Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says governing the bulging population of the state demands that one should be on his toes.
Ambode spoke at the State House in Alausa while playing host to 21 students of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, who are in Lagos State on a one-week exchange programme.
He said that with the challenge of urban migration,there was the need to continue to initiate policies that could cater for everyone.
“There is an internal challenge of people coming into Lagos and not wanting to go back; that is our major challenge.
” An average of 86 people come into Lagos every hour and more than half not returning to their base.
“Governing a bulging population of Lagos means you have to be on your toes,”Ambode said.
He said his administration had, in the last two years, put in place the right policy framework to tackle issues of urban and population explosion as well as sustain its infrastructural challenges.
Ambode noted that Lagos remained an integral part of the African economy, hence a compelling reason for the state to remain globally competitive.
” Lagos is more or less like a trigger to the economy of Africa,” the governor said.
He said that good governance was a social contract between the government and the governed and the theory of governance was different from practical.
According to him, providing the kind of governance Lagos needs involves thinking out of the box.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mrs Toyosi Ogunsiji, extolled the virtues of Ambode at ensuring rapid development in the state.
Ogunsiji said that some of the available partnerships government could enjoy with students and Harvard Kennedy school of Government were especially in areas of public policy development.
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a graduate and professional school that brings together students, scholars and practitioners who combine thought and action to make the world a better place.
According to its website, it teaches current and future leaders the skills they need to be effective in the private, public and nonprofit sectors.(NAN)
FAA/SOA