Special Inaugural Edition
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governor<br />
the<br />
HIS EXCELLENCY<br />
BABAJIDE<br />
SANWO-OLU<br />
Towards A Greater Lagos
Contents<br />
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8<br />
12<br />
13<br />
16<br />
21<br />
22<br />
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24<br />
26<br />
27<br />
31<br />
33<br />
41<br />
45<br />
46<br />
Who Is Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu?<br />
Twenty Years Of Democracy In Lagos<br />
State– Mr. Dele Alake<br />
Journey To Alausa – HE Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu<br />
The Babajide Sanwo-Olu I Know –<br />
Otunba Femi Pedro<br />
The Babajide Sanwo-Olu We Know –<br />
Unilag Executive MBA Class 1998-2000<br />
Towards A Greater Lagos. “My First 100<br />
Days” – HE Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu<br />
The Role Of The Deputy Governor –<br />
Otunba Femi Pedro<br />
My Deputy And I – HE Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu<br />
Godfatherism In Politics – Mr. Dele Alake<br />
Lagos Prays – Henry Balogun<br />
Nigeria 2023 – Chief Akinsanya Sunny<br />
Ajose (OON)<br />
The Lagos We Want<br />
Footprints Of A Leader – LSDPC STAFF<br />
Expectations<br />
Closing Remarks – HE Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu<br />
Appreciation – Henry Balogun<br />
The Governor - The Business of Government<br />
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The Governor - The Business of Government | <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Inaugural</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> | May 2019
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
THE PUBLISHER<br />
Bringing Government Closer to the People<br />
The monthly magazine edition features as<br />
its main story, an in-depth interview with<br />
the respective state Governor. The cover<br />
story of each issue focuses on a specific<br />
state, but the magazine also contains<br />
information from other states.<br />
In order to reap the potential benefits of<br />
democracy, especially with the recently<br />
concluded 2019 general elections, it is<br />
imperative that Nigerians get to know<br />
much more about matters of governance<br />
in their various states, their respective<br />
leaders, the economic opportunities<br />
available as well as socio-cultural issues of<br />
respective states.<br />
The Governor seeks to address the<br />
information need of citizens and bring the<br />
governor’s office closer to the people by<br />
providing regular updates on activities of<br />
state governors and is primarily distributed<br />
online, on mobile devices and to social<br />
platforms.<br />
he Governor is a unified news<br />
Tplatform and online magazine,<br />
focused on the business of<br />
government and governance, specifically<br />
highlighting activities of state governors<br />
and keeping Nigerians updated on socioeconomic<br />
development, investment<br />
opportunities and business issues in<br />
various states in Nigeria.<br />
.................................................................................................<br />
This special inaugural edition - a collectible<br />
innovative digital magazine that bridges the gap<br />
between print and digital using augmented reality<br />
and redefining the norm, explores Babajide Sanwo-<br />
Olu's promise of a greater Lagos and his plans for<br />
his first 100 days in office. Packed with photos<br />
from his most impressionable and dynamic<br />
campaign and featuring a first, in-depth look at the<br />
incoming administration, this can't-miss inaugural<br />
edition tells the story of the most surprising<br />
emergence of an exceptionally brilliant candidate<br />
to the most resounding victory in Lagos<br />
gubernatorial elections and provides a preview of<br />
Lagos in the Sanwo-Olu Era.<br />
The Governor is published by IBILE Foundation, a<br />
citizen's sector social-welfare organisation,<br />
dedicated to promoting the common good and<br />
general welfare of the Nigerian people through<br />
social transformation initiatives and citizens<br />
solutions as well as strengthening the civic<br />
engagement of Nigerians.<br />
Ibile Foundation's video<br />
production unit, IBILE.tv is<br />
a premier online TV and<br />
video production platform.<br />
We curate and aggregate<br />
news from across Nigeria<br />
and provide a wide array of<br />
video products including<br />
documentaries, corporate<br />
videos and aerial filming.<br />
Henry Balogun<br />
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief.
THE GOVERNOR<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
EARLY YEARS:<br />
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu was<br />
born into the illustrious Sanwo-Olu<br />
family of Lagos Island on June 25,<br />
1965, and he has grown to become a<br />
symbol of integrity, hard work,<br />
diligence, selflessness and empathy<br />
that are second nature to his worthy<br />
family.<br />
A scion of the Sanwo-Olu family of<br />
65, Omididun Street, Lagos. Babajide<br />
had the privilege of proper and<br />
quality upbringing, which has<br />
continued to guide his path through<br />
life.<br />
MARRIAGE AND RELIGION:<br />
He is happily married to Dr. Ibijoke<br />
Sanwo-Olu, a Medical Doctor with 27<br />
years of professional practice, and<br />
their marriage is blessed with lovely<br />
children. Mr. Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu is a devout Christian and a<br />
firm believer in humanity.<br />
WHO IS<br />
BABAJIDE<br />
Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu?<br />
EDUCATION:<br />
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is an<br />
alumnus of the prestigious Harvard<br />
Kennedy School of Government,<br />
London Business School and the<br />
Lagos Business School. He also<br />
earned a Bachelor's degree in<br />
Surveying & Geo-Informatics and a<br />
Master of Business Administration<br />
(MBA) from the University of Lagos.<br />
His early education was at<br />
Government Demonstration School,<br />
Gbaja, Surulere and Ijebu-Ife<br />
Grammar School, Ogun State.<br />
5
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is an associate<br />
member of the Chartered Institue of<br />
Personnel Management (CIPM). He is also a<br />
member of the Institute of Directors (IOD),<br />
Chartered Institute of Personnel Management<br />
(CIPM), and Fellow of Nigeria Institute of<br />
Training and Development (NITAD).<br />
PROFESSIONAL CAREER:<br />
Prior to his banking career, Mr. Babajide<br />
Olusola Sanwo-Olu worked (Post – NYSC) as a<br />
Seismic Surveyor with United Geophysical<br />
Nigeria Ltd (a seismic data acquisition<br />
company) in a role which took him around<br />
the whole Niger Delta and Lake Chad region,<br />
prospecting crude oil for Shell Petroleum<br />
Development Company (SPDC) and NNPC<br />
between 1989 and 1991.<br />
Like every entrepreneurial mind and<br />
adventurous youth, he tried his young hands<br />
on a start-up business by starting a company<br />
called “Dial a Plumber” with his funds<br />
between 1992 and 1993. The experience<br />
garnered from the venture made him realise<br />
that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises<br />
(SMEs) require a considerable amount of<br />
