Kemisola Oye
DEPUTY Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has raised the alarm over the threat posed by climate change on the Centre of Excellence; this is even as he called for proper planning with the use of law to forestall impending natural disasters.
He said that unless necessary measures are put in place, the state might be submerged by water in due course. He added that the Ministry of Justice and judges must have a proper understanding of land matters, even as he noted that the state had paid N9 billion as compensation for land.
The deputy governor disclosed this earlier today in his opening remarks at a strategic stakeholders meeting held in Ikeja, Lagos, while aligning with the Lagos Attorney-General on the financial exposure of the government to cases estimated to be around N114.5 billion.
He said without the instrumentality of law for proper planning, it might be a problem for the future of children.
Dr Hamzat cited the United Kingdom and New York City as cities and countries where people are already moving away to safer places because of climatic change.
He said that the biggest challenge in the country is that ‘we don’t know how to manage land and that, our physical plan is lost.
“Lagos State, because of our geography, because of our population, because of our size, we are 22 million, we occupy only 0.4% or less than 0.38% of the land mass of Nigeria, and we are responsible for 10% of the people.
“So that’s a mismatch, and we have a 180-kilometre shoreline, so we are surrounded by water. Today, Lagos, New York City, they are sinking,” he said
Dr Hamzat, however, listed three existential threats against the state including extreme heat and climate change due to the sea level, adding, “So in the next 20, 25 years, our priorities must change. So I should be able to say that, and that estate must go”.
” So I’m not saying that. So when people say… Well, maybe I shouldn’t even say this. So when you say a land-owning family, what does that mean? What exactly does it mean? Should we not define it? How do we… In order to build the Red Line, we paid compensation of N9 billion without doing anything.
“We’ve not done anything. We’ve not brought anything. But just to move people away, we paid N9 billion.
“That’s why most states cannot do it. It’s not possible. So Lagos State is the only state in the world that has done something like that, like a rail on a balance sheet.
“Others, federal must be involved. In the UK, 14% is London City. The rest is the federal government. New York Underground, the same thing. So how do we manage our lands? So if our Ministry of Justice, our lawyers, and our judges don’t have this proper understanding that the future of our children is threatened when these cases come to court, then we are missing the point”, he further stated.
He said that in the city of New York now, they’ve stopped high-rises approval for the next few years because the city is sinking due to the number of high-rises.
Earlier, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), explained that the purpose of the stakeholder meeting was to reduce government litigations in courts, preventing further clogging of the justice delivery system with avoidable cases.
He disclosed that “As of July 2024, before the courts’ annual vacation, there were over 6,047 pending cases involving the government across various categories, including land disputes (over 2,500 cases), physical planning (310), housing (240), road transportation (150), environment (75), chieftaincy (250), breach of contract (50), employment and pension (50), and constitutional and FMHR cases (150). The financial exposure for the government in these cases is estimated to be around N114.5 billion.”
The AG reiterated the need for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and other ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to devise strategies to reduce litigation, minimize inter-ministerial gaps, and limit government exposure to avoidable liabilities.
He also pointed out the necessity of redesigning the operating systems and processes of the MDAs to enhance performance in areas such as cost, quality, service, and speed.
Eighteen-Eleven Media