…Unveils Startup Lagos
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Samwo-Olu, has restated its commitment to make the state a smart city by digitalizing its operations which is in with his THEMES agenda.
He made this known at the second edition of Art of Technology Lagos 2.0, organised by Eko Innovation Centre in partnership with Lagos State government, with the theme: “Smart data, Smarter Lagos” where he also unveiled Startup Lagos, an initiative meant to empower Lagosians. He urged ITpreneurs and others to take advantage of the opportunities the state is offering to help businesses and entrepreneurs.
He explained that Covid-19 spurred his administration to speech up ongoing projects and plans to make life comfortable for Lagosians.
According to him, his administration is committed to give entrepreneurs in the ICT sector to explore opportunities the state is offering as the proposed plan to create a Technology Hub in Yaba where Startup and other technologists can secure a space and do their businesses are in the pipeline.
Sanwo-Olu stressed that Lagos State is initiating a “Unified Communication first Respondent” where LASMA and other Security agencies can communicate with One another for security and safety purpose. “There are so many plans in pipeline, We are deploying 2000 cameras in Lagos for security, intelligence gathering, traffic management to track criminals, this shall be in full operation by first quarter of 2021 because we want to make Lagos a resilient and safe City.
He affirmed that the state is leaving no stone unturned to give residents sound governance, this he said, can be possible through data gathering, thus, the state has proposed to capture four million Lagosians to serve the people better. He said, “We need to know ourselves, so with data obtained from Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) and other agencies, we shall be able to plan well, take informed decisions and make better policies.
He added that his administration is putting Validators in place in BRT, rail way and water transport system through Lagos connect card as an integrated transport system to give Lagosians better transport experience.
He added that education sector is not left out as Eko Excel Potent initiative is ongoing in primary schools where teachers are given mobile Tablets and training for them to work efficiently and effectively while Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LSSRIC) is in place to promote research and development in the state.
“All these efforts are geared towards making Lagos a smarter City in every sector of our economy in line with our Economic agenda of THEMES. We are deploying 6,000 kilometers Fiber Boxes in every nooks and crannies of the state. We are working with Discos to ensure that power is stable in the state because, we can’t operate without power supply” he asseverated.
Meanwhile, the Vice president, Yemi Osibanjo, said this administration is working harder to make Nigeria a smart country noting that human creativity and ingenuities are major assets needed to make the society a smart place.
He maintained that president Buhari’s administration would continue to pursue its digital and technology agenda to keep the country at pace with the rest of the world. ” Data is everything. We are gathering economic data, demographic Data and other Data coupled with our resourcefulness to manage over two million people. So, we must leverage technology and data for better plans, policy design and decisions making. Smart data makes smart Governance,” he stressed.