4.4.1 Introduction
The segments of the population who require attention from social development and protection programmes include youth, various categories of women, children, persons living with disabilities, orphaned and vulnerable children, terminally ill and older persons of over 70 years (the vulnerable). These groups of persons either do not reach their full human potential or cannot contribute effectively to economic growth and sustainable social development due to vulnerability and exclusion.
The capacity of LASG to provide for the needs of these vulnerable groups has not been fully explored.
4.4.2 Challenges
Lagos State attracts migration/job creation, increasing pressure on social development infrastructure, economic empowerment on youth, women, children and sporting facilities. Poor infrastructure gives rise to social miscreants and contributes to youth and sport development problems (e.g. few community playing grounds are in a state of disrepair and are
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turned to party centres). Insecurity also contributes to youth and sport development problems (e.g. area and garage boys’ violence). Massive unemployment and joblessness of women and youths fostered a state of hopelessness, social vices and criminality. A significant percentage of the youth population are not exposed to sporting activities while significant percentage of the youth and women population are also not exposed to skills acquisition/ vocational training and other development programmes. There have also been insufficient competent social workers/sports personnel.
Low awareness rates, despite the high literacy rates in the State, have their share of development problems. Low awareness rate reduces the uptake of social development programmes and increases youth and sport development problems. State statistics show that that over 85% of Lagosians are literate but 18% are not aware of the opportunities available to them or services offered by the State for their benefits. The 2010 figures show that about 40% of Lagosians lived below poverty line of $1 a day. Life expectancy for Lagos State is at 61.5 years.
Stakeholder groups in the Social Development Sector include the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Women Development Centre and Ministry of Special Duties, Lagos state-owned parastatals, Organised Private Sector, groups supported by Development Partners, Youths, Trade Associations and Community Development Associations. Their identified needs include provision of basic infrastructure, easy access to finance, provision of skills acquisition and vocational training schemes, enabling investment environment, legislative support for sector initiatives, and sustainable sources of funds. There has also been a proliferation of interest groups and voluntary organisations without much supervision from the government.
4.4.3 Responses
Agencies in the Social Development and Social Protection sub-sector have responded in different ways to some of the above challenges. Some of the positive actions have included:
l
conjunction with Ministry of Commerce and Industry
l Implementation of agriculture small-holders scheme in collaboration Implementation of small and medium scale industry schemes in
with Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development
l Development of a limited number of youth centres and sports infrastructures.
l Seventeen (17) skills acquisition centres (Long term Training) spread across the State to combat poverty levels targeted at women and youth.
l Two remand homes housing 116 inmates.
l Three approved schools for juvenile delinquents.
l One (1) Transit home with (176 bed space) for the victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
l One old people’s home
l Some sports programmes specifically for the youths were introduced, notably: MTN Lagos Street Soccer championship
l Home/ clinic for physically challenged children
l Operation of two (2) Farms for training interested grassroots Women and Youth in Agricultural Production and Animal Husbandry.
l Quarterly Short Term Training for grassroots Women, Youths, etc
l Motherless babies Home 4.4.4 Prospects
With population expected to grow strongly over the next few years, pressure on social development and youth and sporting facilities will continue. This means significantly more spending to meet the Social Development and Protection programmes, both from the LASG and the private sector. LASG currently spends 1.04% of its budget on social development and less than 1% on youth and sports programmes and infrastructure. Countries and States of a similar size spend at least 4% of their annual budget on social development and 5% on youth and sports programmes respectively. Annual spending on these sub-sectors is expected to reach N110 billion by 2025.
4.4.5 Summary of Issues
l High degree of poverty among citizens
l Pressure on social infrastructure (sporting facilities, community centres, etc) from high population growth and migration
l Poor infrastructure gives rise to social miscreants and contributes to youth and sport development problems (e.g. few community playing grounds are in a state of disrepair and are turned to party centres.
l Youth populations are not exposed to sporting activities and empowerment programmes. Tendency to focus on football development to the neglect of other competitive sports.
l Insufficient competent social workers/sports personnel 100
l
(e.g. area and garage boys’ violence).
l Proliferation of interest groups and voluntary organizations without much supervision from the State Government
l Inadequate number of skills acquisition centres in the State to combat poverty
Insecurity also contributes to youth and sport development problems
4.5 Security
4.5.1 Introduction
A state where the population is not safe and secure, where there is no peace and where justice and rule of law are not key is a failed state. Lagos State vision for security and safety is to have a State where life and property are safe and secure and public peace is maintained. In order to achieve this Lagos State recently established the Lagos State Safety Commission to ensure the principles of good governance and accountability are followed. Lagos State will protect life and property in Lagos State through an effective system of policing, law enforcement and prompt intervention in emergencies. These will be achieved by building the capacity of security and safety personnel and institutions to deliver services; educating the public on security and safety, reforming public perception of security and safety personnel and involving communities and corporate organizations in security and safety management.
4.5.2 Sector Metrics
The current state of security and safety in Lagos State is difficult to ascertain due to weak statistics. Whilst Justice is a State function administering the prosecution and court procedures the primary role of policing and the fire service are Federal responsibilities. The Nigeria Police Force operates a Lagos Command with 8 Area Commands. Apart from the normal police officers there are a number of Special Forces such as the Mobile Unit, the Marine Unit, the Air Unit and the Anti-Terrorist Squad. There are also various local authority security personnel, patrolling markets and other crowded areasand there are a number of active Neighbourhood Watches. The Lagos State Security Trust Fund, a Public Private Partnership has been established to provide support and back up from the private sector to ensure greater security. Past figures suggest that the number of security and safety personnel stood at 135 police and 3 state firemenper 100,000 Lagos citizens. There is one state
emergency response centre. These are very low figures from an international standpoint but more recent statistics may show an improvement. The Fire Service is thought to be especially weak and requires strengthening.
