 Okay, so Lagos has been ranked the fourth worst place to live in the whole wild world, among 173 cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Now the Economist Intelligence Unit is a division of the Economist Group with headquarters in London, UK. It provides five-year country economic forecasts. Three risk service reports and industry reports. I have been joined by a travel and tourism entrepreneur, Sam Adeleke, to take a look at this rating. Hello Sam. Hello Maureen. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Glad to have you. So is this an unfair assessment or a wake-up call to Lagos and the Lagos State Government? Lagos is Nigeria's commercial map centre. It's called the city of Aquatic Splendor, the centre of excellence. It's a city that has given hope to many people and also welcomed people from across the world who are looking for a better life. But to say that this assessment is not true is burying our head in the sound like ostriches. Why? I have lived in Lagos for the past two decades plus. I have grown in Lagos, schooled in Lagos and I currently work in Lagos and I welcome tourists from across the world in Lagos and the experience in Lagos is so much to be desired. It leaves so much to be desired. Why? The transportation system, the healthcare, circulation, the drainage systems and even the quality of life, can you imagine that in this report and this is not business sensationalist or trying to be overly alarmist, it's comparing us to Damascus in Syria and also Tripoli in Libya. Ukraine is currently a water country is steps above us. So this is a wake up call to us that Lagos needs to do something significant especially in the aspect of infrastructure. Now I live on the island area and the island axis of the city and the construction around that area has been on for months and residents are groaning under the pain of bad roads that contributes to low standard of living and even low quality of life. So these are elements that are in the control of the government. The truth is thousands flock into Lagos every day from across the country because they are trying to express the Lagos dream. The truth is this ranking is a reality. We will be ranked from 2017 as a 2019 we were the worst. We have been going up and down, you know, contested and dragging that sports with either Bangladesh or Tripoli or Damascus. These are countries in their streets. How can Lagos and it's not a war-torn city. We compete with these countries. So this is a wake up call to Lagos and to the government that something drastic needs to be done in terms of consistently attacking the problems as they come. So you don't defy solutions or defy problem solving to election season or to the people who vote for you. But to be deliberate about intentionally filling port holes, intentionally building more healthcare facilities, intentionally educating your people because if you build so much without building the mines, then you are just pouring water in the baskets. So this is ranking a game is letting us know that we are not yet near that dream that we cause. In fact, we are not even to fall, not to be compared with any city in Africa and we are supposed to be the fifth largest economy in Africa. So that means that places like Mogadishu, places like even Uganda, and some of this, even South Sudan and Sudan at the moment, the capital of Sudan is what they gave, Darfur. So some of these places, not Darfur, but some of these cities are even ahead of us. So it is important that the government sees these as an opportunity to come together and talk to the stakeholders that, guys, we need to do something interesting. So that is my take on this ranking. All right. Well, Lagos moved up a bit from being the second worst in 2022 to being the fourth worst in 2023. And that's after, according to that report, they saw improvement in education and health. But added that corruption is still a problem. Now Lagos has been ranked above Algiers, you know, Algeria, Tripoli, Libya, and Damascus, Syria. That's the work-torn country, Syria. Lagos is, you know, the fourth after this. Now the best on the flip side, you have the best countries, the most livable countries. You have Austria, cities, I beg your pardon, Austria in the capital, Austria's capital Vienna as the most livable city in the world. By Copenhagen, Calgary, Zurich, and Vancouver. Now in 2018, when Lagos was ranked the third worst city to live in in the world, not this administration, the then commissioner for information and strategy blamed the poor state of Lagos, the poor status on years of neglect and denial by the federal government. Is that still the challenge this time? Is it a case of corruption, as stated by the EIU? That's a very lazy excuse by the state government blaming the federal government for its woes. This happened during the Obama's attorney years. The EPC government has been in power since 2015, till date, and they have the apparatus of the legislature. So you cannot say the executive has good intentions, and the legislature or the judiciary is ampering or stifling your capacity to grow this city. So corruption is a major issue, and corruption is not just an abstract phenomenon. It is people, it is humans that are corrupt. That is why everything starts and ends with leadership. It's important that this government sees another opportunity with this new election system to rise the wrongs and to invest much in the capital, human capital development of our city. We saw how the government weaponized the tool of ethnic and tribal diversity to write people up against each other. And right now, we are doing so much more of demolition than building. So don't just build infrastructures, build people up as well. It's important that we also note that this moving up the ranks in 2022 to 2023 is because of the elections. Even just a few months ago, no, not a few months, but a few weeks ago before