May 29 Handing Over: The Ugly pictures of Lagos Ambode is leaving behind

May 29 Handing Over: The Ugly Pictures of Lagos Ambode is leaving behind

Despite over N1 trillion appropriated in the last four years for works and environment ministries, the bitter truth is that outgoing Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is leaving Lagos worse than he met it in 2015.

To be fair, the accountant-turned-politician built a few brand new bridges here and there, as well as tarred some roads, but mostly as “showcase” to attract cheap accolades. The inner roads where ordinary Lagosians live were completely neglected.

The ugliness assails the eyes from Oshodi to Agege; Iyana Ipaja to Akowonjo to Ayobo; Ketu to Ikorodu; Mile 2 to Badagry; Apapa to Lagos Island.

As we all know, the relationship between the roads and the environment is symbiotic. For roads to be durable, you have to compliment them with a good drainage system, because the primary cause of the degradation of the roads is poor channeling of flood water.

But out of malice for his immediate past predecessor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, and contempt for the integrated development master-plan for Lagos put in place by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu beginning from 1999, Ambode completely dismantled the system that had worked for the Environment sector in Lagos and brought in his friends through a company called Visionscape.

Before people knew what was happening, garbage heaps had resurfaced in Lagos. The hitherto aesthetically appealing step-backs and medians began to wither.

Without desilting the existing drainage system, it was natural for Lagos to cave in to flood under just a few minutes of rainfall. No wonder the upsurge in flooding of Lagos communities in the last three years.
So, the roads, in turn, fell apart. The result has been the horrendous experiences of Lagosians lately.

Pictures don’t lie. Below are some of the glimpses of Lagos at point zero under Akinwumni Ambode: