It was a homecoming of sorts last weekend. The official assignment brought me back to Lagos, a state where I have schooled and worked before occupational mobility took me to Abuja 22 years ago. I was in Lagos at the behest of Francis Abayomi, Executive Director of Peace and Development Projects, the NGO that organized a retreat for staff of the Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution at the Niger Delta Development Commission. The event took place on January 31 and February 1, 2025, and I was the moderator.

For many years NDDC has been a byword for incompetence, cronyism and corruption but the story seems to be gradually changing under the leadership of the incumbent Managing Director, Chief Samuel Ogbuku. According to the Acting Director of the Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution at the Commission, Goddy Ogedegbe Esq, the MD/CEO is implementing transformative agenda, which has seen improvement in peace and security in the Niger Delta communities as well as service delivery, especially of social amenities.

In her keynote address titled “Crises Management: Embracing Inclusivity for Effective Shift from Transactional to Transformational Approaches”, the Director of Impact for Change and Development, Dr Naomi Akapan-Ita, said that over time, methods for resolving disputes have evolved into more versatile approaches that are widely accepted. These methods include various forms of alternative dispute resolution, such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. In community-focused interventions, ADR can be particularly relevant, as it tends to be more flexible, cost-effective, and time-efficient than litigation. Additionally, ADR can help minimise divisiveness and facilitate productive outcomes.

 Furthermore, contemporary dispute resolution methods have expanded to include online dispute resolution, which involves using technology to manage conflicts, as well as hybrid processes that combine two or more methods, such as arbitration-mediation, mediation-arbitration, arbitration-mediation-arbitration to effectively address disputes. Her presentation highlights the shift in processes of dispute management and emphasises the importance of inclusivity in management strategies. Additionally, it examines Inclusive crisis management as a strategy for transitioning from Transactional to Transformational management of crisis. 

Akpan-Ita submitted, “A transformational approach is vital for successful peacebuilding, and the depth of inclusivity engaged in transforming a conflict impacts the level of acceptance of the outcomes. Communities require capacity building to ensure a comprehensive understanding of peacebuilding and inclusivity. This translates into shifting from transactional interventions, which focuses on immediate gratification, to transformational peacebuilding, which promotes win-win situations and fosters lasting peace among conflicting parties.”

After the presentation of her well researched paper, there were two panel sessions. The first was on upscaling and deploying practical approach for peace building at the community level. Discussants were the Executive Director of Journalists for Democratic Rights, Wale Adeoye; National Coordinator, West African Network for Peace, Dr Bridget Osakwe and Dr Akpan-Ita. The second panel session was on the relevance of ADR and the need for requisite knowledge and expertise for ADR personnel. Panelists included the keynote speaker alongside the Vice President of the Institute of Chartered Mediator and Conciliators, Omotayo Awomolo-Enujiugha, Esq. and senior lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Lagos State University, Associate Professor Tunde Akanni. Participants were thereafter given opportunity for experience sharing on their work. It is expected that knowledge and skill gained by the participants will help to improve their service delivery going forward.

After the hectic learning session of last Friday, Saturday was entire devoted to team bonding and relaxation. Organisers took us out for aerobic and keep fit exercises early last Saturday at the Ikeja Police College before we set out at noon for sightseeing. We were taken on the ride of the recently opened Blue Rail metro line. We commuted on the train from National Theatre Station to Mile 2. That afforded me the first hand opportunity to appraise the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s game changer to solving the notorious Lagos traffic jam.  We all got our Cowry Card, which we used to electronically access the train service. We were informed that eating and drinking are not permitted on the electronically powered train.

It was a smooth ride to and fro and the train stations were well resourced with civilian and security personnel. The stations are well lit and ventilated. I, however, will want better attention to be paid to the toilet facilities as some of them need repairs. I also noticed that the Cowry access cards sometimes fail to open the gate even when properly placed. I saw some of the Chinese who were contracted to maintain the infrastructure and I think that is well thought out as Nigeria’s maintenance culture is sub-optimal.

Our next port of call was the Wave Beach at Elegushi, Lekki. It was another beautiful relaxation spot. It has been some seven years since I last visited any of the beaches in Lagos State. So, I was very excited at another opportunity to visit the Atlantic Ocean and dip my feet in the ocean water as the tidal wave pushed water to the seashore. What an awesome experience! The lounge provided good food, drinks, music and games and I soaked in all these as well as the scenic view of the ocean. My ‘colleagues’ who were majorly from Rivers State were quite ecstatic as many of them were probably visiting Lagos Beach for the first time. We all turned to paparazzi taking selfies with our mobile phones while the event’s official photographer, Paul, was also kept very busy by the attendees with frequent calls to service. We left the beach around 7 pm after dinner. What a memorable day it turned out to be!

Little wonder Lagos reaped bountiful financial reward from “Detty December” of 2024 when most of the Nigerians in the Diaspora decided to holiday in the megacity. The truth is that the hospitality and tourism industry in Lagos is top-notch. Lagos is connected by land, sea, air and water. This diverse transportation system makes logistics easy. Very good hotel accommodation is available both on the mainland and island. Security is also very tight with no major issue with banditry and kidnapping. Tourism options are also very many. In my column on February 7, 2024, I wrote about my excursion to the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History (better known as John Randle Centre) located at Onikan, Lagos Island.

Badagry the ‘door of civilisation of Nigeria’ has lots of historical buildings of interest now converted into tourist attractions such as the Badagry Heritage Museum; the former District Officer’s Office built in 1863 converted into a museum in 2002 and contains slave trade history collections; first storey building in Nigeria; Anglican Missionary House built in1845. Topo Island Catholic Mission Ruins was established in the 1870s. Seriki Abass Slave Baracoon; Slave cell built by Brazilian slave merchants in 1840. St. Thomas’ Anglican Primary School, which is the first primary school in Nigeria founded in 1843 and the Velekete Slave Market was established in 1502.

It is noteworthy that there are now train services from Lagos to Ibadan via Abeokuta, which means three of the six South-West states have been linked by the railway, which now offers commuters alternative means of transportation. I do hope Nigeria’s water transportation can also be developed to provide commercial boat services connecting all the coastal states from Lagos to Bayelsa. This will help decongest the roads. Lagos State has set the pace in terms of integrated transport services, this is exemplary and commendable.