government support to thrive.<br />
From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu was a Treasurer at the former Lead<br />
Merchant Bank. He later joined United Bank<br />
for Africa (UBA) as the Head of Foreign Money<br />
Market, and subsequently moved to First<br />
Inland Bank Plc (now First City Monument<br />
Bank, where he retired as Deputy General<br />
Manager and Divisional Head.<br />
His valuable experience garnered from<br />
executive-level roles in both the private and<br />
public sectors have not only distinguished him<br />
but also made him a valuable resource to some notable organisations on whose boards he served.<br />
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu's board roles include being the chairman of Baywatch Group Limited and First<br />
Class Group Limited<br />
PUBLIC SERVICE:<br />
His public service career began in 2003, when he was appointed <strong>Special</strong> Adviser on Corporate Matters<br />
to the then Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Femi Pedro, and later <strong>Special</strong> Adviser on Corporate<br />
Matters to the Executive Governor, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.<br />
Due to outstanding performance, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu was appointed acting Commissioner<br />
for Economic Planning and Budget. He went on to become the Commissioner for Commerce and<br />
Industry under Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in 2007.<br />
After the General Elections in 2007, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu was appointed Commissioner for<br />
Establishments, Training, and Pensions by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola.<br />
His meritorious service to Lagos State continued when Governor Akinwumi Ambode appointed him as<br />
the Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC) in 2016.<br />
6
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
He is a board member of the Department for<br />
International Development (DFID/DEEPEN) Fund<br />
and Caverton Offshore Services Group, where he<br />
served on the Audit Committee.<br />
His remarkable aptitude in policy formulation,<br />
implementation & monitoring, innovation<br />
architecture & solution design, has also earned him<br />
a seat at important decision making tables in Lagos<br />
State. Some of these include being the Chairman of<br />
the State Consultancy Board, membership of the<br />
State Tenders Board and serving on New Projects<br />
Initiation and Promotion Committee.<br />
Mr. Sanwo-Olu, in addition to his love for public<br />
speaking, is a member of numerous prestigious<br />
clubs which include Ikoyi Club 1938, the Island Club<br />
and Yoruba Tennis Club.<br />
On the 16th of September 2018, Mr. Babajide<br />
Olusola Sanwo-Olu formally declared to run for the<br />
office of the Governor of Lagos State on the<br />
platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). His<br />
declaration attracted endorsements from major<br />
stakeholders in Lagos State politics, including the<br />
Governor's Advisory Council (GAC), Lagos State<br />
Council Chairmen and members of the Lagos State<br />
House of Assembly. He went on to win the Party<br />
primary elections and became the APC candidate<br />
for Lagos State Gubernatorial elections which took<br />
place in March 2019. An election he won by a<br />
landslide and was announced by the Independent<br />
National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the next<br />
governor of Lagos State.<br />
This is who we have all come to know Babajide<br />
Olusola Sanwo-Olu as. However as we hop on the<br />
train towards a greater Lagos, his administrative<br />
leadership will tell for certain who Mr. Sanwo-Olu<br />
really is.<br />
7
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
Twenty Years of Democracy in Lagos State<br />
As an elder statesman who served as a<br />
commissioner under Senator Bola Ahmed<br />
Tinubu, what significant difference would<br />
you say Lagos has experienced before and<br />
after 1999?<br />
.................................................................................................<br />
Going down memory lane on happenings in<br />
Nigeria before 1999, we were deep in the<br />
thrills of militarism for a number of years<br />
from Jan 1st, 1984 to May, 29th 1999, that's<br />
quite a number of years if you do the<br />
arithmetic.<br />
During that time, we were strictly under<br />
military decrees, edicts and there was a total<br />
absence of democracy, it was a rule of force<br />
by the military establishment, and given the<br />
nature of the military, is obey the last order,<br />
orders were issued, there was no single iota<br />
of pretenses to carry along the public<br />
because the military usually shot its way to<br />
power, there were no campaigns, no<br />
programs, no policies, no elections… nothing,<br />
so you found yourself listening to the radio<br />
and just hearing about a change of<br />
government. Once the military got there,<br />
they did everything according to their whims<br />
and caprices and so the nation was held<br />
down, held by the jugular for those number<br />
of years, and it took its toll on the<br />
development of the country, on the progress<br />
of the country, on the socio-economic and<br />
political emancipation of the country. And<br />
some of us were in the vortex of it all,<br />
because of the absence of democracy, there<br />
was no parliament, no houses of assembly,<br />
no senate or house of reps, in short there<br />
was no legislature, no participatory<br />
democracy, no representative of the people<br />
to promote democracy.<br />
Shortly before Democracy Day on May 29th<br />
1999, Gen Abdulsallam had opened the<br />
political space for political activities; of<br />
course, parties were formed but the major<br />
Mr. Dele Alake<br />
ones being Alliance for Democracy (AD), the PDP<br />
and a host of others. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu<br />
came back, and insisted he was coming to take<br />
part in political activities. So he did and we joined<br />
forces together. I remember he actually came back<br />
wanting to go to the Senate, but by the time he<br />
got back a lot of things happened to change his<br />
mind, and I remembered it was in my office at<br />
Concord; myself, Segun Babatope, Tunji Bello and<br />
himself in my office when I said “look, my own<br />
view was that he had to go for the governorship<br />
because it would afford us the opportunity of<br />
coming to implement the programs and policies<br />
and philosophies of June 12 which we were all<br />
part of but that had been aborted” and he agreed.<br />
We took on the whole challenge, we went into the<br />
campaign and after a very acrimonious primary<br />
and highly contentious election, he won. Then we<br />
started the business of forming a transition<br />
committee and sub-committee, for<br />
conceptualizing various policies and programs for<br />
the incoming Asiwaju government, and the rest is<br />
history. That's what happened before 1999.<br />
8
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
Primarily, the main thing responsible for what<br />
you see in Lagos constituency today, the<br />
progress and development trajectory of Lagos<br />
constituency today is due to the political<br />
system Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu instituted<br />
and the enduring structures he put in place<br />
starting from 1999.<br />
I would say with all sense of modesty that<br />
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's political system<br />
is about the only one that I can see in the<br />
political firmament of Nigeria since 1999 that<br />
has been well grounded philosophically and<br />
ideologically.<br />
If you look at the various political systems in<br />
other parts of Nigeria, you would have what I<br />
call an agglomeration of interests, views,<br />
groups forming political parties. Ideally, by<br />
definition that should be it, a political party<br />
should be an agglomeration of this divergent<br />
interest and all that, but the demarcation<br />
point with that of the Tinubu's system is that<br />
those other ones are not grounded in any<br />
philosophical framework or ideological<br />
perspective, perception or even inclination.<br />
The other parties and the other political<br />
systems in other parts of Nigeria, emerged<br />
largely “in my own view” as a platform to<br />
protect peculiar interests, not necessarily<br />
platforms for altruistic purposes for the larger<br />
interest of the public, and for the envisioning<br />
of deep-seated political structures that would<br />
usher in real progress and developments. That<br />
has been the marked difference between the<br />
Tinubu system and those other systems that<br />
has been the necessary ingredient for the<br />
continuity of the Bola Tinubu system in Lagos<br />
state, not necessarily without prejudice to the<br />
individuals that have occupied offices in Lagos<br />
state. It is because of the system and the<br />
endurance of the system put in place, which<br />
then means that anybody who comes in as<br />
the driver of that system, would literally have<br />
little room to maneuver but to go forward,<br />
and build on the structure that he/she meets<br />
in place.<br />
That continuity has largely helped the state<br />
that is Lagos state in forging ahead with its<br />
giant developmental strides, progressive<br />
policies, implementations of social services<br />
that seek to make life convenient and<br />
comfortable for its inhabitant. That's really<br />
the issue, the kernel of the issue. It is the<br />
philosophical ground norm of the Bola Tinubu<br />
political system that has ensured continuity<br />
and the focus on the programs and policies<br />
that in totality ensure the convenience of<br />
Lagosians and that has attracted people from<br />
all works of life from other states in Nigeria<br />
into Lagos, which is why today Lagos is<br />
bustling as it seems with population.<br />
Everybody is coming to Lagos because Lagos<br />
works.<br />
The opposition parties are at liberty to spew<br />
out inanities and mouth slogans that literally<br />
or metaphorically and figuratively means<br />
nothing. It is just in the nature of oppositions<br />
to criticize whatever it is because they also<br />
are hanging to seize power. So whether you<br />
are the best performer in the world your<br />
opposition must seek to run you down. I<br />
don't take such things seriously because you<br />
also have to put these “opposition” and its<br />
people into proper perspective and context.<br />
What is the track record of achievement of<br />
any leading light of this opposition? What?<br />
Where? None… practically none or very<br />
negligible, so therefore, they don't have the<br />
basis to make very intellectually rigorous<br />
criticism. If you must criticize, you must put in<br />
place viable and constructive alternatives,<br />
they are not bringing any alternatives to the<br />
table, they just say “oh, this is a one-man rule<br />
for 20 years”, compare and contrast in other<br />
climes or in other states in Nigeria. What has<br />
been the developmental trajectory in those<br />
other states? They are all trailing behind<br />
Lagos state which says implicitly there's<br />
9
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
something good in that so-called“ one-man<br />
rule for 20 years”, and now come to the nittygritty<br />
of it, I would disagree vehemently that<br />
it's a one-man rule, No, it is a system, that's<br />
why I ab-initio analysed the major difference<br />
between the Tinubu system and those other<br />
systems. Tinubu has put in a system that is<br />
grounded in a forward-looking progressive<br />
philosophical framework and it has an<br />
ideological perspective. Now when you want<br />
to put a system in place, you have to<br />
establish the philosophy behind that system.<br />
That is the envisioning; what do you seek to<br />
achieve? The methodology, how do you seek<br />
to achieve it? Then the knowledge. There are<br />
three attributes of leadership in any clime of<br />
progressive leadership. The attributes are<br />
vision, knowledge, and the will which is the<br />
courage. You must have the vision, you must<br />
be able to envision long term goals for your<br />
society or the sphere in which you operate,<br />
you must have the knowledge to translate<br />
the vision into reality and to chart the<br />
methodology of achieving those goals and<br />
lastly you must have the will, that is the<br />
courage to push through those policies that<br />
would achieve your set goals. Those three<br />
attributes are fortunately for Lagos State<br />
embedded in Bola Tinubu, and the bane of<br />
the progress of Nigeria till date has been that<br />
we haven't had a leader nationally that has<br />
those three attributes combined. We've had<br />
one or two with one aspect of those three<br />
attributes or two aspects of the attributes,<br />
but we haven't been lucky to have a leader<br />
with the three major attributes combined in<br />
him. We are lucky to have had that in Lagos.<br />
I have worked with Tinubu, I have known<br />
him, I have been with him in the trenches<br />
during the NADECO days before we got into<br />
office, I know the stuff he is made of, he is a<br />
man with vision, he can envision long term<br />
goals and I would give you examples. Take<br />
the revenue of Lagos State for instance, when<br />
we came in 1999, the IGR (internally Generated<br />
Revenue) of Lagos State was 600 million naira,<br />
what we were receiving from the federal<br />
government as allocation was a little over 1<br />
billion naira, meanwhile the wage bill of the<br />
workforce and the civil service alone of Lagos<br />
was about 1.6 billion naira, that is excluding the<br />
tertiary institution, the Judiciary, capital<br />
expenditure, administrative charges and all of<br />
that. Then the man put on his thinking cap, and<br />
he started crafting what we call social<br />
engineering, and by that time we were in the<br />
executive council and he brought out a memo<br />
into the EXCO for us to discuss about how to<br />
make sure Lagos was put on a path of financial<br />
recovery and eventual path of financial<br />
independence, we argued for weeks on end on<br />
that policy and he insisted that was the way to<br />
go, and we started implementing the mechanism<br />
he had put in place.<br />
I remember vividly at a point in 2005, after we<br />
had started implementing those policies and<br />
putting the mechanism in place, the IGR started<br />
climbing, and at a point in the executive council<br />
in 2004 or 2005, he did say quite unequivocally<br />
that, “if we went on implementing those policies<br />
at that pace we were going, that the<br />
administration or the successive administration<br />
that would take over from us will start swimming<br />
in money”, and he became prophetic. Today, you<br />
know the IGR of Lagos State, where it hovers.<br />
10
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
There is no state in Nigeria that is close to what<br />
Lagos State generates, that is what we call<br />
visioning, He is a man with vision and he's got<br />
the knowledge, and he's got the will/the<br />
courage to push through those goals.<br />
I remember there was a particular incident<br />
where he demonstrated the knowledge; we<br />
wanted to embark on radical and massive<br />
infrastructural development and renewal of the<br />
urban centres of Lagos, that was when we<br />
proposed the dualisation of Yaba to<br />
Itire/Lawanson, the Awolowo road you see<br />
today, was only two lanes, we dualised it<br />
without demolishing a single structure on<br />
Awolowo road, that was close to 20 years ago,<br />
till today, you don't see a single porthole on<br />
Awolowo road. Then we embarked on Adeola<br />
Odeku, then Akin Adesola and a host of others<br />
that we did, but there was no money. Then he<br />
said we should go and take short term loan and<br />
hedge against inflation, because the way he<br />
saw things, if we didn't take the short term<br />
loans while looking at the horizon, the financial<br />
health of Nigeria and the situation, inflation<br />
was going to rise, we would not be able to<br />
afford the materials again, but that it was<br />
better for us to hedge, take short term loans,<br />
buy all the iron rod necessary, the cement, the<br />
materials, for all those constructions, so that by<br />
the time the inflation climbed higher, we would<br />
have amassed all the materials necessary for it.<br />
We argued and argued, those of us who are not<br />
financial experts, we argued against it,<br />
even those that were finance people in the<br />
EXCOs, then Wale Edun was commissioner<br />
for finance, Yemi Cardoso was<br />
commissioner for budget and planning. We<br />
confronted Tinubu on it in the executive<br />
council, and he maintained his stand, at<br />
some point, some of us kept quiet, it was<br />
left to Wale Edun, the commissioner of<br />
finance, who also was on our side, he took<br />
on the governor, he was wearing suit,<br />
when the argument ensued and persisted,<br />
at some point he took off his jacket. Wale<br />
removed his jacket and the argument went<br />
on, then he loosened his tie and the<br />
argument went on, then he rolled up his<br />
sleeves. I remembered Mrs. Kemi Nelson<br />
was also in the cabinet then, Mrs. Kemi<br />
said; “Wale, at this rate, you would remove<br />
your shirt”, and we all laughed in the<br />
EXCO. That was how hot our executive<br />
council deliberation was, because when<br />
you have a suffix of technocrats and<br />
professionals, and you are also deep<br />
yourself, our executive council meetings<br />
were always like editorial conferences,<br />
contentious, you bring a memo, everybody<br />
would draw out their knives, and punch<br />
holes in your memos, so you must have<br />
done your homework before you brought<br />
memo to the executive council, and<br />
defend. Everybody would bring ideas, it<br />
was an intellectually robust session that<br />
we had, and so at the end of the day,<br />
issues were exhaustively discussed, and<br />
conclusions were logically reached, and<br />
from there policies were conceptualized,<br />
formulated, executed, tracked and<br />
monitored, so the resultant effect is what<br />
you have in Lagos today, and that is why<br />
Lagos would keep moving ahead. So those<br />
who are mouthing one-man rule, one man<br />
rule, they are probably quite ignorant or<br />
mentally vacuous.<br />
11
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
Journey<br />
TO ALAUSA<br />
HE Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu<br />
12<br />
t's been about nine (9) months<br />
Isince I resigned as the head of<br />
LSDPC, and so far, it has been a<br />
pretty interesting journey, at some<br />
point, it seemed like a rollercoaster,<br />
but I was able to fare well and stabilize<br />
all of the expectations, both from the<br />
public and myself.<br />
It has been an eye-opening journey,<br />
right from the point of being an<br />
aspirant, to a candidate and then going<br />
through all of the turbulent campaign<br />
processes, going around the 20 local<br />
governments and 37 LCDAs, having<br />
several meetings with all level of<br />
stakeholders and pretty much selling<br />
my campaign programs to everyone<br />
and letting them understand the<br />
different things I am about and the<br />
different ideas I plan to bring in.<br />
Debates, interviews, and more<br />
meetings, down to the election day<br />
itself and having it postponed again,<br />
and then the final election day with the<br />
anticipation of the results and finally I<br />
was declared the winner. I had to deal<br />
with post-election fever and the<br />
transition period. It has been pretty<br />
interesting, revealing and engaging but<br />
in my own way I've had to create my<br />
own positive journey through it all. It<br />
has been a journey that God has<br />
personally helped me pull through and<br />
I have received massive support from a<br />
lot of people, from the entire<br />
leadership of the party to the teeming<br />
population of Lagos, from friends and<br />
family members and personally, I truly<br />
appreciate what the journey is turning<br />
out to be.<br />
So much greater than what is behind, so<br />
we all need to be forward-looking and<br />
expectant because greater and mightier<br />
things are ahead of us.<br />
My emergence as the flagbearer of the<br />
party brought about a sense of belief in<br />
what the party was trying to achieve,<br />
which was giving power to the teeming<br />
party flag bearers at that time.<br />
It wasn't such a difficult call, just that a lot<br />
of people probably didn't have any idea of<br />
my previous experience in governance, so<br />
it wasn't turbulent in anyway, because my<br />
emergence as a candidate was something I<br />
was certain about and I had a lot of<br />
support coming out from that which was<br />
really humbling to me. Moving from that<br />
point, we believed that Lagosians needed<br />
to be convinced, we never really imagined<br />
that victory was a done deal, we rolled up<br />
our sleeves and got to every Lagosian,<br />
every stakeholder that truly wanted to<br />
hear us. We went to every nook and<br />
cranny of the state, visited almost every<br />
part of the state that we could identify. I<br />
imagine that we communicated properly<br />
and sold our programs adequately and we<br />
ran a campaign that people testified to be<br />
unique and the most innovative in the<br />
political scene of the country. Having<br />
worked that hard and having it being<br />
capped with a victory at the end of the<br />
day, one has to be appreciative to both<br />
God and the people that gave their<br />
support throughout the entire journey.
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The Babajide<br />
Sanwo-Olu I know<br />
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I worked with Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu<br />
for roughly four years in the banking industry,<br />
he was our treasurer at a point, and then later<br />
on he became the general manager for<br />
investment banking. In all these years, he was<br />
assigned very sensitive responsibilities and in<br />
very sensitive positions, that could only be<br />
held by someone that they trust, someone<br />
that has character and integrity. He was in<br />
treasury department, the life-wire of any<br />
bank, you could not just pick anybody from<br />
the street, you had to put somebody that you<br />
trust, somebody who is reliable and has<br />
competence, and Jide was a thoroughbred<br />
professional.<br />
I was quite impressed with him because of<br />
the way he took his job, he took his job<br />
seriously in the course of the years we worked<br />
together at treasury, and if you speak to any<br />
bank MD, they would say that the closest<br />
relationship they have with any of their staff<br />
would be first his treasury manager, and<br />
second, the foreign exchange manager.<br />
Jide and I had a close relationship, we worked<br />
together as a team, I respect his level of<br />
judgment, his decision making capabilities<br />
and his competence level, and that's why I<br />
didn't hesitate when I was appointed deputy<br />
governor to request him to come along with<br />
me, because I needed somebody at that level<br />
Otunba Femi Pedro<br />
whom I could trust, going into a new job.<br />
In the private sector, he creditably delivered<br />
himself, I didn't have any problem with him<br />
whatsoever. In the public sector, we just<br />
practically continued where we left. He was first<br />
my adviser, and he advised very well, we worked<br />
together on several assignments given to us by<br />
the governor, and I didn't have any reason to<br />
complain about him at all. At a point in time, I<br />
felt that he needed higher responsibility, so I<br />
personally approached the governor to humbly<br />
and kindly elevate him, to the level of a cabinet<br />
ranked special adviser, and the governor obliged,<br />
and from there onward he worked directly with<br />
the governor, but throughout our tenure he was<br />
a very, good public officer, and I really didn't
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have any reason to complain about his performance.<br />
I believe he discharged himself creditably well.<br />
20 years of Lagos state has been years of progress<br />
and tremendous development, there's no doubt<br />
about it, if you grew up in Lagos or you were born in<br />
Lagos, you would see the difference, there has been<br />
giant strides. This has happened basically because<br />
there has been continuity in the governance, the<br />
foundation has been laid by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed<br />
Tinubu, he actually had a blueprint for the<br />
development of Lagos, which was the “Ehingbeti”<br />
program, which was held every year between 1999<br />
and I think about 2009 or 2010 before it was<br />
stopped, so this really formed the bedrock of the<br />
developmental effort by Lagos state. What has<br />
changed between then and now is the tremendous<br />
influx of people into Lagos, the population has<br />
grown tremendously in fact geometrically beyond<br />
anybody's imagination, so the state has been so<br />
burdensome under a weight of demands by her<br />
populace that it could not meet, revenue growth has<br />
not been able to match up with developmental<br />
needs of the state so this has created a lot of<br />
problems. The second issue is the leap frogging<br />
technology, the state has not been able to keep up<br />
with the technological advancement of the world<br />
and one of the reasons behind it is also because of<br />
the large influx of people coming into Lagos. It is<br />
extremely very difficult to cope with the challenges<br />
of environment, housing, and transportation,<br />
congestion, providing education and healthcare for<br />
the populace. These are the problems that incoming<br />
governor, Gov. Sanwo-Olu would meet.<br />
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However, if you followed his campaign very<br />
well, he has the campaign slogan called<br />
‘’THEME’’, which spell out many of these areas<br />
that I have mentioned. He is very well prepared<br />
to meet these challenges because he has<br />
worked through the system. He knows that<br />
every year, if we don’t leapfrog, these<br />
problems would catch up with us and it would<br />
be more difficult to overcome. I have had<br />
several discussions with him, I have listened to<br />
him when he was campaigning, I have listened<br />
to him on TV, radio, and I know he's ready to<br />
face this issue frontally, particularly the issue of<br />
transportation, the gridlock Lagosians face<br />
every day, the environmental challenges Lagos<br />
face, the problem of education, the large influx<br />
and the young population, particularly youth<br />
and creating jobs for them, I'm sure he is very<br />
much aware of all these and he is very much<br />
ready to cope.<br />
I say this not in any way as a form of flattery, it<br />
is the sincere truth about the kind of person I<br />
have come to know Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to<br />
be.<br />
I would like to advice Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu<br />
to remain true to himself, not to allow the<br />
office to change him, he should stay focused,<br />
and he should stay in the place of prayers at all<br />
times.<br />
15
The Babajide Sanwo-Olu We Know<br />
Unilag Executive MBA (Class of 1998-2000)<br />
Engr. Jude Okpala<br />
My name is Engr. Jude Okpala, I am the<br />
MD of Cliché Limited and we are into civil<br />
engineering, petition engineering, and<br />
metal components productions.<br />
I happened to be classmates with His<br />
Excellency in UNILAG while doing our<br />
Executive MBA in 1999. He specialised in<br />
Finance while I specialized in General<br />
Management.<br />
He is a very amiable man. When we were<br />
in school, we used to look up to him as<br />
someone who was very organized, he was<br />
there to take notes and submit on time.<br />
Everyone always looked up to him and was<br />
always saying, “I want to be like Jide He is<br />
an embodiment of what it takes to be a<br />
total manager, I think we have got the<br />
right person to take care of Lagos State.”<br />
While we were in school we looked at him<br />
as a man with a very bright future, he was<br />
so much “together” that he could hold<br />
sensitive positions back then and until<br />
now, we are very proud of him and that is<br />
why we are celebrating him today<br />
16<br />
for not disappointing any of us.<br />
Even after school, our relationship<br />
continued, he was a down to earth person<br />
keeping in touch with all his old folks. The<br />
relationship continued because while he<br />
was still working with the past government<br />
in Lagos State, he was keeping in touch, his<br />
doors were always open, as long as you<br />
were coming with positive ideas.<br />
He knew how we all toiled to bring out<br />
success in our academic works so he was<br />
always willing to meet with old friends to<br />
share ideas and tap out of them. It<br />
continued till this moment, that is why we<br />
can call upon him every moment and that's<br />
another reason he likes to spend time with<br />
his friends.<br />
I was very happy when I heard of his<br />
candidacy for the governor of Lagos State,<br />
as you know I am the chairman of the<br />
alumni so we celebrated him in absentia,<br />
then we reached out to him to tell him we<br />
are so happy to have him in that position.<br />
It was a thing of pride to know that one of<br />
ours has been picked for such a sensitive<br />
position. We were all super excited.<br />
Lagosians should expect a total change in
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governance for this administration, expect new<br />
ideas, expect pleasant surprises because Jide<br />
would like to keep his good ideas within his<br />
chest and throw them out when you least<br />
expect it.<br />
At the end of it all you come out positively<br />
surprised and excited. We should expect<br />
positive change, we should be ready for<br />
dynamism in governance, and we should also<br />
expect some seriousness, in the sense that he is<br />
going to bring some clarity from his first<br />
assignment in the financial industry, he is going<br />
to bring that to the way things are interpreted in<br />
Lagos State, so I tell Lagosians that they are very<br />
lucky to have Jide. They should expect that<br />
there would be a total change in the way things<br />
are done and they are going to see a seamless<br />
approach to governance.<br />
Finally, we want to wish him well and pray for<br />
him as<br />
we have always done.<br />
We look forward to the energy he is going to<br />
unleash on Lagos state, and that is my prayer for<br />
him.<br />
I also wish that he enjoys this position because<br />
in everything we should always enjoy whatever<br />
we are doing.<br />
Adegoke Omotola<br />
My name is Adegoke Omotola, I am the CEO of a<br />
management consulting firm.<br />
Mr. BabajideS anwo-Olu is a friend and also a<br />
brother to me and I have known him for about<br />
twenty (20) years.<br />
We were classmates during MBA school, and<br />
while we were in class he was a stickler for<br />
time, he was also a leader and always had the<br />
ability to pull people together. He led his<br />
ideas, was very knowledgeable, and had an<br />
excellent memory.<br />
From what I can see and what I know about<br />
him, I feel Lagosians should be excited and<br />
expectant because there's going to be a lot of<br />
transformations and he is going to lead by<br />
example… That I know of!<br />
I was quite surprised when I heard about his<br />
candidacy for the governor of Lagos State<br />
because I did not see him as a politician,<br />
however, I think it was a good thing. Having<br />
his kind of person in the political scene will<br />
encourage others who are contemplating to<br />
come in and add value.<br />
Nigerian professionals are a bit shy when it<br />
comes to politics, but I believe that the time<br />
has come for professionals to come into the<br />
political scene and bring in their professional<br />
experiences, so Nigerians can benefit from<br />
them in the long run. I think the next four<br />
years is going to be quite interesting. The<br />
programs and initiatives of his excellency, I<br />
believe will have human faces and will also<br />
have balance in terms of reaching out to<br />
Lagosians from all spheres of life. Whether it's<br />
the businessmen and women or the market<br />
women or professionals and so on.<br />
I believe there's going to be a lot of<br />
dynamism from the very beginning, so<br />
Lagosians should be excited and expectant<br />
because I believe that at the end of the first<br />
four years, there will be so much to be<br />
grateful for, during his time in office and he<br />
will be able to leave a lasting legacy.<br />
I wish him well, I wish him well in office and I<br />
trust God will give him the grace to carry such<br />
a huge responsibility, and our prayers will<br />
always be with him to excel and do well as<br />
our governor.<br />
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deliberate; they are going to be quite<br />
considered.”<br />
Tunde Falase<br />
My name is Tunde Falase, I am the MD of Brain<br />
craft, a consulting firm.<br />
I am a former classmate of our incoming governor<br />
of Lagos state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.<br />
When I heard that BOS “as we know him” had won<br />
the election, I was really excited because I had the<br />
privilege of being his classmate for 18 months<br />
during our MBA studies in the University of Lagos.<br />
He has always impressed me with his unique<br />
qualities, if I have to summarize, I would say that<br />
in class BOS was always very composed, he was<br />
very calm and he was also very considered in<br />
terms of his contributions. He was a man of good<br />
contribution and they were also deliberate<br />
considerations, he was somebody that stood out<br />
for being deliberate in his thinking.<br />
The class actually did well by having BOS as a<br />
member of the class and it's a bit of a paradox<br />
because it is almost from one legacy to another. I<br />
was the first governor of the class and to hear that<br />
he is now becoming the governor of the biggest<br />
and perhaps the most considered state in Nigeria, I<br />
think to him it is an honor and of course, it also<br />
does us, his classmate an honor as having to be<br />
part of what we hope is the shaping of BOS.<br />
“BOS doesn't strike me as a person who is going to<br />
rush and then access the consequences of his<br />
actions later. His actions are going to be quite<br />
One of the things we saw a couple of weeks ago<br />
was BOS preparing himself for this new role,<br />
attending a leadership class at the Harvard<br />
school of leadership. That speaks volumes to<br />
the type of person he is.<br />
I know that BOS will have a legacy in mind, this<br />
is not a small mantle that he has taken on and I<br />
know that he is not coming into the office to<br />
enjoy the role of a governor. I know he is going<br />
there to deliver what the role demands and I<br />
think Lagosians should lookout and expect a<br />
person who has a legacy in mind, which is one<br />
of the things you look forward to in the great<br />
leaders of today.<br />
Personally, I think I would like him to work on<br />
