Fashola pleads with Lagosians over discomfort of roads reconstruction

Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola has urged Lagosians to bear the discomfort brought by gridlocks as a result of road construction works ongoing in the state, saying the people will soon reap the benefits.

Fashola said this on Tuesday at the first international research fair organized by the Lagos state University (LASU), Ojo with the theme:

“Driving national development through research and innovation” held at the Aderemi Makanjuola auditorium of the university.

Delivering the keynote address, the minister said having come this far to Badagry, he must also make comments about the Lagos -Badagry Expressway.

“The road and some others were built in the ‘70s during the period of oil boom. We have been complaining that nothing was done on the roads

“I can confirm to you now that on the Lagos -Badagry Expressway, sections have been awarded and works are ongoing. The problematic section has been the one from Agbara to Ojo, but now, we have also awarded that section and work is being done. So three different contractors are working on that road,” he said.

However, Fashola warned that markets are springing up on the highways, adding that since what Lagosians want is highways, they must take responsibility for the menace of markets on the highways.

“Construction works are also ongoing on the roads connecting Lagos. Therefore, we must be patient to see the results in a few months. These constructions will naturally bring some discomfort and inconveniences. I ask you to please bear the discomfort for now and in a matter of time, we will reap the benefits,” the minister pleaded.

He said Nigerians are confronted with many questions about how to develop; therefore, the theme of the fair is apt.

“There is no question about whether this country will be great. I know it will. The question for me is when? Because I hope it happens in my lifetime,” he said.

According to the minister, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won an unexpected election in 2015 when everyone said it was impossible, saying no university in Nigeria has researched how that happened.

“But, I will tell you how it happened. APC chose to innovate; the party conducted a research, an opinion poll to ask Nigerians what they wanted. We collected millions of data which guided our direction. Nigerians wanted security and perception of the government.

“What I am driving at is that when we study things (research), they produce results and in turn improve our lives. Today, we talk about increase in kidnapping? Does it correlate with reduction in armed robbery?” he asked.

He also queried if anybody has published research on the trend of crime in the country.

Fashola said LASU is a fertile ground for research, adding that “people talk about development, but how many of them work for average eight hours daily (from 8am to 4pm).

“But, I ask, how many of us are really working in that period? How many are productive? Let your conscience judge you. We talk about deficit in housing problem. But, I ask, how do we verify the data being bandied about? How many houses are there in the villages unoccupied?”

He said national development cannot happen without proper data and tasked LASU to help the country with verifiable data to aid national planning, asserting that “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.”