By Jude Njoku

AS part of efforts to improve the living standard of residents of blighted communities in Lagos, the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project LMDGP, has embarked on the construction of network of roads, drainage and health care facilities in 10 slummy neighbourhoods in the state.  Already, the Project  has completed 16 standard width (7.3 metres) roads in Agege Local Government Area and Orile Agege Local Council Development Authority LCDA, at the cost of N1,461,699,541.53.

The roads which were built by a local engineering company, Messrs Laralek Ultimate Limited, include Abimbola, Adenle, Ayeni and Church streets. Others are Olusanya, Oremeji, Owo, Salawu and Salimote streets, all in Agege. Also completed at Orile Agege are Arigbanla, Ajiboye, Oguntade, Oyewole and Soretire Streets.

LMDGP’s Communications Consultant, Mr. Michael Ilesanmi who led journalists on an inspection of the projects, weekend, explained that LMDGP has also awarded the contracts for the construction of 16 standard roads in Makoko and Ilaje at the cost of N1.6 billion.

Olagoke street before LMDGP’s intervention

The roads in Makoko include Acts of Apostles Street, Adams Manuel Street, Apollo Street, Church Street and Falodun Street. Also to benefit from the roads construction are Obalowo Street, Oluwatoyin Street, Development Street and Sariyu Street. In Ilaje, streets to benefit for the new roads construction are Alhaji Alimi, Aribade, Oresegun, Olatunji, Araromi, Opeloyeru and Ilaje.

Apart from the construction of roads, LMDGP is also investing in the construction of Primary Healthcare Centres, Citizen Mediation Centres and Schools in the two local government areas.

LMDGP, according to Ilesanmi,  is a World Bank assisted seven- year special purpose vehicle put in place by the Lagos State Government in 2008 to upgrade 10 blighted communities ( slums) in order to improve liveability in Lagos as a megacity

The upgrading sub-projects, he said, were developed in response to the expressed demand of the beneficiaries – Agege, OrileAgege, Ajegunle, Amukoko, Badia, Iwaya, Makoko, Ilaje, Bariga and Ijeshatedo/Itire.

“These slums were selected because a 1995 comprehensive study of living conditions in Lagos identified them as the largest slum areas. The ten cover an area of 760 hectares. The ten communities expressed needs and priorities that have been packaged into multi-sectoral investment programs: streets, footpaths, foot bridges and walkways; water supply; drainage; schools; health centers; public sanitation facilities; market stalls; electricity transformers; street lighting; community centers; fish smoking facilities; and box culverts,” he said.

Ilesanmi expects that nearly two million people that live in the ten Project areas  will benefit from improved water supply, improved solid waste management, better sewerage facilities, improved drainage and improved health and living conditions.

The LMDGP Communications Consultant disclosed that in designing the projects, stakeholder participation approach  was applied. Discussions, he said, were held with local government and state officials to ascertain existing problems, constraints, and local development priorities. “Surveys of households identified both physical conditions of dwellings and the socio-economic circumstances of the households within them.

Focus of group discussions with the private sector, officials of the drainage department, and community leaders and extensive consultations with NGOs aggregated the priorities of beneficiaries, and communities’ capacity and willingness to pay for services, which was a critical input in the design methodology and a likely implementation challenge,” Ilesanmi said.

These facts were corroborated by the Chairman of Agege LGA, Alhaji Abdul Kareem Jubreel, the Vice Chairman of Orile Agege LCDA, Mr. Johnson Babatunde and the chairmen of the Community Development Committee  CDC, in the two councils, Comrade Toyin Balogun and Deacon Funso Akindoyin. They noted that the LMDGP projects have given a facelift to their communities and reduced  flooding whenever it rained.

But like the popular Oliver Twist, they requested for more LMDGP intervention in the area of roads construction, water supply and schools’ upgrade. They pledged to ensure the maintenance of the projects in their areas.