improving the quality of life of Lagosians, and by<br />
saying the quality of life, it allows me to speak<br />
about a variety of things. We do know that Lagos<br />
is probably the envy of all the states but this<br />
doesn't hide some opportunities that people<br />
like BOS will be able to address. We start from<br />
the seemingly mundane; what people are<br />
talking about at the moment it's almost a<br />
distraction in a mega-city like Lagos, we<br />
shouldn't be talking about roads and potholes<br />
and the likes. I know these are things that are<br />
with considered leadership, likely to be a thing of<br />
the past and then we can focus on the things that<br />
actually touch the common man on the streets,<br />
like the ease of doing business, quality of life and<br />
the comfort of life. When you go home to your<br />
18
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haven, are you proud of the fact that your<br />
home is in Lagos state because of the things<br />
your governor has brought to bear for you? I<br />
think with BOS we can expect to see these<br />
things brought to bear.<br />
Power supply, now this might be a federal<br />
thing but then the state government also has<br />
its contributions in terms of some of the<br />
decisions that are taken.<br />
As for transportation, we are already seeing<br />
some steps in Lagos State no doubt, but we<br />
expect this to get even more deliberate and<br />
touch the lives of those who count; the real<br />
Lagosians who are making Lagos the vibrant<br />
city that it is.<br />
I wouldn't choose one thing though, I would<br />
offer BOS a basket because he is capable, he<br />
has been tempered by the right type of fires,<br />
he has gone through the institutions and the<br />
work experiences both in the banking sector<br />
and in public service.<br />
This is a time for a leader like BOS to step<br />
forward and deliver what Lagos is really<br />
looking for. I have every confidence that we<br />
will be seeing exciting things, lasting things,<br />
sustainable things coming from BOS.<br />
I last saw BOS 20 years ago and from the<br />
pictures that I see of him, he is even looking<br />
younger perhaps than when we last saw but I<br />
am really proud of him as I said earlier on, I<br />
used to be the class governor now I stand<br />
behind him as he becomes my governor, so I<br />
look forward to his time in office as our<br />
governor.<br />
Mr. Bolade Daranijo<br />
My name is Mr. Bolade Daranijo, and I have been<br />
friends with Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for<br />
about 30 years now.<br />
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a calm, focused and intelligent<br />
gentleman. I think Lagos has got the best that<br />
they will ever get because this is someone who is<br />
calm and does not get agitated even under<br />
pressure. He listens to everybody, he will take all<br />
the information that a thousand people have,<br />
absorb, digest and bring out the best of them.<br />
Lagosians should expect a very successful time<br />
and very brilliant time, and I think he will be the<br />
best that Lagos has ever had.<br />
I was extremely surprised when I heard about his<br />
candidacy because I think that for anyone to have<br />
looked and chosen someone like Mr. Sanwo-Olu,<br />
there must have been a very big thought process.<br />
His qualities are in-built and he is always trying to<br />
develop himself to a point where I thought it'd be<br />
blissful for Lagos to be governed by a man like<br />
him.<br />
I wish him a very successful tenure and I pray that<br />
the Lord will be with him throughout his time in<br />
office.<br />
Omolara Ogunkoya<br />
My name is Mrs. Omolara Ogunkoya, I am a<br />
friend of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and<br />
we have been friends for almost 30 years now.<br />
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a goal getter and nothing<br />
stops him from getting what he wants to get if<br />
he believes in it, that is the impression I have<br />
always had of him since our very early money<br />
market days.<br />
The Money Marketers Association of Nigeria<br />
is association of treasurers. In the days where<br />
we had just about 89 banks, and among<br />
members of the association, you will find<br />
people that will not keep their words and the<br />
motto of the money market was your word is<br />
19
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the<br />
your bond, so for a lot of us that know that<br />
integrity matters, we were really able to get along<br />
very well, even when the banks had problems,<br />
people like Jide and a handful of others were still<br />
together because even though the banks had<br />
problems, we the treasurers know that we had a<br />
relationship that would even transcend the<br />
banks, so that was the relationships we had those<br />
days.<br />
I was really excited when I heard about his<br />
candidacy, I knew that with the energy he put<br />
into banking and his time as a public servant,<br />
Lagos state will be the greatest beneficiary of his<br />
agility and his intelligence and his uprightness.<br />
To a very large extent, I will tell you he is a very<br />
upright person.<br />
If you look at the way the campaign was carried<br />
out, you will see that it was a whole new<br />
dimension, it wasn't the usual everybody is going<br />
to the stadium with a crowd of people following<br />
them, make some noise and retire back to their<br />
homes. This one he tried to touch all the groups,<br />
all the professional groups, all the local groups,<br />
the Iyaolojas, the bankers, the Igbo traders, it’s<br />
like he touched everywhere and that is why we<br />
saw that kind of result that had a landslide<br />
victory.<br />
I would like for him to work on the poor state of<br />
electricity in Lagos. He has worked with the<br />
former governor, Babatunde Fashola, who is now<br />
the minister in charge of power and I know that<br />
he knows what Lagosians need and he is going to<br />
use that his relationship to let Lagosians benefit<br />
immensely.<br />
I know that he has made a lot of promises to a lot<br />
of people, I just want to assure them that he is a<br />
man of his words and that in the fullness of time<br />
they would know who he is and they will<br />
appreciate him even more.<br />
Caroline Odoh<br />
My name is Caroline Odoh, I worked with Nigeria<br />
Deposit Insurance Corporation. I retired 2017.<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
Babajide was my classmate, MBA, 1998 – 2000 at<br />
Unilag. We did the course together for about two<br />
years and we graduated together. That was how I<br />
got to know him.<br />
Babajide, honestly when I heard that he came out<br />
as a governor, I was so shocked myself because in<br />
class, though he was very intelligent, he was like<br />
an introvert, always on the quiet side, so I was so<br />
