Could Nigeria's Eko Atlantic Project Not Go Far Enough?

The government of the state of Lagos – Nigeria’s former capital – offers proudly proclaimed it is creating a new city that will become the new financial centre associated with Nigeria, and perhaps West Africa. The size of the Eko Atlantic project is actually immense and progress arrives through a team effort between investors, planners, engineers, and contractors.

Pitched as Africa’s answer to Dubai, Eko Atlantic is a multibillion-dollar residential and business development that is located as an appendage to Victoria Island, as well as along the renowned Bar Beach shoreline in Lagos. The plan is it will:

* Consist of ten square kilometres (3.86 sq . miles) of land gotten back from the Atlantic Ocean

* Be the place to find quarter of a million individuals and employ a further 150,000 people who will commute upon daily basis

* Be billed like a 24-hour, green-conscious, world-class city

* Attract and retain top multinational corporations.

There is no shortage of doubters and critics from the initiative, which is an exercise in runaway neoliberalism by a country that can’t even ensure 30 days associated with continuous power supply to its citizens. The truth, however, is that Lagos warrants its dream Eldorado and the financial case for Eko Atlantic is sound.

The only problem is that the plans are in fact not radical enough. Our argument is this fact project is under-imagined and should urgently shore up to match additional international projects in the fast-developing nations. In particular, we believe in the development of a city along the lines of Paul Romer’s charter city. The city, not really the state, provincial, regional, or national laws, would define the governing system.

This would mean that Eko Ocean city would operate under high standards of transparency and good governance. Impartial policing standards would manage its security. This could include other aspects of its civil and criminal justice methods. Its sanitary, health, energy supplies, environment and other regulatory rules should peg with comparable standards in London, New York, Paris, Dubai, and Shanghai.

This would ensure that the laws under which the territory operates are, in essence, free of stifling national regulation, which has was in the way of most African metropolitan areas operating at optimal amounts.

A Model for Good Governance

Now, all aspects of the planning and building of the Eko Atlantic city are squarely in the hands of the private sector involving each local and foreign venture capitalists. Those already on board consist of local and international banks – First Bank, FCMB, Access Financial institution Plc. and GT Bank in Nigeria, BNP Paribas Fortis, and KBC Bank – as well as a growing number of private investors.

The recent inauguration of the new governor for Lagos, West Africa’utes mega-city with close to 18 zillion residents, presents a further opportunity to rejig plans and boldly move towards chartered city status.

Rather than just becoming a financial venture, the actual Eko Atlantic experiment can carry further at no extra cost to become the centre to transform good governance in Nigeria and West Africa. Already Lagos is the gold standard for other areas of the Nigerian federation. In 2012, it produced annual revenue of about US$1 billion, dwarfing that of the other 35 federating areas of Nigeria.

If world experts in the lawful economic and industrial fields competently handle Eko Atlantic town, returns to Lagos economy can certainly double.

Bad systems and rules are the reason most Africa cities do not attract much-needed worldwide investment at appropriate levels. Bad rules have tied down the development of Lagos along with 1000 other African cities since their independence from colonialism. These include corruption, mismanagement, political interference, unresponsiveness, overbearing religiosity, nepotism, human legal rights abuses, and incompetent existence of the state.

Presently, the judiciary, health, as well as administrative systems of most Nigerian metropolitan areas have severe problems. Lagos isn’t any different even though it is still much ahead of the other 34 states and federal capital areas. Eko Atlantic ought, therefore, to provide a petri dish to run a very brand new kind of African city.

Constellation associated with Nigerian politics aligns

Lagos will have to work with the us government to be able to create a special area of reform. The arrangements will require further delegation of manage to Lagos state, which will in turn give up powers to the regulating authorities of the chartered Eko Atlantic town.

Such arrangements and concessions should be easier now, as the constellations have aligned for the first time in Nigerian history. The same government and party that rule the country now run the Lagos state. This particular arrangement will allow Lagos to make guarantees that are more credible to investors across the world.

There will be a mutual benefit of exchange in favour of investors, employers, residents, the state and the country. In a depressed worldwide economy, such a city would attract the qualified, the actual brave, and the adventurous from the entire globe.

African countries sorely require a skilled workforce from the planet to fill hi-tech employment and service industries that will fuel development in the 21st century.

There are successful comparable projects across the third world. The Chinese government, seeing the tremendous success that various rules made of Hong Kong, wisely created special zones offering taxes and tariff incentives.

There is the phenomenon of medical cities that are scattered in many parts of Saudi Arabia. Dubai is a beacon associated with success and Abu Dhabi is already carefully following these examples using its bold creation of the Abu Dhabi Global Market established on Al Maryah Island.

This is the latest U . s . Arab Emirate creation of a financial totally free zone based on a separate legal system. Honduras is also currently involved in the creation of such high quality, liveable cities.

It Could be Done

It is certain that the proposed modifications will generate controversy. Nationalist emotions against this proposal may run high. However, this problem is not impossible.

Former US President Ronald Reagan permitted himself the luxury of only 1 decorative plaque on his desk in the Oval Office as president. It read:

It can be done.

The current governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, is going to do himself and nearly everyone a lot of good if he will get himself a similar plaque to remind him of the chance the Eko Atlantic City represents in his hands.

Why Nigeria’s plans for a dream Eldorado city are not radical enough is republished with permission from The Conversation