Lagos Unveils Apapa Regeneration Plan

For too long, the Apapa Central Business District, CBD, haven to the nation’s seaports, has become a nightmare of sort to stakeholders. This is as a result of traffic congestion and activities of miscreants. In the late 80s and early 90s, the allure in the CBD, such as the amusement park attracted a large number of Lagosians who went there for picnic and relaxation. Traffic menace and other debilitating vices in the area now scare people away.  The decay in Apapa has been such that it would take billions of naira to salvage the area and restore the area to its past glory.

Before May, 2012, oil tankers, trailers and trucks ostensibly took over roads in Apapa. Oil marketers operated with impunity and unchallenged; people working in Apapa faced harrowing experience on daily basis, spending many man-hours on traffic gridlock. The situation has been unpalatable.

Despite its significance to the country’s domestic economy, lots of businesses had no other choice than to quickly relocate from Apapa to save their capital. The problem of indiscriminate erection of shanties in different parts of Apapa by illegal aliens and Nigerians alike had escalated the crime rate in the area. Cases of robbery, rape and other criminalities were rife in the area, thus posing a threaten to individuals and businesses.

Most disturbing was the operation of oil companies, whose tankers the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, said had caused much damage to the environment and habitats created to improve human life-span. Bello said the activities of oil companies and their tankers have degraded the roads, drainage system and public spaces from Marine Beach to Ijora Causeway.

With all these ugly cases, Governor Babatunde Fashola ordered the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit in conjunction with other security agencies to rid Apapa of its nuisance as government had plans to restore the CBD to its former glory.

In May, the state government intervened in this direction. Supported by the Federal Government, the state’s intervention has yielded much result. This is now evident in the traffic gridlock that have been drastically eased; criminal hide-out and shanties that have been removed; and cases of degradation that are being addressed.

After the clearing, Apapa residents have been asking if the gains of the state intervention would be sustained. Such questions are now being addressed one after the other, especially with the recent unveiling of Apapa regeneration plan.

Just recently, Bello and the Special Adviser on the Environment, Dr. Taofeek Folami, described the clearing of Apapa as ungainful if there “is no grand plan.”

From Ijora Causeway to Marine Beach, the commissioner said the state government had concluded plans on what “to do with some of the open spaces that we have reclaimed. We will landscape the space we reclaimed in Marine Beach; we will provide a recreation centre for residents of Ijora and Ajegunle. Some of the facilities that will be available at the recreation centre are basket ball court and football pitch, among others.”

He explained that gardens and parks “will be created around the area. We have done the design for the project. The street lights from Ijora to Apapa have been designed and the estimate has been made.” At Ijora Olopa, Bello said there would be basket ball courts and boxing rings, where residents of Oyingbo, Ebute-Meta, Iganmu and Alaka, among others could come and relax at their leisure.

“At Marine Beach, we plan to use all public spaces reclaimed from illegal occupants. There is plan to build a standard football pitch and create outdoor advert boards at strategic places, which could serve as source of revenue for the state. Aside these, the entire area will be lighted,’ he stated.

Bello said the cost of regenerating Apapa was huge, saying that Fashola had to set up an inter-ministerial committee to ensure full implementation of the project. The committees were drawn from the Ministries of the Environment, Agriculture; Works and Infrastructure and the Lagos State Advertising Agency, LASAA, among others.

“The project is quite big and might be difficult to put a specific cost on it because it requires that the drainage system be rehabilitated and road infrastructure fixed. But the state government needs over N6 billion to reconstruct the road from Marine Beach to Apapa alone and to return all the roads to their old form apart from the cost of beautifying the entire area,” he stated.

Giving a breakdown of the project cost, Bello put the cost of landscaping Marine Beach and Ijora Causeway at over N2 billion, adding that “by our last calculation, the regeneration project will cost over N12 billion. This is due to a lot of damage that has been done to the environment. For instance, we have to do adjustment before we commence road construction, and this aspect has not been costed.

“This was as a result of the diesel, petrol and petrochemical products spilt on the roads by those who turned the roads to their workshops. This has caused major degradation to the environment, thereby making Apapa and its environs almost unhabitable for its residents and non-conducive for the businesses, most of which were forced to relocate to more accessible areas that spur business growth,” he said.

But the state government is now lamenting what the commissioner described as FG’s many failed promises. Bello expressed reservation over the FG’s silence about the Apapa regeneration project. He pointed out that the project was discussed and planned with the FG from inception, adding that it was now a shock to him that the central government had not made good its promises.

“The state government has been the only government involved in the sustainability of Apapa since we completed the removal of the shanties. So far, the Federal Government has not contributed its quota. We cannot bear the burden alone because this port is the number one port in the country.  The traffic gridlock on wharf Road was created by the management of the Nigeria Ports Authority.”

“The state government spent lots of money to clear Marine Beach and Ijora Causeway. It costs N100 million to clear all the shanties; remove abandoned vehicles and others from this axis. We have completely cleared the place. And today, it is very easy for one to drive through Apapa. Yet, the state is yet to receive FG’s response in different areas it pledged to make intervention,” Bello added.

The commissioner referred to FG’s promises to address the disturbing case of ocean surge in Alfa Beach; an incident which he said had almost wiped out a community called Okun Alfa bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of the state. He explained how President Goodluck Jonathan inspected the place along with Fashola, but till now, the Federal Government “is yet to come up with its plan for Alpha Beach.”

He observed that the Apapa regeneration plan was not captured in the 2012 appropriation law, saying that it would require structural appropriation for the state government “to do it. With all these, what will be the responsibility of the FG in regenerating Apapa? That is why it is always a problem to work with the FG. The state government had not received a penny from the central government up to date.”

According to Fashola, the FG “does not compensate Lagos State Government for all the damages it did to infrastructure in the state. All the money they are making from the ports, we get nothing from it. Now, I would expect a Federal Government with conscience to take a decision that since they are running their tankers through our roads, this is what we should get every year to repair the roads. Instead, they are carving out our land.

“But we have started the reclamation of our territory with or without them. Their ministers were here and agreed on certain things. I hope they will come through. Regenerating the blighted areas would cost over N12 billion. We plan to send a representation to the Federal Government to come and see the damage they have done to our land, to our assets and to our people in the name of operating oil transportation.

“All that oil is going underground and will pollute the underground water. From this, ultimately, the residents will extract water for use and tomorrow we will be talking of cancer and other related diseases. The people must understand this and this must stop. We will transform this place. I am confident that we will. We have done it in Oshodi; we have also done it in Obalende and succeeded.”

In spite of the Federal Government’s failed promises, Special Adviser on the Environment, Folami said the gain of clearing Apapa was immense as the crime rate had gone down drastically, noting that the entire route is now free from gridlock and businesses have started returning to the area.

“The state government will ensure that all the gains are sustained. We cannot wait for the Federal Government. Because if the situation relapses, it means we have not done anything,” he said.

With the planned regeneration of the Apapa CBD by the state government, experts are of the view that the area would soon regain its lost glory and that the CBD would again be the toast of all with the beautification and new parks in the area expected to attract tourists for picnic and relaxation.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga