The first time I visited the Lagos State Digital Village along Governor’s Avenue, Alausa, in July, I thought it was a police station. Uniformed officers from the Rapid Response Squad (RRblaS), along with their white saloon cars marked with red and white stripes and the tag ‘RRS Police’ written in blue, swarmed the building like bees.
I counted seven police cars that day and at least nine private vehicles parked in the space right outside the building. In the parking lot, I saw a cobbler and a trader displaying some men’s footwear.
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I also noticed a woman inside the premises of the digital village. She sat close to the pedestrian gate selling traditional herbal mix to some workers in the area.
You might be wondering why I felt the need to describe what I observed that day: when you hear ‘digital village’, you likely expect some serious internet-based business to be happening there. Right?
Displayed shoes for sale and a cobbler at the Lagos Digital Village. Credit: Abimbola Abatta//FIJ
The digital village in July. Credit: Abimbola Abatta//FIJ
Well, not on this day in July. Even when I returned there on September 20, there was still no serious business.
This two-storeyed building painted in yellow was supposed to serve Lagos residents who desire computer literacy. Surprisingly, I could not find any news in a major digital newspaper reporting its establishment at the time.
But then, I stumbled on a report ‘Ikeja Digital Village Opens’, published on June 5, 2008 in Wanted in Africa:
A new information and communications technology (ICT) centre has opened in Lagos, taking to two the number of such facilities in the state. Occupying a modern two-storey building in Alusa, Ikeja Digital Village will help bridge the digital divide by promoting computer literacy and making [the] internet available to all. Facilities include an ICT resource centre, a cyber cafe…
A screenshot of the article published by Wanted in Africa.
If this two-storeyed building was built in 2008, it would be 16 years old today. It also means it has existed through the administrations of three governors: Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
From my conversations with people I met at the Digital Village the two times I went there, the centre appears to be a child of the State Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (MIST). In this February 2018 report, the ministry listed the establishment of Ikeja Digital Village as one of its milestones:
Ikeja Digital Village is designed to assist the computer literacy of the citizens of our State. It was conceptualised as a platform for all to gain IT experience and as a test centre. It is also utilised for our Youth Empowerment programmes.
A screenshot of the achievement.
FUNDING OR BUREAUCRACY ISSUES? OR BOTH?
What took me to this digital hub in the first place was a tip-off from a source who had mistakenly entered the digital village while looking for a government agency and had found it suspicious to have been accosted by two people wanting to know what brought her there.
She had seen an abandoned yellow bus, its tyres removed, inside the building and it seemed it had been there for a while. There were no digital literacy activities or signs of construction, only people spreading clothes and a woman frying groundnuts with her daughter, who appeared to be preparing them for sale.
In a picture the source managed to capture, I noticed five pieces of clothes hanging from the railings on the top floor.
During my twin visits to the Lagos Digital Village, I learnt that the building had been abandoned for some time due to delays in renovation. While I stood in the parking lot during my first visit, a man who emerged from the pedestrian gate of the digital hub had a lot to say.
When asked if the renovation meant digital training was no longer offered, this man said the science and technology ministry inside the secretariat still facilitated training sessions.
“They are no longer holding training sessions here,” he said. “They are now held inside ‘Science and Tech’. They are also the ones who own this place. The Science and Tech is inside Alausa.” By ‘Science and Tech’, he meant the ministry in charge of the digital village.
When asked why the renovation had taken that long, he said it was abandoned at some point due to a lack of funding.
As we conversed, I noticed some construction jackets hung up on the railings of the top floor, but just one person outside wore one. Beyond that, there was no visible construction equipment during my two visits. There wasn’t even a signpost indicating the name of whatever company was awarded the renovation project.
The digital village on September 20, 2024.
On my second visit, I entered through the pedestrian gate and saw a man seated near the entrance. The flowers inside the compound were overgrown. There was a yellow-coloured minibus inside the compound; it looked abandoned. There was a motorcycle parked close to the bus.
