Mr Modestus Umenzekwe is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, he speaks on the need for a special status for Lagos State in the budget and the review of the constitution by the National Assembly
Given the stringent economic policies biting Nigerians hard now; is Lagos still a place of opportunities as it were? Well, Lagos was the capital of Nigeria before it was moved to Abuja, and I can tell you that since then Lagos has been struggling to maintain its status in terms of accommodating people. Why I used the word struggling is because of the influx of people into Lagos into what I will described a small landmass. So, the state is struggling to accommodate people but I congratulate the managers of Lagos and the government for rising to the occasion.
I have made some publications on this in the past that Lagos is a prime example of peace and opportunities as well as symbol of unity in Nigeria. You and I know very well that people from the six geopolitical zones have continued to rush to Lagos for better opportunities; it is a home for all after Anambra State. Lagos accommodates everybody; that is why you see the population growing in geometric progression.
Outside there, people feel that there is a lot of money in Lagos; whether that assertion is right or wrong, the most important thing we must know is that Lagos State is carrying a lot of load in terms of human capacity, in terms of vehicular movements and in all manner of human endeavours, Lagos is the highest. That is why I give kudos to those who gave it the name – Centre of Excellence. And good a thing, successive governments in Lagos have been trying their best to make sure that that status of Centre of Excellence is maintained.
I had my fears during the #EndSARS protest that Lagos would collapse, but lo and behold, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu contained the whole thing. I thought Lagos is finished because of the quantum of damage in terms of infrastructure and in terms of property that were damaged. No other state in the federation suffered what Lagos suffered. Also flash back to the Ebola era, Lagos was badly hit, the then governor, Babatunde Fashola, had to cut short his travel, came back and swung into action.
He established what I may call the first isolation camp in this country to contain Ebola. Even though lives were lost, Lagos did its best despite the number of people in the state to contain that outbreak. Again, in 2020, I thought Lagos would collapse due to Covid-19 but the state government was able to handle the issue.
That was why I insist that Lagos is a prime example of peace, opportunities and unity and anyone joking with Lagos is joking with the entire Nigeria. No matter how anybody sees it, no matter any reason, once you joke with Lagos you are joking with the entire Nigeria.
You are an advocate of a special status in the budget for Lagos State; do you still insist that Lagos should be accorded a special status? My answer to that question is yes and if you ask me the same question tomorrow I will still say yes as I told you yes many years back. You see, I am from Anambra State, a very lovely state, but that will not stop me from saying the truth. Lagos State set the pace for economic and infrastructural advancement of this country.
In the 7th Assembly, I made a publication advising the then National Assembly, led by most respected senator, David Mark, to give support to a bill sponsored by our now First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, requesting that Lagos should be given special status in the budget. In 2018, I repeated my call that the National Assembly should revisit the Lagos State special status bill, but all those things were turned down. I was like a lone voice crying in the wilderness. But bear in mind that most of the
People from the six geopolitical zones have continued to rush to Lagos for better opportunities; it is a home for all… that is why you see the population growing in geometric progression
members of the National Assembly and big men in this country emanated from Lagos. When we were in secondary school, if we were going on holiday during the long vacation, we would be asking ourselves where are you going to spend your holidays and you would find out that 80 percent of our school mates then would say they are going to Lagos. Look at the heavy trucks on the streets of Lagos, the vehicular pressure on the roads of Lagos, the waterways.
Look at the Third Mainland Bridge; every day there is work going on there because of pressure. And you know water in Lagos is salty, it is not friendly water, so it takes the state a chunk of money from the budget to maintain Lagos. I don’t see it as what the state can carry alone. Now, they are talking about the Fourth Mainland Bridge, which is still aimed at also trying to decongest and open up channels for vehicular movements and transportation issues.
They are filling some parts of the ocean, to accommodate Nigerians, not only Lagosians, so I don’t see the reason why that bill did not see the light of the day. About 80 percent of National Assembly members, directly or indirectly are in Lagos, they have property here, they have their families here, so we shouldn’t play politics with the clamour for a special status for Lagos.
Are you advocating that the bill be reintroduced by a senator or the old bill should be dusted up, as it were, since Senator Oluremi Tinubu is no longer in the Senate? Either way, they should revisit it because the papers are there. So, the three senators representing Lagos should rise to the occasion as members of the public are ready to support that Lagos be accorded a special status in the constitution to be amended or the new constitution to be drafted.
Some Nigerians are calling for a review of the constitution, while others are calling for an entirely new constitution or even many are advocating that the 2014 National Conference report should be dusted up. Where do you stand in all these? You said some Nigerians are calling for new a constitution, while others are calling for a review of the existing constitution. All of them are patriotic Nigerians calling for a better working document for Nigeria. That is the way l look at it. There is no way we can be living without change.
There are so many things that are not in the constitution that are supposed to be there, and there are so many things that are lopsided that are supposed to be adjusted. For instance, the SouthEast don’t have equal states like other geopolitical zones, and I think it is the constitutional review that will take care of all these things for us to get one or two additional states like others. So, whether you call it new or review, the most important thing is that there is the need for us to have a better working document to better the lives of Nigerians.
It might lead us to devolution of power, which will be a modification of the 1963 Constitution. If it is done; some of these crises here and there will calm down. You know that late constitutional lawyer, Prof Ben Nwabueze advocated for this despite the fact that he was part of those who drafted what we are using now during the military era. So, let the debate go on, let the conversation go on, let Nigerians say their mind, let everybody talk.
The National Assembly will now harmonise the whole thing and marry it with the 2014 National Conference report. For me, it is a matter of nomenclature, whether you call it confab or whatever; the most important thing is that we are talking about a better working document for Nigerians.
Some of the recommendation of the 2014 must have been obsolete, so the National Assembly has a responsibility. It is a very serious task of either reviewing the existing constitution or drafting a new one, or reviewing the 2024 national confab, or marrying the three documents to bring the best. In fact, I encourage them to go into eclectic fashion of points and ideas to give us a better working document.
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