Business
By Anthony Isibor
THE Kosofe Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for stronger collaboration among businesses, government and security agencies to revive industrial activity and create a safer environment for investment in the Kosofe area of Lagos State.
The call was made at the 3rd Kosofe Economic and Security Dialogue 2026, where the President of the Chamber, Joe Femi-Dagunro, said in his welcome address that Kosofe had historically been home to several major industrial and commercial businesses, particularly around Ojota, but many of the companies had since closed or relocated.
He recalled companies like Bata, Lennards, BOA, Philips and BOD Pharmaceuticals as examples of businesses that once operated in the area.
He said the decline of industrial activity meant the local economy has increasingly become dominated by the services sector and that the chamber is seeking ways to attract investments and revive economic activities.
“Most of the industries have collapsed or they are no longer there,” he said. “We are trying to see, can we bring something good back? Yes, we can, but how do we do that?”
Femi-Dagunro identified security as one of the major factors investors consider before committing capital to an area.
He said businesses needed an environment where investors could feel safe, children could attend school without fear and residents could conduct their daily activities without security challenges.
According to him, maintaining security should not be left entirely to the government.
“These are all the things that you cannot leave for the state alone. You have to be part of it,” he said.
He stressed the need for businesses to understand government policies, including taxation and for chambers of commerce to communicate such policies more effectively to entrepreneurs.
Femi-Dagunro said one of the chamber’s objectives was to bring economic information closer to businesses and help entrepreneurs make informed decisions.
He disclosed that efforts are underway to establish more chambers of commerce across Lagos, noting that new chambers have emerged in Agege, Ipaja and Epe.
He said the expansion would give businesses at the local level access to information and a platform to collectively engage government on issues affecting them.
“We want to see more chambers in all the local governments,” he said, urging business communities without chambers to organise themselves.
Femi-Dagunro also called for greater understanding between businesses, residents, security agencies and government officials, noting that public servants were themselves affected by the country’s economic challenges.
“We want to have the happy Lagos. We want to have the happy people. We want to have prosperous businesses,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Gabriel Idahosa, former President LCCI called for a chamber of commerce and Industry in every community in Lagos.
In his opening remarks, Idahosa described the establishment of the Kosofe Chamber as part of a broader effort to create a stronger grassroots business network across Lagos.
He said chambers of commerce existed in communities of significant size in many countries and argued that Lagos needed a similar structure if its economic growth was to be reflected at community level.
Idahosa noted that the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, one of Nigeria’s oldest business organisations, provided a major platform for government to engage the private sector.
However, he questioned how effectively a single central chamber could represent businesses spread across Lagos.
“The LCCI founded in 1888 is there on the Island. So, when the government wants to talk to the business community, it calls the President of LCCI. But Kosofe, Ikorodu, Apapa, truly, who calls you? Nobody,” he said.
He said local chambers would allow businesses within particular communities to identify common problems, engage government collectively and address issues such as infrastructure, taxation and security.
Idahosa also highlighted the size of the Lagos economy, saying it ranks among the largest subnational economies in Africa and is larger than the economies of several African countries.
He argued that economic statistics about Lagos would have limited meaning to residents unless economic growth translated into improvements in their daily lives.
“Our GDP is 5 per cent. It has grown by 4 per cent, grows by 5 per cent. What has it taken to my dining table in Kosofe? Where is this 5 per cent on my dining table? I don’t see it,” he said.
According to Idahosa, community-level chambers could help bridge that gap by ensuring that the concerns of businesses and residents were communicated directly to government.
He cited Germany as an example, referring to chambers serving smaller communities and arguing that businesses in such areas were able to engage government directly rather than depending solely on chambers in major cities.
He said a similar structure could help ensure that economic development in Lagos was felt beyond aggregate statistics.
Idahosa commended the Kosofe Chamber for starting the initiative but said it represented only an early step towards building a comprehensive chamber-of-commerce network across Lagos.
“This is a very small step in where we ought to be,” he said. “Every community of every size in Lagos should have a chamber of commerce to address their issues.”
He said a stronger network of local chambers would enable the collective concerns of businesses across Lagos to be better represented and could help produce economic development that residents could directly experience.
A.I
Sept. 24, 2026
Tags: Gabriel Idahosa Joe Femi-Dagunro kosofe Chamber of Commerce and Industry