Anti-business Lagos (Part 1): Losing investor confidence

Lagos has a vision to become a world-class metropolitan city. 

Former Governor Ambode said that the Lagos master plan is to compete with metropolitan cities like Singapore, Miami, and Dubai. When one thinks of these cities, we think of high-rise buildings, clean wide roads with nice cars, lovely beachfront, and so on. Lagos has been focused on delivering on that agenda but like we have seen with the Eko Atlantic project, development is not just constructing nice buildings and having a nice beachfront. That’s not what is going to spur economic growth. Clearly, other things play a role as well. 

To achieve economic growth, you need investment. If I am an investor, what is important for me is how the state treats businesses. Are they partners, or does the state adopt an authoritarian way of dealing with companies? A few recent events in Lagos would not give me that confidence