LAGOS IBADAN EXPRESSWAY SAGA

Monday

Hallelujah!  Superb news today, the Federal Govt has terminated the contractors who were to have repaired the Lagos Ibadan Expressway from May 2009 for 25 years under a design, build, operate and transfer (DBOT) scheme.

For many years that stretch or road has steadily gotten worse causing numerous accidents and loss of life. The 105km expressway is the busiest in the whole of West Africa. Each time I have to ply that road, I have prayed every step of the way. It is a living nightmare. The road is crater ridden, with thousands of oil tankers dangerously parked on the sides of the road. Armed robbery is a daily occurrence. It has become a health hazard and this news could not have come sooner. Well done Fed Govt, I hope many more much need infrastructural repairs will be undertaken to lift the country out of this quagmire of decay, it has fallen into
The contract has been deservedly allocated to Julius Berger and RCC Nigeria Ltd. I know it will take some years to be completed, but we all look forward to some sanity on that road henceforth!

Tuesday

Someone called me today to visit what was previously a hotel, but the owner wanted to turn the 40 room hotel into one bed self contained accommodation for, young people, singles or short stays. This is the third such request I have received in the last two months. It appears that some hotels are folding up due to management issues and the owners want the hotels converted to short stay accommodation. What the owners need to be aware of is that the facility management of this type of accommodation needs to be reliable and immediate. Things like generators cannot afford to break down and have long down times. Security and cleaning need to be top notch! There is no need seeking clients if the facilities are run down.

Wednesday

The Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge that is being built by Julius Berger is approaching completion and is a beautiful sight to behold especially at night when it is lit up. It is a vast improvement on the landscape and surrounding squalor that we are accustomed to seeing. The Government should contract out all the road and bridge building works to Julius Berger. From what I gather the Third Mainland Bridge, despite being shut for repairs for four months, still has a repair problem.

Thursday

The talk on power privatisation seems to be a recurring subject that is not going anywhere. If anything, power supply seems to be more elusive now than at any other time. It appears that from the day after the resignation of the last Power Minister, the power supply to the whole nation dropped by 80%. The cost of diesel has once again risen as demand is high.

Friday

Every day we see different figures and deadlines put out by the Federal Government for the increase in megawatts of power. In 2009 we were to expect 6000mw by that year end, instead it dropped to 2300mw. In 2010, we were told to expect 10,000mw, it never rose beyond 2,500mw. In 2011, we were again told it will go up by year end, again nothing. In 2012 we saw an improvement between June and September to about 5000mw. It now seems back to the original 2,300mw. We are again now told to expect 10,253mw by December 2013…

RESIDENTIAL ESTATES NO LONGER SAFE HAVENS

Monday

In the last few weeks, no less than 7 large gated residential estates in the VI and Lekki areas including private homes have been invaded by armed robbers. This then begs the question everyone has been asking, why are we paying for security guards, if they are not effective in providing security for our homes?  Last week, the biggest private estate in Lagos, had armed robbers enter the estate, it was alleged that a security guard was shot and killed, but all other information has been sketchy. What is interesting is how the power of social media came into play. Within seconds of the the attack, blackberry, text and whatsapp messages were being delivered to thousands of phones. I was with a friend whose husband was on the said estate visiting a friend, when the message came in on my phone. He left the estate immediately my friend called him, but because the estate has closed its gates in a ploy to trap the robbers, no one was able to get in or out for at least three hours.  The robbers were not found, although security on that estate is now tighter than it has ever been.

Armed robbers are now venturing into previously safe havens, like gated estates and quiet upscale residential areas. Nowhere seems safe any longer. Estates are now employing the use mobile policemen, who carry loaded guns and patrol the estates. God help us all!

Tuesday

The media was awash today with pictures of the damage and injury caused by last weekend’s armed robbery gun fire frenzy on some estates along the Lekki Expressway. A resident was mistakenly shot 5 times by policemen who arrived after an hour after a distress call had been made to the local police station. The police armoured van that arrived at one of the estates, came under a barrage of machine gun fire from the armed robbers. Residents on estates are now worried that there seems to be no security available for them, either from the security guards or from the police.

Wednesday

The Lagos State Government has asked all property owners whose properties are located along major roads, to ensure they are repainted and repaired before the Christmas holidays. This is probably a means to ensure the environment looks neater and cleaner than it does at present. There is a severe lack of maintenance of buildings, every here in the state.

Thursday

The Airport road in Ikeja, has deteriorated so rapidly and badly, that it is now a danger to vehicles plying that road, especially travellers going to and from the airport. The airport is a window into the country and says a lot to visitors coming into Lagos for the first time. Urgent attention must be given to repairing the road and clearing the oil tankers on parked on the road.

Friday

It is quite depressing to hear that there is a deficit of 17 million affordable homes in the country. I am sure that the figure is much higher than this, if one was to look at the number of family members or friends, who are permanent visitors in other people’s homes. This issue was raised at the recent Housing Summit conference, held in Lagos this week. There is no real incentive from the Government to help push forward the policies and funding for this sector.

Mortgage institutions are not lending, and in the few instances they do, the interest rates are over 20% and not sustainable, therefore leading to a vicious cycle of non repayment of loans and banks withholding affordable mortgage packages. There was a call for the government and stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the newly approved National Housing Policy document.