this inauguration, we saw that the EPC government also had to get some loans, some point to invest in education. And some have debated that, oh, that was used for something else. We'll go into that. But the point is, we should not use elections as an opportunity for growth only. Growth should be an all-time thing. It should be a sustained effort. Many people have contested that Lagos has a master plan, has a growth plan for decades, for 10 years, for 15 years. But guys, we know how this money is being spent. At some point, Lagos has become a speaker of the house, who's telling us that in other words, money is meant to be spent. That's the point when it was being investigated by the EPC for Mao. What's the word now? For misusing funds of the state. Misappropriation. Misappropriation, thank you. For trips and all of that. So when we look at the way the money of Lagos has been spent and the way we generate money, and the number of people that are living in this city, we can compare it to the growth, to the rate of growth in this city. Now, have you said that? It's important that we're so balanced in that, because in my sector, I welcome international tourists into Lagos especially to tour the city, to explore the city. So we have some iconic landmarks, to my iconic destinations in the city that still fascinates people. Despite the chaos in the city, a lot of tourists still want to experience what it feels like to visit the Venice of Africa. That's Makoko, so to speak. Also the Badakris Leipzig town. Also the Nikkei Art Gallery. Also the resorts in Lagos. Lagos is beautiful, right? We are coastal city. 70% of the states are actually water. However, we must not deny the fact that only a few people even have access or the capacity to visit the beaches in this city. So imagine you live in a coastal city and you have to pay to visit your beaches. No way else. It's not a pleasure in Africa. So it's important that we also understand that even if our growth level is slow, we must also ensure that our citizens also enjoy the beauty of our city. Lagos is growing, to be honest. People are pumping money, people are investing. And so many things are going on a daily basis. But we must let the government know that you cannot tell us to stop being objective with the quality of life in our city. So the question is major? Sam, I'm going to come back to you on this because you being in the tourism sector, you're going to have to tell us what this government can do to make Lagos more livable because that is your sector. Well, let's go to the opinion of some Lagosians and some town planners who believe that this report and all the other reports that ran to Lagos, second world city, a worst city to live in, third worst city and now the fourth, that they believe that this is just another attempt by foreign media to radical Africa. How do you respond to that? I compare this to the statement that the politicians threw to us during the lecture season when they tell us challenge is hard to get here that you don't worry when we're trying to compare the impact of we elected somebody who does not have a full Yoruba heritage contested for the government of the state. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't even need the economists of London to tell me that I live in a very, very, very, very dangerous city. There are times that even I went driving in this city out to watch my back during the day. We had consistent reports of burglary, of rape, of destruction of lives and property, of things happening in this city. So I don't even need to have these reports as justification of a kind of cloud. We also see that there are other African cities who are ugly Lagos, so why Lagos? It's important that we do not dismiss international effort, international community's effort to make us look objective as ourselves. But when the IMF, when the global, the World Bank gives us money and recommend money for us, we don't deny that, we don't want. It's only when you're being told you're treated by yourself. That is when you now tell us that, oh, because I just bluffing. You only try to call our attention, you're looking for attention so that we can ask you for what to do. No, Lagos and its people should not tackle the international community saying that, oh, we are probably, that we need their consulting or we need their solution. We know what to do. We live here. We will try here. And we are not going anywhere, just suppose you are not Japan or live in the country. So it's important that we do not dismiss that, but use it as a form of an introspection. If you deny this report or you feel that these rankings are not justifiable, then bring out facts and figures. Then be also objective. So don't counter data with innuendo. Don't counter facts with just sensationalism or trying to give up sentiments, but be able to let people know that the people that are bringing these rankings are saying, you are bespeaking. I'd like to invite you to a summit. Let's have an intellectual discourse where you can let us know the facts behind your figures and they will also bring us to you. So in an intellectual community, in a very educated Southwest state like Nigeria or like Lagos, we should be so much open to engaging these international bodies who are thinking time to rank the cities in the world. It also shows that we are not just major reactionaries or reactionists, but we are also proactive about giving the same level of detail to ranking other cities ourselves. So don't just say, don't rank me. You also, because rank yourself, they rank others as well. They cannot have that kind of summits, that intellectual exchange to really prove or disprove those kind of assertions from international community. That's why I take all this. Oh well, that report survey of 173 countries used 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories. Stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Now