4.5.3 Challenges
The key challenges to provision of good security and safety to the people of Lagos State lie with poorly trained security and safety personnel.
Crime fighting tools and equipment used by state security officers are inferior to those used by criminals and there are insufficient statistics on security and safety to assist in planning and management. Other challenges which cut across sectors include poor public perception of government officials especially security and safety personnel; traffic congestion which frustrates emergency response time; poor infrastructure which contributes to fatal accidents for example poorly erected buildings and bad roads; and higher mortality rates as a result of insufficient public education on how to respond in the event of an emergency.
Other challenges include constitutional bottlenecks around the management of the State’s internal security and poor remuneration for public officers which encourages corruption.
4.5.4 Government’s Response
The State Government has responded to some of these challenges by establishing Lagos State Safety Commission to take charge of the security and safety issues in the State. Security services are being radically revamped and security agencies better equipped through the New Security Initiative, enhancing opportunities for greater security of life, property and investment in Lagos State. The State has upgraded Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and established Free-Call Emergency Response Systems and processes. The State has also embarked on a programme to eliminate ‘black spots’ around Lagos through various sub-programmes such as street lighting, clearing bushes within and around the metropolis and beautifying Lagos through the landscaping programme. In lieu of a state police (which is a Federal government responsibility) the State continues to strengthen community policing and support security awareness programmes. Also through the Town Hall meetings, intense advertisement and promotion of the government’s policies and activities in tackling the high crime rate in the State are being disseminated.
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4.6. Justice
4.6.1 Introduction
The State will ensure its citizens fully enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms by assuring legal order, respect for the rule of law, nurture a responsive and fair system of justice for all and sustain a coherent anti-corruption culture. Accordingly Ministry of Justice will continue to draft laws, interpret laws and monitor the enforcement of rule of law to bring about predictability in the system; provide services to facilitate the settling of disputes between individuals, groups and other governments; create public awareness of Justice issues; protect the constitutional rights of citizens, consolidate and codify laws for promotion of democratic gains;
maintain the independence of the judicial system. The Justice sector will also continue to carry out law reforms to effect greater social justice;
provide means of redress when people are abused by organs of the state;
and carry out legal directives imposed by the courts for the protection of society. Justice sector will continue to set up structures and institutions for consolidating democratic gains, good governance, ethics and values, promotion and protection of human rights, enhance transparency and accountability and develop and institutionalize anti-corruption strategies and programmes.
4.6.2 Sector Metrics
The current state of Justice in Lagos State shows that there were 0.97 judges per 100,000 cases. The average length of case was seven years although this is reducing while the average number of civil cases filed per High Court judge in 2005 was 169 and per Magistrate was 78. The average number of criminal cases filed per Magistrate was 144 and the number of detainees released in prison decongestion programme in 2005 was 110.
The total number of lawyers called to the bar in Nigeria since 1887 stood at 60,230.
Statistics show that Lagos State does better than Nigeria as a whole on some key Justice Indicators but still lags behind many developing nations.
The number of judges in Lagos State was stated at 0.97 whereas the average for Nigeria stood at 0.78, Sri Lanka was 1.13, Malaysia was 1.17, United Kingdom was 2.25, South Africa was 4.37, Brazil was 8 and Portugal the highest stood at 14.8.
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Lagos State suffers some challenges which include insufficient numbers of lawyers, judges and support personnel; overburdened Judiciary and Magistracy; inadequate working materials and tools such as information and communication technology; insufficient data on the sector activities and low level of Justice Aid to the indigent population. There is also low skill level for significant number of professionals and training is inadequate and haphazardly carried out.
Other challenges include the fact that Lagos State attracts migration which therefore increases pressure on State security and the justice systems. As with other states in Nigeria, Lagos State lacks adequate infrastructure, example erratic and inconsistent power supply which limits the use of the technology available. Also the low literacy and awareness levels of the population limit their knowledge of their rights leading to wrongful arrests and/or detention. The poor quality education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels result in preponderance of limited skills and competencies in the job market for example semi-illiterate graduates and computer operators/typists who can barely speak English. These indices and challenges call for attention although Lagos State is doing better than all other states in the Federation.
4.6.4 The Government’s Response to some of the challenges
Lagos State in recognition of the critical role law and order plays in society and in development, embarked on a sensitization campaign of the public on law and order offences with a view to changing public attitude and to solicit public support. The State also re-organised the existing legal aid services making access easier to the public. The State has concluded the Arbitration law reforms which is essential for rapid enforcement of the law of contracts and will engender investor confidence and security of contracts. In its efforts to speed the judicial processes, the State constructed more high and magistrate court rooms, provided training for judges and magistrates; and stenographic training to court personnel. The establishment of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as the Citizen’s Mediation Centre has also reduced the pressures on the judicial systems. In order to engender confidence in and for security of contracts, the State passed the 2008 Arbitration Law and established the Lagos Court of Arbitration. Furthermore, land law and the procedure for obtaining Governor’s consent have been liberalised while land records and land/property registry have been fully computerised thereby establishing databases.