HURRICANE SANDY IN LAGOS

Monday

The Lagos State Government has warned residents to prepare for the ripple effect of Hurricane Sandy which devastated parts of the Caribbean and East coast of America recently. We have been warned that in one to two weeks it may arrive here causing flooding or ocean surges which may affect residents along the Lagos coastline. The areas that may be affected include, Kuramo, Oniru, Alpha beach.

If at all we do feel the after effect of the hurricane, it will certainly not be on the scale that it affected the US, where we saw houses razed to the ground, loss of power and and terrible flooding. Even though they were not prepared for it or do not often witness such destruction, they have dealt with it competently and almost every one affected is rehoused with power restored. On the other hand, we in Lagos frequently experience loss of power and flooding, yet nothing much changes and those affected just get on with it as best they can.

Tuesday

I got a call from a client who wished to renew his lease but, was not able to because that landlord and his wife were quarrelling and individually kept putting pressure on the client to pay the money to themselves. At the on start of the tenancy, the rent had been paid to one of them, but now the other party was demanding that it be paid to them as they were the rightful owner of the property. This confused the tenant who wanted to continue staying at the property, but not be in the middle of a domestic dispute which may affect his stay.

Luckily, one party has backed down, the rent paid, and hopefully the tenant can continue his tenancy in peace

Wednesday

On my way to view a property, the car entered a pot hole covered by water and got stuck. This is the third time in as many years that this has happened and is a frequent occurrence on Lagos roads. Luckily some kind hearted passerby’s used their God given man power to push the car out and send us on our way.

Thursday

A client contacted me, as there was a leak into his flat from the flat above him destroying all his personal belongings. He did not know how to deal with this as the other tenants was denying responsibility. Home insurance is very important to protect buildings and properties, unfortunately majority of tenants and homeowners do not have any and instead rely on luck to prevent unforeseen problems. There is a saying that “God helps those who help themselves”

Friday

There is an ongoing land dispute on the island which is quite theatrical to say the least. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) unit of the police force has been invited to look into the case. It involves a traditional ruler (Oba) and a Chief. The Chief bought a parcel of land about 15 years ago, which he sand filled and started building the foundation for some properties, but ran out of money. He decided to sell the land to someone else about 5 years ago. Recently, there was some vandalism on the land, which revealed that the Oba who wanted it for one of his wives, was responsible.

The police have looked into the matter, invited both parties in and asked the Oba to “settle” the owner of the land

ARE WE BUILDING FUTURE SLUMS?

Monday

There are estates being developed on the outskirts of Lagos and within the Lekki expressway axis that are already showing signs of distress. A few years ago there were communities along the Lagos Ibadan expressway that were touted as the next big investment opportunity since Dubai real estate development. Plots of land were being sold for as low as N250,000.00 with payment plans arranged. It all seemed just too good to be true. These estates were advertised as having infrastructure like tarred roads, running water, security and dedicated transformers for electricity provision.

Some who had always wanted to get on the property ladder but never thought they would be able to afford it at the rate of property price increases, saw this as their opportunity to build a home for their families. Investors bought numerous plots, thinking they would sit on it till prices appreciated, then sell them at a fantastic profit.

What do we have years down the line? Sold out plots with no infrastructure provided, no maintenance, pot hole ridden dirt roads that flood when it rains, no drainage, no running water, residents at the mercy of armed robbers, electricity a long forgotten dream, and to top it all, residents are learning that the plots they bought, may not even belong to them afterall as there is a dispute over landownership and they may have to re purchase their plots all over again! Residents have appealed to the relevant government offices to step into this matter, but no clear answers are being given. Their dreams have crumpled like a pack of cards. The future for these estates is not good at all; already they have deteriorated into slum dwellings at best.

Tuesday

It is sad to see that disputes over land and property sit in courts for years despite receiving titles and deeds from government agencies. Going about buying land the “right” way, unfortunately seems to offer no protection against your land being taken over by someone else. Buyers need to be cautious and try not to buy land directly from land owners unless a genuine Certificate of Occupancy is produced.

Wednesday

It is crazy that some developers would rather cut corners than employ legitimate professionals to construct their properties. Some go as far as employing artisans from the villages who are not as expensive as the city professionals and do not have a clue on safety measures for construction, electrical wiring and plumbing. Unfortunately this only results in the construction of properties no better than village huts.

Thursday

A lot of properties in the Alpha beach area are  falling in value due to the ocean rapidly encroaching on to the surrounding land. Owners of properties that sprung up in the last 5-10 years and had been doing well in terms of sales and renting can only sit back and watch helplessly as the ocean creeps up to their door steps. This has been in the media constantly with the government officials for waterways and environment making numerous visits to the area and promising that measures will be taken to stop the encroachment, yet nothing has been done! No one wants to buy there anymore.

Friday

As we all know security in our homes and in general is a big issue in Lagos and the country as a whole and some people will take any measure necessary to protect their property. I came across a funny joke about this which I will share.

A security firm receives a phone call enquiring about the varying types of security measures provided?  The receptionist answers saying” please what kind of security would you want installed? We have Voodoo, Remote control, Juju, Charms, Spirit gatemen, Touch and start sweeping, Fall asleep  etc” If you let us know which one you prefer, we will give you a quote….