessant closures, LASU is currently acclaimed one of the most stable public universities in the country, all thanks to increased funding and improved workers’ welfare in that university. 

In heeding calls for gender equality globally, Sanwo-Olu expanded his administration’s development agenda last year by adding the “plus” leg to the T.H.E.M.E.S. Headlíned “Social Inclusion, Gender Equality and Youth”, the objective was to speak to SDGs, gender equality. In Lagos, SDG5 is structured around four pillars one of which is “prompting women security, combating gender-based violence and deepening women political participation and influence. It is on this strength that Lagos is counted among elite states upholding the requested parity between male and female genders. Recently, Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on SDGs, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih-Awokoya appeared on a Lagos TV station to shed light on government’s purposefulness in balancing men-to-women ratio in the state’s public service. The strategy, according to the governor’s aide,  permeates the low, mid-level and upper cadres of the public service. “I can say confidently there are more women in the lower level, mid-level and top cadres. Even among permanent secretaries, the ratio is 50-50. At the cabinet level, 30 per cent slot is apportioned to women and 70 per cent to men”, she said.

Finnih-Awokoya explained that the corollary to meeting the tenets of SDG5 include advocacies and community engagements at stimulating women participation in politics and  girl-child education, adding that steps are being taken to enhance financial inclusivity, and eradicate Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Lagos.

The governor’s aide was unequivocal about the state’s desire to meet SDG6, which is providing drinking water and sanitation. However, she admitted it had been challenging meeting the water needs of Lagos residents due to the city’s huge population. She broke it down: “Lagos needs 450 million cubic metres of water daily while she currently produces 125 millions”. Fast forward, Lagos went into partnership with private sector players and the decision had since paid off. More investors are now active in the water production value-chain in the areas of treatment, metering,and more.

So, the state is welcoming more private concerns to join government in meeting Lagosians water demands. “The more people have access to pipe borne water, there’ll be less drilling of boreholes, and less boreholes stabilizes the sea level”, Finnih-Awokoya noted.