My name is Folorunsho Ashcroft and I’m a senior business development manager with the Transportation division of General Electric in Nigeria. I’ve been working on a concession project with the federal government (through the Ministry of Transport and Nigerian Railway Corporation NRC) to actively resuscitate and rehabilitate 3500km of existing track across Nigeria on the Narrow gauge rail infrastructure. With the right level of commitment from the government, we hope to provide alternative logistics and transportation solutions for the citizenry.

Lagos to me is the heartbeat of Nigeria. You really are not in business if you don’t think of how to incorporate the latent demand in Lagos into your business model. Lagos helps you develop a “can-do”, “everything is possible” spirit. Although I studied outside of Lagos for most of my education, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to start my career in Lagos, and I must say that its been quite a journey.

Whoever gave Lagos the moniker – “Centre of Excellence” was spot on. I am very proud of the wealth and depth of expertise you can find in Lagos for just about everything. The self- assurance of the average Lagosian that his hustle would yield benefits as long as he perseveres is one of the things I love about Lagos. I find it very astonishing that despite the fact that Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria, it’s considered to be the 5th largest economy in Africa (as of 2016). Now oil has been discovered in Lagos state, which means things can only get better – at least for the few years until oil goes out of fashion.

However, as with most big cities, there are also a number of negatives; e.g. poor city planning, traffic gridlocks, poor sanitation, security challenges etc. Nevertheless, I am of the belief that with the right building blocks we will gradually arrive at the Lagos of our dreams.

In my day job, I am currently committed to solving the logistics and traffic problems we experience in Lagos. I believe most will agree with me when I say it’s one of the major challenges plaguing the state. I am working tirelessly with a team of professionals to mitigate traffic congestion in Lagos. For example, I believe we can solve the Apapa gridlock if we use trains to get cargo/freight out of the ports to a multi-modal location further inland, where trucks can then haul the cargo/freight to their final destinations.

The one thing I would change if I could about Lagos would definitely be the small group of people (who consider themselves the Elite) who believe they reserve the right to solely determine and control the affairs of the state. Every now and then we get to see someone who isn’t a part of the establishment defy status-quo and we get a bandwagon effect with these folks, but we still get left with the structural problems of how governance is being administered in the state.

My dream would be for Lagos to use this newly found oil to pivot and adequately position Lagos for the next generation. We need to get on board with new ideas and technological advancements. I imagine a Lagos that would dictate the pace for Africa in the 4th Industrial revolution. The only sticky point is that we need a new and committed breed of leaders. We also need to lend our support by coaching and inspiring the leaders in other states in Nigeria, otherwise – we would succeed in building a cathedral in the desert and the over dependence on Lagos would make it crumble under its weight.