I heard voices coming from someplace inside the building, but the speakers were out of sight.
“This place has been out of use for three to four years now. They are renovating it,” the man said.
Asked if they relocated somewhere else, he said, “They have two branches. One is inside the government secretariat at Alausa; they also own this place. The training they used to do here has been moved to the secretariat.”
“Won’t they use this place again?” I asked.
“They will. It’s just that renovation work is going on here.”
During our conversation, two policemen appeared from the side of the building where I’d been hearing voices. My ‘host’ casually mentioned that they were police officers.
The minibus, the motorcycle and the first officer I interacted with inside the compound.
The overgrown flowers and the second officer I interacted with at the digital village. Video credit: Abimbola Abatta//FIJ
A man and a woman whom I suspect to be a couple also exited from the right side of the building and approached the area where we were sitting. They headed out through the gate as well.
My ‘host’ further told me that the renovations had been delayed due to complications within the government agencies in charge.
“You know that government’s job is complicated,” he said. “Some will ‘swallow’ funds. Some will leave the government and new people will come. They just pumped money out this year and they started working on it again.
“After the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MIST) left, the new one said he would not sign because even with the previous funding, they had not even gone far with the renovations.
“When that one left, they quickly shared the money among themselves. Now, they gave the project to the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LAISAMA). They are the ones monitoring it. Although the companies contracted for the project are still the ones working there, it is LAISAMA that is monitoring the progress of the work so the government can release more funds for the work.
“For two months now, work has stopped. Those handling the POP said they were owed. The tilers also said they were owed, and materials were unavailable.”
Asked him why the government needed to renovate the building in the first place, he said it was an avenue “to get money from the government” with the project as a front.
“This place was opened under the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola. When he left, Ambode took over and now Sanwo-Olu. You know, those under them will want to make money one way or the other.
“They will do the work halfway and then abandon it. If enough money had been pumped out this year, they would have completed this place in September. LASAIMA said they would get the key by September, but the woman who got the contract said she would give them the key in December of this year. Now, they have not paid them, and the work is stalled again. They are supposed to trim all these flowers, re-paint the whole place and all, but they are still on it.”
Meanwhile, Google reviews show that the centre was likely still in use three years ago. Besides the three-year-old starred reviews, a review from that period described it as “a cool place to be”.
However, a Google review from one year ago reads: “It’s presently under renovation”.
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FINDINGS FROM LAGOS PROCUREMENT AGENCY
FIJ found two documents on the website of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA): letters of award registered for November 2022 and May 2024.
The first document reveals that N25,935,950 was awarded in 2022 for the procurement of equipment for the digital village Phase 1, and Shans Delight Ventures was the contractor.
A screenshot from the letter of award registered for November 2022.
A screenshot from the letter of award registered for May 2024.
Continuation of the screenshot from the letter of award registered for May 2024.
The second document shows that N127,554,941 was awarded for the renovation of Lagos State Digital Village Building, Alausa Ikeja, Phase II.
According to the second letter, the contractor, Cross Keys Management Services Limited, was supposed to get 70 per cent advance payment and complete the project in four months.
Also, while the Ministry of Science and Technology was in charge of the 2022 procurement project, the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) is overseeing the renovation.
SEEKING ANSWERS
All efforts to reach the MIST were futile; they did not respond to the email I sent to them on September 25. I also could not find the website or contact information of Shans Delight Ventures.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) company name checker revealed a ‘Shan’s Delight Ventures’ registered on May 14, 2018, but currently with an inactive status.
On Tuesday, I called Cross Keys Management Services Limited via one of the numbers on its website, and a woman who appeared to be either the owner or on the managerial team answered the phone.
Though she refused to disclose her name and designation, a Truecaller search of the number revealed the name: “Omome O”. The name ‘Onome Sylvia Osime’ is listed as the Director of the company on NG-Check.com. On LinkedIn, I came across the name ‘Omome Osime-Oloyede’, who identifies as the Chief Executive Officer.
