The Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe spoke with TONY AMOKEODO on the state of federal roads in Lagos, the reason for his face-off with the Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his 2007 ambition
HOW do you justify your position on federal highways in Lagos State vis-avis the claims by the Lagos State Government?
The federal roads from Bank Anthony Way to the Airport was designated as presidential route. And all the developments along that axis were controlled because that was the only access from Dodan Barracks to the Ikeja Cantonment. How can a state now say that I am going to own the roads? When troops want to move out of the cantonment, how do they move out and where will they move to? They will move on federal roads. When people are going to the Airport and you are blocking it, what is going to happen? If you take Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki Expressway beginning from where the Port, Tin Can Island, starts, the money of the entire federation was spent on that place. The thinking of the Federal government was how the goods from the port was going to come out. It then built the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and linked it to Ibadan Expressway so that goods can be carried to all other parts of Nigeria. There was nothing stopping the Federal Government from building those ports in Warri or Port Harcourt. The Federal Government was not obliged to develop Lagos to that level. They were committed because Lagos was a colony then. I grew up in Lagos and I know what I am talking about. It was a federal territory. Ikoyi, Victoria Island were sand-filled by the Federal Government, they don�t belong to the state. They were and are still property of the Federal Government. All the offices belong to the Federal Government. There was no Lagos until 1966. People now talk as if Lagos was existing from the beginning of Nigeria. It is not correct. There was Minister of Internal Affairs, Bukar Dipcherima. Even the late General Shehu Musa Yar�Adua was a Minister of Lagos Affairs. So, that was the seat of the Federal Government and it existed down to Fadeyi. Even the other parts of Lagos was developed by the Western Region. The entire Ikeja Government Reservation Area was part of the Western Region. They now merged everything together and claim to be property of Lagos. How is that one possible? If you talk about the Third Mainland Bridge, it existed because they were finding an alternative to the Airport as Ikorodu was congested. They wanted to leave from the Federal Secretariat, Dordan Barracks and just climb a bridge to the airport or go through the express road to Ibadan. The bridge was constructed halfway and it existed like that for seven years before it was completed for $500 million. I was part and parcel of it. I was working in the ministry then. The amount was unestimated as it was not in the federal budget. It was given to Julius Berger and PGH and they completed the Oworonsoki portion and some people are now laying claim to it. How is it possible?
The Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General had, at the recent Nigerian Bar Association annual general/delegates conference in Abuja, said the state might have to go back to the Supreme Court for definite pronouncement over development control as he insisted the apex court had ruled in the state�s favour on urban regional planning. How do you react to this?
It is not correct. The issue of ownership was not in dispute because they took five Acts before the Supreme Court. These are: the Aviation Act. Are they going to take over all the airports in the federation? The Nigeria Railways Act; the Inland Waterway Act; the Port Act and the Federal Highway Act. All these Acts had been existing for long. All the carriageways and other things of the Nigeria Railways belong to the Railway. From the beginning of the country, all the land around the port belongs to the port under the Port Act. All the land in the aviation, airport, belong to the Ministry of Aviation and all inland waterways. Are you now saying that the state would control the inland waterways of the country and then there would be no chaos? Let them go back to the Supreme Court and let the court tell them that they own the inland waterways and we see how the country can survive.
Some people had alleged that the major cause of the friction between you and the Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was a personality clash ahead of the 2007 gubernatorial election in Lagos State and the inter-party face-off between the Peoples Democratic Party, to which you belong, and the Alliance for Democracy, to which Tinubu belongs. Is this not a fact?
I grew up in Isale Eko, Idumagbo Area, while Tinubu grew up in Ita Faji Area. So, the issue of personality clash does not arise at all. I will not contest the 2007 gubernatorial election. I am not interested whatsoever. What I want is the good of this nation. There is no substitute for something that is good. Primary school pupils are not attending school anywhere and nobody is talking. Money was allocated based on the number of children in primary school but now there is a drop between 25,000 to 45,000 pupils. Even low income-earners send their children to private primary schools. Once you don�t have money, your child would stay at home. That is how bad things are. And the Federal Government wanted to build Universal Basic Education classrooms, the man refused up till today and nobody is talking. At least the Federal Government wanted to build two each nationwide. It was only in Lagos that he did not allow the UBE schools. All the classrooms build by Jakande, 27 years ago, no improvement, they are collapsing. Tinubu has refused to reconstitute the boards after five years and he is acting like an imperial majesty.
People are now saying that the quarrel between you and Tinubu is a blessing in disguise as the roads in the state are now being repaired. Don�t you think so?
Yes, the roads are now repaired. They put a signpost with inscription: �This road belong to FG, please bear with us� when it was convenient for them. Now, I came I saw that the roads were bad. It was terrible. Look at Oshodi for years, it has been like that. Within two weeks, we fixed it. The same thing we did at 7-Up Ijora and the toll gate. The congestion at the toll gate is gone. We did all these roads in less than six months. Let everybody do his work and let the people judge. You don�t govern a country by making noise. Business can�t thrive on bad roads. Eighty-two per cent of Lagos roads belong to the state. They are not interested. All they are interested is are federal roads. It is unfortunate. If he wants to take over these roads, let him apply to the National Assembly. They may remove it from the Federal Highway Act and give it to them but I, on my own, cannot say, oya, take this road.
What will be the next move of the ministry and what should Lagosians expect from now on?
All the people that have been fighting were less than one per cent of the populace. Let everybody do his own job. Lagos State, do your own, federal, do your own. None of them should abandon their roads so that when I come out from local government roads, I will go to state roads. From state roads, I go to federal roads. But if one is neglecting, all of you should shout. If federal road is bad, please abuse me so that I can know what to do. If it is a state road, tell the state. Look at all these roads you are not doing anything on it. Same thing goes for local government roads so that everybody will be alert to his responsibility. There will be no quarrel at all.
I will assure Lagosians that federal roads will be the best in the country. I am going to construct additional lane from Lagos to Sagamu and I am going to add another lane from Lagos to Badagry, also add one more lane to Ikeja-Ota. Because I have gone round and discovered that there is a lot of concentration of traffic in these areas. We must work on them. Once you please the people, they are less agitated. You must expand because people are buying cars while more cars are coming to the road. People should move freely. You cannot say that it the same road that will accommodate the expanded traffic. You must have a foresight to expand all the existing carriageways so that Nigeria can be better for all of us.
