The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Mayor of Brampton City in Ontario, Canada, His Worship, Mr Patrick Brown, on Tuesday, discussed ways to collaborate using technology.
Brown led a delegation to Lagos State House, Ikeja, on a courtesy visit to Sanwo-Olu.
The governor said that leveraging technology would facilitate the ease of doing business in the state.
Sanwo-Olu said there was no point requesting Nigerians abroad to come back home to invest if the local business environment was not made to support their aspirations.
He said the Canadian city shared similar history with Lagos as both cities had grown over the decades to become the hubs of commerce and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The governor commended the efforts made by the mayor to accelerate more development in Brampton, which hosted a large population of Nigerians.
He said that Lagos would be seeking bilateral cooperation with the political leadership of the Canadian city in the areas of cybersecurity, food security, technology, among others.
According to him, the state has embarked on an intensive infrastructural programme to make Lagos more attractive to people in the Diaspora to invest in.
“All these efforts will sustain the position of Lagos as the first destination for business and keep our economy growing at a steady pace.
“Lagos is the tech. hub in sub-Saharan Africa and there are many collaborations we can seal with Brampton in the area of cybersecurity.
“Only yesterday (Monday), the state cabinet passed the development of 3,000km metropolitan fibre initiative all around the city.
“When this is done, we will be able to leapfrog on this to build several capabilities using technology. It means that we are transforming Lagos to a smart city and city of the future driven by technology.
“This will also enhance our Ease of Doing Business Policy, which foreign investors and Diaspora can tap into,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said the smart city initiative of his administration would enhance the capacity of the government to leverage technology in improving security and drive up tourism potential of the state.
Earlier in his remark, Brown described Nigerians living in Brampton as ”resilient people”, as their influence on the city’s economy and culture contributed to its economic prosperity and social development.
He said that because of the resilience of Nigerians in Canada, the country decided to focus on Nigeria and see possible areas of collaboration.
“The City of Brampton in Canada has a growing Nigerian Diaspora that has been very successful. The community is very successful in Canada.
“There are business leaders in all spheres in the community in Canada, they have been great ambassadors for the country, so the government needs to put emphasis on Nigeria.
“The government needs to pay attention to Nigeria. So we are here looking at opportunities to work closer together,” Brown said. (NAN)
