The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans that would transform the state from a mega city to a smart city equipped with infrastructure and facilities that work seamlessly to enhance life experiences.
Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State disclosed this at the ongoing Art of Technology Lagos 1.0 (AOT) conference holding at oriental hotel, Lagos.
According to him, “At the inception of our administration, we had a vision of growing Lagos State with a population above 20 million from a mega city to a smart city equipped with infrastructure and facilities that work seamlessly to enhance life experiences.
“Our dreams and vision of transforming the landscape of Lagos State was anchored on the pillars of our administration’s “T.H.EM.E.S” philosophy to tackle perceived challenges.
“The challenges facing an emerging mega city with the potentials and possibilities available in Lagos State include the administration and management of integrated and intermodal transportation to ease movement of human and material assets, access to human capital development through quality education, promotion of entertainment, arts and culture as socioeconomic enterprise vehicles driven by technology.”
The governor also announced that he had set aside N250million seed money to encourage research and development, innovation and ideas creation, as part of his bid to achieve his smart city dream
He stated that the fund would be administered by a science, research and innovation council he has constituted.
The council would be chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
He also noted that the administration is setting aside $687,000 start-up funds for investment in research and development of tech-focused solutions across the six pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
The Governor said the establishment of the Council and innovation funds officially began the process of implementing strategies that would help in the realization of the Smart City initiative of the State.
He further noted the innovation funds would also be directed to support Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research focusing on solving issues of national significance.
The Governor also launched Open Government Initiative, Innovation Master Plan and Lagos State Solution Hub to further drive synergy between policymakers in the public sector and innovators in the private sector.
On his part, Olatunbosun Alake, Special Adviser to the Governor, Innovation, and Technology, explained that the goal of the Art of Technology Conference was to seek strategic collaborations with the tech ecosystem and private sectors.
Alake said it was pertinent to start driving synergy between policymakers in the public sector and innovators in the private sector as this will go a long way in achieving the smart city ambition.
He disclosed that the Lagos State Government is determined to drive its transformation agenda and willing to partner with relevant stakeholders in the various industries.
Alake called on young developers and tech startups numbering over 1,500 at the conference to start taking advantage of the Lagos Solutions Hub which was launched by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadiri Hamzat.
The Lagos Solutions HUB a platform where proposals, solutions, and ideas are submitted for evaluation.
He emphasized that the middle man barrier has been broken through the platform as there is no need for any developer or startup to get familiarised with government officials for their proposals to get attention.
Hakeem Popoola Fahm, commissioner for science and technology, speaking at the event, said that the state has embarked on massive deployment of fibre optics that would cover a total of 6000 kilometres, 3000 of that to be achieved in 2020 and the other 3000 in 2021.
He noted that the state is installing 2000 high definition cameras for safety and traffic management, which will also aid e-government.
According to him Lagos need efficient urban and traffic management, waste disposal and a robust IT infrastructure and connectivity.
Fahm said the vision of the Lagos Smart city is to create a community of new shared value initiative.
Lagos, he said is on a journey to be a smart city and it can no longer do things the same way.