Abuja — The emerging cordial relationship between the Federal Government and Lagos State Government and the dramatis personae involved (President Yar'Adua and Governor Fashola respectively) should be cheering news to most watchers of our polity since the new administration came on board in May this year.

To recount relevant events that were indicative of the newfound cordiality between the FG and LASG, two of such events are worthy of mention in this contribution. Firstly, President Yar'Adua directed that the seized Lagos local councils' funds be released to Lagos State Government having established that the withholding of the funds was, ab initio, illegal.

Secondly, Mr President had on 22nd July, 2007 during an official visit to Lagos where he met with the governors of Lagos and Ogun states, said that "Federal Government can no longer ignore the population growth in Lagos, as there is the urgent need to begin the development plan for a mega city", an Olympian height Lagos has attained (growth wise) in the hierarchy of cities in Nigeria, nay the world.

In the president's wisdom, there is need to evolve legislation for the establishment of the Mega City status, which Lagos as a conurbation has extended deep into Ogun State territory. Hence, Mr President came purposely to confer with Governors Fashola and Daniel of Lagos and Ogun states respectively on the modality for drafting legislation on the mega city status of Lagos for the National Assembly to pass into law.

The concern of this piece is on the mega city project which the tripartite of FG, LASG and OGSG have accepted the responsibility to implement. A mega city according to the definition of human settlements experts is a city with a minimum population of 10 million and above. In this league of cities are New York City (16 million), Sao Paulo (17 million), Mumbai (18 million), London (12 million), Tokyo (26 million), Los Angeles (13 million), Beijing (12 million), Cairo (10 million) and Shanghai (12 million).

Apart from their sheer population, most of the world mega cities (with a few exception) are highly industrialised, technologically advanced, hub of international trade, well-developed transportation network (air, land and water), globally connected telecommunications wise, skilful labour force and well-planned urban landscape with complementary/functional urban services i.e. electricity, water, sanitation etc).

If these are the indices for being qualified as a mega city, the Lagos city region, which is now classified as a mega city, has only one attribute for being so classified - its population figure of over 10 million people. All other indices are either in the formative stage or non-existent outright.

A cursory look at the Lagos metropolitan area is a gamut of unplanned secondary settlements with high concentration of poorly-skilled population most of whom engage in subsistence economic activities compared to other mega cities such as New York, Tokyo or London. Intra-urban transportation in Lagos does not meet the standard of a mega city if you benchmark it with similar mega cities having first-class mass transit system that moves large numbers of commuters (comfortably) from their residences to places of work, leisure and shopping.

To date, Lagos traffic is yet to find a suitable remedy to improve the ease of movement within the mega city. The entire city region is plagued by poor vehicular circulation causing daily traffic congestion where motorists spend a greater part of their productive time on the road. Other economic activities that require the movement of goods and services on the road suffer the same fate. In a nutshell, the traffic situation in Lagos is far from being conducive for business transaction, nay commuting for its large number of riders. This is a big minus for Lagos as a mega city and a gaping hole in the way the city is planned and managed.

In order to support its newly-acquired mega city status, one of the top priorities of the Lagos Mega City project is a 'quick-fix' for the Lagos traffic and the modes of public transportation befitting of a mega city. The ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is one solution out of many possible solutions to address the stress which commuters and motorists go through daily within the metropolitan area. Lagos needs a mass transit mode with a capacity to transport large number of commuters in and around the city.

The mass transit mode should be the metro running through the axis where there is high population density - the Lagos-Badagry axis, Lagos-Abeokuta corridor and Lagos-Ikorodu artery. The Lagos-Epe corridor is an emerging settlement of rapid population growth that should also be considered for transportation improvement under the mega city project.

There is no mega city in the world that does not have the metro system as the dominant mode of public transportation besides the buses and the use of the waterways where such exists. New York City (16 million) has the New York City Transit Authority; London (12 million) has the metro services and Tokyo (26 million) uses the bullet train to transport commuters within Tokyo mega city region.

Lagos will truly assume the status of a mega city (not just in name) when the handlers of the Lagos Mega City project put in place a well-integrated transportation system consisting of surface metro, high-capacity passenger buses and ferries thereby making use of the waterways (hitherto idle) most effectively. For example, the city of London has the three modes of transportation -- buses, trains and ferries -- which are effectively and optimally used for public transportation. And the saying in London is that "who needs the car...." when there are comfortable means of public transportation at your beck and call at cheap fares!

Therefore, to reduce the congestion on the roads, various options for mobility should be made available in Lagos now that government attention is being paid to its mega city status. And while this is being done, the rebuilding of the city's collapsed infrastructure, most especially the road networks, which have virtually become impassable, should also be addressed simultaneously since part of the policy thrust of President Yar'Adua's administration is the rebuilding of the country's collapsed infrastructures, roads inclusive. A Lagos mega city without the metro is like a vehicle without tyres - motionless!

The Lagos mega city project should also contemplate structural adjustment of the city. Lagos needs a large dose of physical re-planning that would lead to the creation of better organised activity centres for every component settlement of the city region. The planned activity centres will be the convergent zones for a mixture of economic activities, grocery, shopping, leisure, offices, etc. The objective of such physical readjustment is to contain residents within their localities and minimise their travelling to far-flung central places for their daily needs.

Presently, Lagos does not have enough mega central places to complement its mega city status. The existing ones in the city region are disjointed, badly located (often on the main road) and very unkempt. The dominant central business district (CBD) with its gamut of retail stores, offices and sundry human activities. The CBD is the most patronised central place in the entire metropolis but not without its inconvenience to those who go there daily to work, trade or shop. The traffic in the Lagos CBD is debilitating, stressful and not human-friendly, the current facelift notwithstanding.

Therefore, the Lagos mega city needs more of one-stop central place in different settlements of the mega city region in order to reduce the daily congestion in central Lagos.

The vision of the Lagos Mega City project should also focus on the big picture and not just the issue of transportation and traffic circulation. There are other pressing issues which are equally problematic and require quick-fix solutions. The project agenda should address waste management, security, infrastructural decay, social services, tourism and complement all of these with requisite professionals who are dynamic and innovative to drive the developmental plan of the Lagos Mega City region, which is about to take off.

Abiodun, Urban Planner/Former Secretary, Housing Policy Council, wrote from Abuja.