Lagos by virtue of its virtue, the status of past capital and commission status would definitely continue to attract people into the state. I mean, anyone who shies away from that is not being true and honest to himself. And so that means that anyone who lobbies or vies to become a governor of Lagos state must know what he is getting into. And so shouldn't give us excuses of, oh, Lagos receives so many people every day and all of that. Of course, we do understand the fact that it is unfortunate that other states across the country are not, the governors there are not living up to expectation. They are not making their states viable and livable, which is why a lot of their people migrate from there to Lagos state, which used to be the commercial city of this country, the city of this, the commercial center of this country and the capital of the country. And I'm trying, I'm almost biting my tongue. It used to be the capital of the country and the commercial center of the country as well. However, what should this government and any other person who is gonna buy, because after four years, Governor Samuels is going to leave. What should they be doing, especially someone in your sector? What should they be doing to make Lagos livable with all the challenges that Lagos is expected to have on a daily basis? What should they be doing? First, the experience that visitors have when they come in through the airport. Flying in and out of Nigeria right now, especially through international airports is so stressful, it's so tedious, it's so nerve-wracking, and it could give you accelerated reputation because of the way the personnel around the airports, both official and non-official, being backed by the states, the way they harass people that are leaving and coming to the country. Fine, granted, we have a new terminal. Granted, the Lagos issue, the expression has just been built, but I still flew in from my international just few weeks ago, and I still get people who fly themselves, customers and clients who travel in and out, and the experience is still terrible. I think the government, the APC government of the center and also the regional Lagos, must do something drastic about making our airport sane making it calm, making it welcoming, making it a place that is less of harassment, that will help visitors have a new perspective and improved orientation and also give them that kind of comfort that, yes, I'm coming to a city that respects me, that honours me, and that will not squeeze money out of me even at the entry, that's one. The second is it's important that we improve the circulation of the city. Interestingly, I studied open original planning, so I understand city planning and I also served three miles over IT at Lagos State, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, and I know the work that has been done going around the city and showing that things have been done properly, building permits right of way, things are done, but the experience I had at that time, I still have not changed because I still haven't interact with the ministry, is that there is still so much of rent seeking, so much of corruption, reading by people who have the money to buy their way into getting things done at the detriment of the city. So we need to plan this city intentionally and be deliberate about demolishing and rebuilding spots that are detrimental to the world view of this city. We are a lot in this city, but only if you are enjoying the benefit of the city, that's true. The third is educate your people. Oh my goodness. The number, the sheer number of routes that have not been empowered by the state on the major roads that stop public buses and even harass private ones on the bridges, these people can be put to use if they're educated and given the right skills and to compete globally and also able to welcome tourists and to play in this sector. So education is very key. We need people to be educated. That is the third. The fourth is don't over tax your people. There's so much multiple taxation going on in Lagos right now. Some of us walk with these destinations, the hotels, the bars, the Saturday people enjoy. We are paying a lot, man. We are even paying so much even to get our tourists to enjoy the city just because, of course, people have to remit to the government. So these are key areas and the elephants in the room, electricity. Now that we have a government that is willing to divert power and to democratize the capacity of states to generate and circulate and transmit rather, it's important that Lagos take the forefront. The president is a former governor of the city and the potentials are there. So it's important that we keep driving the zoom that guys make power cheap so that people can also have enough money to expand their capacity and employ more people. Because as a business person, we're trying to keep costs low and optimize profits. So if the cost of generating power is reduced to the price minimum and also tax incentivized by the states, this will really help us to welcome more people, to hire more people and to ensure that as it blows onto us, guess what? Every time we welcome tourists to the city, there's a difference between living here as a tourist and living as a resident, right? Everyone enjoys Lagos. I want to state it more. I want to, because they're enjoying the best parts of the city. So it's important that we are intentional about challenging the government and encouraging them and holding them accountable in these important sectors. Yeah, Sam, time will not allow. This is a very interesting conversation. I wish we could continue. We may have to repeat this interview so that we can talk more about tourism in the city. Sam Adeleke, travel and tourism entrepreneur, has been my guest. Thank you so much, Sam. Thank you for having me. Is he watching the breakfast? We'll be back with sports. Stay with us.