A Nigerian group said Tuesday it would next week mobilise over 5,000 volunteers to give a notorious slum in the centre of Lagos, the country's commercial hub, a facelift.
"On Saturday December 12, 2009, over 5,000 volunteers…will converge on Mushin local government area of Lagos State to paint seven selected streets in the area in an unprecendented community development initiative," project coordinator Fela Durotoye said in a statement here.
He said the initiative tagged "Mushin Makeover" would be a one-day exercise involving painting of houses and roadside curbs as well as structures along the most noticeable and eye-catching parts of the community, notorious for its dusty and dirty look, high crime rate and over-crowding.
Durotoye said volunteers from all walks of life — entertainment, security agencies, students, traders, professionals and business and corporate class — would participate in the beautification project.
He said the project being organised by Visible Impact, a non-profit making organisation, has the support of the state government because it fits into its ongoing megacity programme.
Lagos, Nigeria's most populous city with somewhere between 15 and 17 million people, has decided to overhaul its image.
Governor Babatunde Fashola said a trip he made to Singapore before becoming governor in 2007 gave him a model on which to base his transformed megacity.
He said focus has been put on revamping the transportation and road sector, improving waste management and water provision, property development and the environment.
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