During the conversation, the woman said Cross Keys was one of the two companies contracted by LASAIMA for the renovation. She insisted the agency should have been my first port of call.
She said her company was involved with the inner renovations, while the other company, whose name she claimed not to know, was handling the outer refurbishment.
Aasked if her portion of the project was adequately funded, she replied: “That’s a very broad way of asking, and I don’t even know how to answer that.”
She explained that funding and time lapses are critical factors in contract execution. The responsibilities of both the contract giver and executor outlined in the terms of the contract often affect the timeline and successful completion of the project.
“This renovation, according to that contract, was supposed to be done in four months,” sbe explained.
“When they issued the contract letter, the condition was that we would get a mobilisation fee of 70 per cent, and when we finished the renovation, we would get 25 per cent. Six months after they move in and nothing has broken or collapsed, we get the 5 per cent balance.
“Then there is a scope of work. Scope of work means you are going to do maybe one to 10 things in this building, which is called the bill of quantity. The fundamental challenge with the digital village is that there have been three permanent secretaries involved. The permanent secretary who was in charge when they were issuing the contract is different from the one in charge when the contract was awarded.
“First of all, they issued the contract and you are not mobilised until four months later or thereabouts, and this makes a lapse because you cannot start until you are mobilised. Four months is expected to count when you have been mobilised, not when you have not been mobilised.
“By the time the contract is mobilised, permanent secretary number two has taken over, and she comes and says, ‘Why are you just doing this? This is a nice job, but I want my digital village to be a centre of attraction and so on. I want you to expand it.’ She goes on to request expansion, and it takes another six months to get approval.
“When they make a request for expansion, it changes the whole dynamics. For example, you can not tell me to tile the floor and then you say expand the room. You cannot tile the floor before expanding the room. It changes the dynamics and flow of work. That is another additional delay. And now you have a third permanent secretary who asks why the job has not been done.
“In all of this, you also have the inflation effect. You are living in Nigeria. What you budgeted for N10 last year, if you have not paid that N10 before the change of price, the contract is not going to absorb that cost. Those are some of the factors that have caused the delay.”
LASIAMA: ‘Inflation and Market Dynamics Can Cause Delays’
Rasak Musbau, the head of the public affairs unit at LASIAMA, could not be reached via calls on Wednesday, October 2. FIJ texted him via WhatsApp at 3.16 pm on that day, and he responded at 9.50 pm, promising to provide a comprehensive response to FIJ’s inquiries by Thursday. However, no feedback was received until Monday, October 7.
He said the Lagos State Digital Village renovation was 90 per cent completed and that ‘inflation and market dynamics’ were some of the factors causing the delay.
“While the project has encountered challenges typical of large-scale renovations due to the inflationary trend across the local and global economy, LASIAMA has taken a stance to ensure prudent management of government resources by scrutinising variation figures presented by its contractors. The decision has caused delays in meeting set target dates for contract completion,” he stated.
“It may not be obvious from the outside, but 90% of the work has already been completed. This includes the reconstruction of the roof, general tiling of all floors, tiling of all toilets on both walls and floors, an overhaul of existing electrical fixtures and fittings, POP ceiling construction for all floors, and a complete revamp of all mechanical fixtures and fittings.”
On the claims that the renovation may be an avenue to siphon money from the government, he mentioned that “the strategic location of the Lagos State Digital Village near key government offices alleviates concerns regarding the misallocation of funds”.
While he neither revealed when the project began nor addressed concerns about the centre becoming a ‘shelter’, he invited FIJ to the LASIAMA office for a one-on-one discussion to “address the allegations raised and offer clarity on the agency’s position”.
The post The Lagos State Digital Village Has Gulped Hundreds of Millions of Naira, But It is Only a Shelter appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.