Saturday, July 23, 2011

Fashola's Lagos

Construction sign by the German engineering company, Julius Berger

The Iganmu train station under construction by a Chinese engineering company


Today, as I was passing through Orile-Mile 2 road in a taxi, the driver said to me in pidgeon English:
"if I had a voice, if people were to listen to me, I would tell the people of Lagos to allow Governor Fashola to stay in office until he is tired. Then we could see if we can find someone who will be like him. But they say, because of democracy he cannot run again after second term." We were passing through the  multi-billion dollar road and light rail project that would drastically enhance intra-city mass transit as well as transportation between Lagos and the West African region. The car was airconditioned, but I had to wind down the glass to soak in the orchestra of machinery, and the cacophony of children playing on mountains of construction sand. I wanted to breath in the dust, knowing that, perhaps, when next I pass this road all the thrilling chaos will be replaced by the kind of transportation infrastructure I could not dream of just a few years ago for this sprawling, formidable city. The taxi driver, I thought to myself, was a wise man.

1 comment:

Muyiwa Osifuye said...

They come when we least expect.
They come through uncommon channels.
We may not even know them.
But they are there within our midst.

Governor Babatunde Fashola has demonstrated so far (I qualify this) that we all can be courageous and do the right thing even in the midst of the popular but infamous indiscipline that pervades the land.

It wont be easy but I know as human he will have his shortcomings though.

I saw the construction again 2 weeks ago and I was...