#EndSARS: Lagos Needs N1trn To Re-build, Recover – Gov Sanwo-Olu
Gbajabiamila urges restrain on conspiracy theories, ethnic coloration comments
BY CHINYERE OBIORA, LAGOS – Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says over N1 trillion will be required to rebuild and put the State back in shape following the wanton destruction of public and private assets by suspected hoodlums that took over the #EndSARS protests..
This is as the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for restrain on conspiracy theories and ethnic coloration comments on the ugly incident.
Hon Gbajabiamila, the nation number four man dropped hints on the estimated cost of making Lagos great again after visiting Governor Sanwo-Olu on Sunday at Government House Marina.
Gbajabiamila and other House of Representatives’ members from Lagos, were in the State to commiserate with the government and people of Lagos State over the massive destruction of property and looting that trailed the #EndSARS protests.
Speaking after his engagement with Governor Sanwo-Olu, the Speaker said; “The governor was telling me that it was going to cost about a trillion Naira to rebuild Lagos. That makes my heart heavy.
“And I asked the governor; what’s the budget of Lagos State? What are you planning? And he told me that they’re planning a budget of about a trillion naira.”
Gbajabiamila and his colleagues, who also visited the Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Akiolu, whose palace was torched and looted as well as the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, condemned the ugly incident and described the destruction of properties as quite distressing.
Pleading that such senseless and dastardly acts should not occur again in the State, the Speaker said; “I came in from Abuja today, not just to stand in solidarity with him, but by extension the people of Lagos State. These have been very difficult few days. It has even been more difficult for me in the last hour.
“Driving in from the airport and sitting with the governor to watch the documentary put together; and evidences of the carnage we all witnessed; it makes us all very sad.
“This, certainly, is not the Lagos of our dream that we all talk about. And I know deep down, and I believe no matter how brave a face one puts to it, that even the protesters have their regrets that things went this far, because from my understanding and from what I’ve seen, both those who are pro-protest and those who are anti-protest, were all affected.
“There’s very little I can say. But, I know that standing with me is a man of courage, a man of destiny. Because it’s very unusual for you to come into office, and within a year a few months, you witnessed two calamitous events: first, you were in the epicentre of COVID-19, which you dealt with to the admiration of all. Whilst we were still grappling with that, you now became the epicentre of the protests.”
Urging the governor to remain strong and stay focused in discharging his duties, Speaker Gbajabiamila said; “I want to encourage you to lift your head high, because you have responsibly discharged your duties as a Governor of a state that was troubled in the last few months, or close to one year.”
Insisting that the ugly incident should not be given an ethnic coloration, the Speaker said all well-meaning Nigerians must shun the temptation of buying into the conspiracy theories currently flying around, especially in the social media..
According to him, “Let us shut our ears to those things. Let us focus as one people, whether you’re Igbo, whether you’re from the North, whether you’re from the South. This is the mantra that we have in the House of Representatives because if you talk about nation-building, we say it is a joint task.
“I want to also use this opportunity, in a way, to be grateful and commend our brothers and sisters from the North. I said this because if the North had been a part of this, I don’t know if we’ll all be standing here today. That’s why I commend our brothers and sisters from the North.”
He further stated thus; “On Tuesday, we talked in the House about compensation. I want to reiterate that the House will do all it can to make sure that everybody that has suffered from police violence – whether you’re from the North, from the East, from the West, because everybody in Nigeria has suffered from police violence, not just those of us from the Southwest. That will be applicable to all, including policemen that lost their lives in these unfortunate incidents.
The Speaker, in assuring Governor Sanwo-Olu of their support, said; “Your Excellency, we bring you good tidings and good wishes from Abuja. We stand with you. Whatever the House can do to help in rebuilding, not just Lagos State, but other states that have been affected as well from whatever part in Nigeria, the House will definitely join hands. Because we’re now in the situation of reconstruction.
“I want to encourage our young men and women out there that you fought a good fight, and I’m sure deep down, you’re not happy with what you’ve seen. The government listened, the president listened, the House listened, the Senate listened, the governors listened, it is now time to take stock and make sure this never happens again”.
For the nation’s number four man, it is imperative to unravel the true situation of what transpired l in Lekki on Tuesday night, October 20, 2020, saying; “Your Excellency, the ground zero of what happened here is Lekki. That was what precipitated the violence and the carnage the following day. It is important to me, as I know it is important to you and to everybody, to know what exactly happened.
“A judicial panel has been set up, and I hope those who say this is what happened will have the courage to go before the judicial panel and say this is what happened and give credible evidence.
“And if that was indeed what happened, then, the law must take its course. But, if that was not what happened, the law must also take its course. Either way, the law must take its course.
For more than 48 hours, Lagos state witnessed arson, looting and unrestrained destruction of both public and private property as hooligans took over the streets following the reported shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate by men in Military uniform
With no sector spared in the mayhem, the massive destruction was across board, covering government; corporate; and individual businesses, including even the judiciary that had court rooms and vital documents burnt to ashes.
So far, early assessment of public assets that have gone down in ruins indicate that 89 new buses of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) parked in Oyingbo and Berger were razed.
Reports quoted Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, as saying that the current market value of each bus is about $200,000.
Other public property destroyed in the carnage include the multi-million naira forensic and DNA centre; the historical Igbosere High Court; hundreds of vehicles; government offices located across the state; street lights; and local government secretariat buildings among numerous others. – Additional reports from The Nation Newspaper
