‘Ownership concept will bring economic growth, reduce cost infrastructure’

Eliezer Group has called on Lagosians to adopt ownership concept in management of the state’s assets, infrastructure and environment to avoid decay.

The group, an advocate of Integrated Facility Management (IFM) emphasized the need for Lagosians to embrace maintenance culture through ownership concept in utilizing public infrastructures even as the challenge of inadequate infrastructural maintenance plan is on the high side.

According to the group, considering the ever growing number of Lagos State population which by the state government stands close to 20 million, there should be an appropriate assets and facility management plan in the state to protect both individual and state investments in assets and infrastructure.

Speaking at a media parley held recently in Lagos, the Chief Operation Officer, Eliezer Workplace Management, David Korede, maintained that Nigeria as country has a very awful maintenance culture that should be broken.

He argued that if this was not done, investors and Nigeria as a nation would continue to lose funds invested in infrastructure development in the country which is bad for economic growth.

His words: “When facilities are effectively managed with recourse to new ways of organizing and structuring maintenance works, their useful lives are prolonged and their values are sustained.

“From recent surveys, adoption of ownership concept will have a positive effect of growth, economic stability and reduce the cost of infrastructure maintenance. Individual attitude and lack of maintenance culture has major influence on the present condition of the existing infrastructures.

“To participate actively and effectively in management and maintenance of public infrastructures, we need to take ownership of those in our communities.

“It is important to remember that ownership is not merely a bundle of rights, liabilities and powers, it also goes with corresponding burdens in the nature of duties, liabilities and disabilities which prescribes and regulates how an owner should utilize infrastructures for the benefit of the society.

“The idea of ownership culture is encompassing and involves accepting responsibility, personal accountability, creativity, innovation and especially using one’s own judgement in making independent but learned decision in promoting growth and development.”

The Executive Director of the firm, Titi Alabi, noted that firm is working with policy makers and different government agencies in Lagos to make sure that things are put in place.

“Our theme, My Lagos, Our Lagos was derived from finding a balance between policies that government can create, to how everyday Lagosian engage those policies and the handling of infrastructure and the environment,” she said.