For many reasons, Akinwunmi Ambode, the executive governor of Lagos, seems to be doing, signing and saying the right things that interests many of us. From his light up Lagos projects, Fourth Mainland Bridge and now Smart City Project; Ambode seems to be the most bullish city manager in Nigeria.
Lagos state, Nigeria’s commercial capital, will be having a smart city. The government is modelling this plan to Smart-City Dubai and host of others. According to Ambode,
“This is a deliberate attempt by us to establish a strong convergence between technology, economic development and governance.”
“The MOU is between Lagos State Government and Dubai Holdings, LLC, owners of Smart City (Dubai) to develop a sustainable, smart, globally connected knowledge-based communities that drive knowledge economy, ”
The project is a multi-billion dollars investments that will create thousands of jobs and transform the Ibeju-Lekki axis in particular and the entire Lagos State in general. Lekki, a major high-brow residential section of the city will benefit further from the Smart-City Lagos project.
According to the state, when completed, the Smart City Lagos will have, among other features: a 12-lane road, hotel resorts, world-class technological education facilities, a rail metroline.
However, the implementation of the Smart-City Lagos must be done in a way to benefit the generality of the state through proper connectivity to the location of the project through trains and cable cars. Lekki is tucked at the extreme part of the city, human connectivity to the location is a major determinant for the viability of the project.
