LAGOS State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said on Tuesday that the ongoing infrastructural development programmme of his administration was to attract investment from the diaspora.
The governor, who spoke while receiving His Worship, Mr. Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton City in Ontario, Canada, who led a delegation to the State House in Alausa, Ikeja, on a visit, said that there would be no point requesting Nigerians abroad to come back home to invest if the local business environment was not made to support their aspirations.
He said the Canadian city shared similar history with Lagos, stressing that both cities had grown over the decades to become the hubs of commerce and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Sanwo-Olu acknowledged the efforts made by the Mayor to accelerate more development in Brampton, which hosts a large population of Nigerians.
He said Lagos would be seeking bilateral cooperation with the political leadership of the Canadian city in the areas of cyber security, food security and technology among others.
The governor said: “It feels great to know how much effort you, as a Mayor of Brampton, are investing in driving more development in your city and this is similar to what we have been doing in Lagos. We have embarked on intensive infrastructural programme to make Lagos more attractive to people in the diaspora to invest in.
“All these efforts will sustain the position of Lagos as the first destination for business and keep our economy growing at a steady pace. Lagos is the tech hub in the sub-Saharan Africa and there is much collaboration we can seal with Brampton in the area of cyber security. Only yesterday (Monday), the state exco passed the development of 3,000-kilometre metropolitan fibre initiative all around the city.
“When this is done, we will be able to leapfrog on this to build several capabilities, using technology. It means we are transforming Lagos to a smart city and city of the future driven by technology. This will also enhance our Ease of Doing Business Policy, which foreign investors and diaspora can tap into.”
He said the smart city initiative of his administration would enhance the capacity of the government to leverage technology in improving security and driving up the tourism potential of the state.
Brown described Nigerians living in Brampton as “resilient people”, saying their influence on the city’s economy and culture contributed to its economic prosperity and social development.
The Mayor welcomed Lagos governor’s invitation for collaborations in various areas, including education, ICT, agriculture and cyber security.