On Tuesday, 7th February 2017, the city of Lagos, Nigeria received a certificate of admission into the network of 100 Resilient Cities. This historic feat marks the beginning of Lagos state’s move to become more resilient.
“Today is not just a historic day for Lagos State but it signifies that our achievements and efforts to build a globally competitive State have received international recognition,” said the governor of Lagos state, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
From all indications, Lagos wants to be more resilient to the shocks – catastrophic events like hurricanes, fires, and floods – and stresses, slow-moving disasters like water shortages, homelessness, and unemployment, which are increasingly part of 21st-century life. It has shown its potential for resilience in the past. One example that quickly comes to mind is the way in which it contained the outbreak of the Ebola virus and helped save Nigeria from a terrible epidemic.
The launch of the Resilient Lagos kicked off with a workshop, which brought together key stakeholders from the government, the Private Sector, NGOs, Civil Society Groups, and 100RC Staff to Develop City’s “Resilience Strategy. Apart from the launch, Gov Ambode also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mayor of Paynesville, Liberia, Cyvette Gibson. This agreement will help facilitate information sharing around resilience in both cities to foster economic development.
“We are thrilled to formally begin our partnership with 100RC. Today’s workshop is the starting point for the creation of Lagos’ Resilience Strategy – a plan for our city to thrive in the face of growing challenges. Through this partnership, we will address our city’s challenges proactively, inclusively, and holistically,” said Gov Ambode.
A month after the workshop, Lagos will name a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) – an innovative new position in city government. The CRO will lead the city’s resilience efforts and continue to engage those stakeholders, resilience experts, and 100RC staff in drafting a comprehensive Resilience Strategy.
Lagos’ Resilience Strategy will be a holistic, action-oriented plan to build partnerships and alliances, financing mechanisms, and will pay particular attention to meeting the needs of poor and vulnerable populations. The workshop began the process of identifying priorities, actions, and metrics, and the plan will be drafted over the next year.
What you didn’t know about 100 Resilient Cities
100 Resilient Cities (100RC) was pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation
It helps cities around the world become more resilient to social, economic, and physical challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century
100RC provides this assistance through funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each of their cities who will lead the resilience efforts, resources for drafting a Resilience Strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, and NGO resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practices and challenges.
