The Christmas/New Year season is widely celebrated all over the world in a variety of ways. Various people view the season from diverse perspectives. While some see it as time to take stock and strategise for the coming year, others see it as the ideal time for vacation, socialization, merry-making and partying.
In most major cities of the world, socio-economic activities take place around the time at a heightened tempo. This is especially true of cities that operate a 24-hour socio-economic system. New trends noticeable in major cosmopolitan cities across the world point to a shift in the revival of night life as a strategy to tapping the socio-economic potentials of the Yuletide season. The hospitality and entertainment industries, in particular, thrive during the period.
In Lagos State, the season has often been celebrated in a unique style. Some of the basic features of the festivity include special Christmas decorations across selected locations in the metropolis as well as the annual Lagos Countdown. The beauty and sheer razzmatazz of the Christmas decorations, in some way, add colour and grandeur to the whole season as the locations inadvertently become tourists’ centres of sort. As for the Lagos Countdown, the annual ritual with which the state government ushers in the New Year, the exhilarating setting is better seen than imagined. The economy of the state, during the period, receives tremendous boost as demands for all manner of services and products are often at an all-time high.
It is, therefore, in a bid to continue and improve on this laudable tradition that the Ambode administration has stepped up plans to make the celebration of this year’s yuletide an unforgettable experience for Lagosians. Top on the bill is ‘Operation Light up Lagos’ which is a comprehensive programme aimed at ensuring the illumination of major roads in the state before the end of the year. The light-up exercise covers the five divisions in the state. Some of the areas being lit up include Martins Street/Ereko, Brook Street, Lagos Island; Olowookere street and Old Ota road, Alimosho; Cemetery road, Badagry; Ligali Ayorinde, Victoria Island; Babatunde Anjous, Eti-Osa; Itire road and Bode Thomas, Surulere; Coker street, Ilupeju; Apapa-Oshodi Expressway; Gbagada by Charley Boy Bus stop; Lagos-Ibadan Expressway by Berger bus-stop to Third Mainland Bridge, among others. The long-term plan is to light up major highways/roads in the state. The ultimate target is to have a safe and secure Lagos that operates a 24/7 economy.
Similarly, the scope of the Lagos Countdown has been expanded from a single location event at Bar Beach to hold concurrently in the five major divisions of the state. This will see Lagosians gather in Ikeja, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu and Lagos Island for the annual countdown which will be beamed live to a global audience. The idea is to ensure that no part of the state is excluded from this year’s celebration. It is in fulfilment of Governor Ambode’s pledge to run an all-inclusive government in which every segment of the society is not left out in the scheme of things.
Improved security is also an integral part of the Ambode administration’s yuletide deal for Lagosians. The recent donation of security equipment worth billions of naira to the State Police Command by the administration is part of a holistic plan to keep the state safe and secure. Lagos residents could, therefore, make big plans for the season and beyond as the state government has empowered men and officers of the State Police Command to secure lives and property in the state.
Considering the prevailing economic situation across the country, the administration has sought and got the sponsorship of some notable banks and corporate firms to decorate prominent locations across the state throughout the season. Hence, more money could now be devoted to infrastructure development and other key programmes of the government. Locations such as Falomo roundabout, Ikoyi; Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi; Outer and Inner Marina; Mobolaji Johnson Way, Alausa, Ikeja; Eric Moore, Surulere, among others, would be decorated with the assistance of organisations such as Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Messrs Kiosque Vegetal and Grand Square Pads, among others. This would be done at no cost whatsoever to the state government.
This is in furtherance of one of the policies of the administration to partner with the private sector and other stakeholders to sustain the state’s environmental regeneration and greenery programme. It will be recalled that at a recently organized Greening Stakeholders’ Forum for the private sector at the Muson Centre, Onikan, the state governor sought the support of the private sector in sustaining the state government’s greenery programmes. This collaboration of the private sector is seen as significant in view of the fact that only 73 out of over 300 parks and gardens, representing 23 percent, are being maintained by private companies.
It is, therefore, heart-warming to see that the dividend of the forum is already being manifested as evidenced in the private sector support that has thus far been received for the Christmas streets decoration project. It is the conviction of the Ambode administration that the responsibility to restore the glory and beauty of the Lagos environment is a collective one as it is apparent that the government cannot do it alone. Consequently, more corporate bodies need to take environmental projects as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes.
It has been realised by governments worldwide that funding of all government programmes and projects can no longer be sustained by the government alone against the backdrop of the global economic recession and decline in oil revenue. Public-Private Partnership is a contractual relationship between the private and public interest as a systematic collaboration geared towards ensuring communal, state or national socio-economic development that is comprehensive and self-sustaining. It is an arrangement with clear direction and defined roles and responsibilities of all the actors in the plan. PPP is a financial model designed to attract private investors to engage in infrastructural projects with short- and long-term benefits to the people.
In adopting this strategy, government is not abdicating its responsibilities but essentially freeing up scarce resources for other equally important projects, thus creating a win-win situation for the government and the private enterprise as well. The major advantage of the involvement of the private sector in governance is the efficiency it brings to project management. Issues of waste, delayed delivery and abandonment that are usually associated with public projects are highly minimized. This is as a result of the optimization of the returns on huge investment of the private sector.
Meanwhile, Lagosians are encouraged to take advantage of the various platforms that the state government has put in place to make the season a pleasant and joyous one. They are, however, advised to be moderate in all they do and pay critical attention to all routine safety and security measures, especially as regards harmattan haze, storing of petroleum products at home and careless use of fireworks. To have a memorable yuletide, we must avoid everything that could trigger avoidable fire outbreaks or threaten public peace.
Tayo Ogunbiyi
