A tale of two Nigerian cities

BBC journalist Osasu Obayiuwana has returned home to Nigeria for the first time in two years.

In the third of a series of articles on how he finds Africa's most populous nation, he compares Nigeria's two main cities: Lagos and Abuja.

Volunteers sometimes clear up Lagos streets

Lagos, Nigeria's commercial nerve-centre, is a city that evokes contradictory feelings in me.

Having spent a significant part of my life living in this pulsating metropolis of over 12 million people, the dynamism and go-getting attitude of its citizens makes it one of the world's most fascinating places to live in.

But its abysmal drainage system, unable to cope with the torrential rains currently besieging it, is enough to drive the most laidback of people, which I normally am, round the bend.

With a good number of its roads submerged in water, during the rainy season, journeys across the city that should take half an hour could easily last three.

Only four-wheel drives are able to wade through the perilous Lagos roads, with less sturdy cars packing up mid-journey in the middle of what Lagosians call "rivers".

Business-savvy

The flooded roads provide temporary but lucrative employment to the jobless youth that play the role of an emergency roadside service.

With well-dressed middle-class people unwilling to roll up their nice trousers, take off their shoes and socks and step out of their cars into what could be 20 centimetres of water, in order to push their cars out of trouble, they have little choice than to pay the prices the business-savvy youth demand.

What we are dealing with is 15 to 20 years of accumulated wrongdoings - people have seen things going wrong and decided to look the other way Nasir El-Rufai Minister in charge of Abuja

To paraphrase an old Nigerian proverb, one is in no position to determine how much yam you eat or if you get any at all, when another person holds the yam tuber and the knife with which it is cut.

There is little doubt that the floods that make Lagos roads a nightmare during the rainy season is a direct consequence of the massive violations of planning regulations.

Houses and business premises have been built on top of drainage canals and flood paths over the last 30 years, often after officials have been bribed to get the plans approved. Only large-scale demolitions of the offending buildings will begin to solve the problem.

But while Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the man who governs Lagos State, is well aware of the problem that gets worse each year, taking a firm step to solve the problem could be politically suicidal.

Undoubtedly popular with Lagosians for his down-to-earth, hands-on approach to governing the city and the state, treading on the toes of some powerful people to enforce the planning rules could cause social upheaval and riots.

But those fears have not stopped Nasir El-Rufai, the minister in charge of Abuja, Nigeria's purpose-built capital, from deciding to enforce his own city's regulations and adhering strictly to its master plan.

'Pain'

Ignoring the pressure of the rich and powerful, as well as the pleas of the offending poor, Mr Rufai has been nicknamed "The Demolition Man" for ordering and executing the destruction of buildings that violate planning laws.

The Abuja clean-up operation has sparked a furore

He insists that nothing or no-one will stop him from doing his duty, to prevent Abuja from going down the path that has put Lagos in such a sorry state.

"We are doing [these demolitions] because on the balance, we think the public interest of the people of Abuja is better served by inflicting pain on a few - the few who break the law," Mr Rufai said in a recent public statement.

"Anybody that has not broken the law in Abuja has nothing to fear from us."

"What we are dealing with is 15 to 20 years of accumulated wrongdoings - people have seen things going wrong and decided to look the other way."

Mr Rufai is no stranger to controversy in Nigeria's volatile political climate.

Explosive

He provoked a storm when he accused specific members of the Nigerian senate of demanding bribes before he would pass their confirmation hearings for his ministerial appointment.

Abuja was purpose built to get away from the overcrowding in Lagos

But tackling the duty of keeping the city in tip-top shape is the toughest task this quantity surveyor has faced while serving his country.

Readily acknowledging the fact the measures he is taking are socially and politically explosive, as many people have become homeless as a result of the demolitions, Mr Rufai insists that leadership is about making the right - and often difficult - choices for the long-term benefit of all.

"If [demolishing illegal structures] is right, we will face up to it. We cannot just continue to look at problems and run away from them."

With even more demolitions scheduled in the ensuing weeks, only time will tell if the courage of Mr Rufai's convictions - and President Olusegun Obasanjo's backing - will insulate him from the political whirlwind that could consume him.

Or whether a successful operation may one day encourage Mr Tinubu to follow suit.

Osasu Obayiuwana's second article

Osasu's first article