Why Lagos deserves a special status in today’s Nigeria, by Shasore

Unless Lagos is accorded its well-deserved special status in Nigeria as has been advocated in recent times, it would be increasingly difficult for the state to continue to play its role as the economic and socio-cultural epicentre of the federation.

Olasupo Shasore, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former Lagos State attorney-general and commissioner for justice, stated this in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay at the weekend.

Shasore, who spoke extensively on his new book entitled ‘Possessed – A History of Law and Justice in the Crown Colony of Lagos, 1861-1906’, said it was getting more and more difficult for Lagos to sustain its crucial role in Nigeria because of the rate of migration into the state occasioned by the abundance of opportunities or the relative presence of opportunities, infrastructure and gainful livelihood in the state.

“It is a serious burden on the

Oil industry weakness threatens infrastructure spending growth

The Nigerian oil and gas industry which is currently being undermined by a poor investment climate constitutes a major threat to the country’s growing share in the sub-Saharan African infrastructure market, BusinessDay has learnt.

Infrastructure spending, which rose to $23 billion in 2013, is expected to grow by $4.5 billion yearly to $77 billion in 2025 underpinned by a more investor-friendly environment towards oil investment and solid government revenue growth from oil price rises.

But Nigeria has in recent times seen a decline in oil and gas investment and revenue from the industry on the back of delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), drastic fall in imports of Nigerian crude oil by the United States and rising crude oil theft and sabotage.

The country has also suffered historically from a lack of refining capacity, which means exporting the overwhelming majority of its crude oil output and importing fuels, and this is taking a toll on government coffers.

The country’s economy is currently