Governor Fashola Presents Lagos To The World Eko o ni baje o (Lagos will never be destroyed) is the popular motto echoed by most Lagos residents, and this video released by the Lagos State government showcased Lagos as a megacity with so much potential to be even greater. While many residents have commended the efforts of Governor Fashola of Lagos state other critics have regarded the video as “a myth,” “sheer fantasy,” and “a series of false representations.” The video, which is available on youtube, offers an image of Lagos as a safe city that – in the words of Governor Babatunde Fashola – anybody “would like to call home.” The video ostensibly made by the Lagos Internal Revenue Service also feautured the former governor of Lagos, Bola Tinubu. The video however presents a glitzy and glamorous portrait of the city of Lagos that is at odds with the experience of the vast majority of the millions of residents. A Lagos-based businessman lamented that “most Lagosians can’t recognize the Lagos in this video.” He added that, while Mr. Fashola has done a commendable job in cleaning up parts of the city and building some roads, “It is farfetched to claim that Lagos works as a modern city should work.” A Lagos-based lawyer pointed out that the video gives a rosy picture of the sharp rise in internally generated revenues in Lagos State, “but ignores the fact that there’s no transparency and little accountability in the process. Another critic wondered why the video failed to focus on the neglected slums of the city as well as the plight of millions of Lagosians who reside in shanty sections that lack the most basic sanitary facilities. “Where are the real residents of Lagos who live next to open and overflowing gutters, whose children go to schools that are not fit for cockroaches, and who have to travel in overcrowded molue buses?” she asked. “Let us hear the voices of the teeming millions of Lagosians stating that their city is Eldorado on earth. Then I will take the video seriously,” she added. Watch the video below and share your thoughts....
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:20:19 +0000