shocked when I learned that he was going to<br />
contest for governorship. I was just like waaooww!<br />
But I know, during that period, his brain and his<br />
intelligence will get him through.<br />
He doesn't look for trouble, he is so quiet not<br />
knowing that…I don't know what to say. He was a<br />
smooth operator because he was very intelligent.<br />
In fact most of the things we do, at times he<br />
solves problems for us.<br />
As I said, he was very intelligent and I know he is<br />
going to showcase that intelligence in these four<br />
years.<br />
I expect him to be more organised, I expect him to<br />
be more focused, I expect him to carry everybody<br />
along and I know Lagos is such a place that if<br />
you're not focused, you wouldn't be able to do<br />
what you are supposed to do. We all live in Lagos,<br />
but I know with his education, with his<br />
experience, with his intelligence, he is going to do<br />
wonders for Lagos state. That I know!<br />
We as his classmates, we have to pray for him<br />
because Lagos state is not a state anybody can<br />
rule anyhow, he can easily be distracted.<br />
My advice to him is that he should be focused as<br />
he has always been. If he stays focused, he is<br />
going to be able to do wonders and transform<br />
Lagos from what it is now.<br />
There are too many jobs to be done in Lagos state.<br />
If as a governor, you're not focused and you lack<br />
vision, you might not be able to achieve what you<br />
want to achieve.<br />
I know that a lot has been done under<br />
infrastructure but there are still more to be done.<br />
Infrastructure which may include road network<br />
because we all live in Lagos, we know what we are<br />
going through, so he should focus on that. I know<br />
there may be some resistance but if he focuses on<br />
infrastructure, on road network, he is going to<br />
perform wonders.
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My first 100 Days in office<br />
Towards a<br />
GREATER<br />
LAGOS<br />
I wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag<br />
before time, with regards to what I plan to<br />
achieve during my first 100 days in office. I<br />
would like every Lagosian to hear and find<br />
out about it at the same time.<br />
What I can tell you for certain is that the<br />
first 100 days will be a period where we<br />
solve issues that can be quickly resolved. It<br />
will be a time for us to reflect and think<br />
about a clear policy direction of how we<br />
would like to run the affairs of the state. It<br />
will also focus on the appointments we<br />
need to make and the various square holes<br />
and square pegs that we need to put<br />
together.<br />
The first three months will be about solving<br />
teething issues that are critical to Lagosians.<br />
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THE ROLE OF THE<br />
DEPUTY GOVERNOR<br />
Otunba Femi Pedro<br />
As a former Deputy Governor there is the<br />
myth about the role of a Deputy Governor<br />
and the general notion that based on<br />
provisions of the constitution, they are<br />
actually “Deputy” governors and not<br />
“assistant” governors, thereby relegating<br />
their role. What are comments on the role<br />
of Deputy Governor?<br />
Well it is a myth as you called it because<br />
there is no ambiguity.<br />
The role of the deputy governor is clearly<br />
defined in the constitution, in fact every<br />
aspect of the constitution that deals with<br />
the governor, deals with deputy governor,<br />
the way the governor is elected is the way<br />
the deputy governor is elected, the way the<br />
governor can be impeached, the deputy can<br />
also be impeached.<br />
The only aspect that is different is the<br />
responsibilities of the governor and his<br />
powers and authorities. Those are clearly<br />
defined in the constitution, but that of<br />
deputy governor just says one word, as<br />
assigned by the governor. It then means<br />
that the deputy governor is second in<br />
command in the administration but<br />
subordinate to the governor, and his<br />
responsibilities is as assigned by the<br />
governor.<br />
From my own perspective I had a wonderful<br />
time as the deputy governor, I had very<br />
important and sensitive roles to perform,<br />
DR. KADRI OBAFEMI HAMZAT<br />
the governor gave me assignments and he<br />
supported me to the best of his abilities, and of<br />
course I aligned myself absolutely with the<br />
programs and policies of the administration<br />
during my tenure, so there wasn't really much of<br />
a problem, but the truth must be told, the<br />
nation is littered with issues of governors and<br />
deputy governors being at logger head, even<br />
during my own time at the tail of my<br />
administration, I had issues with the governor<br />
basically on the issue of succession not as per<br />
my role as deputy governor.<br />
I didn't have any issue whatsoever with the<br />
governor, it all depends on the attitude and<br />
character of the deputy governor and of course<br />
the way he perceives and sees his role. Some<br />
deputy governors might think they are equal with<br />
the governor or they may want to be competing<br />
with the governor, it's not the case, that's why the<br />
word deputy comes before governor, to deputise,<br />
you are more like the second in command and<br />
subordinate to the governor, so I don't think there<br />
is any ambiguity at all.<br />
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governor<br />
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My Deputy and I<br />
I expect to have a fantastic relationship with my deputy. Thank God he is also my friend and I've<br />
known him for close to twenty (20) years now. As individuals of varied background, we might have<br />
slight opinion issues that might need to be straightened out, which is natural with every human,<br />
but I can assure you that whatever issues that may arise, will be dealt with and resolved swiftly, we<br />
would espouse ideas and opinions and I believe at the end of the day, Lagosians will be better off<br />
for it. There will not be any doubt in the minds of Lagosians about any sort of rift between us.<br />
We would rather concentrate on solving the problems of Lagosians and making life better for<br />
them, and that is what we would be doing. My deputy and I know what the job entails and we are<br />
ready to deliver. So, there is actually nothing for anyone to be worried about. The jobs are clear,<br />
the roles are well defined and the co-operation is very deep, the engagement will be very robust<br />
and the relationship between my deputy and I goes way back and I hope to keep it that way.<br />
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governor<br />
the<br />
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Mr. Dele Alake<br />
GODFATHERISM<br />
IN POLITICS<br />
I would categorise people who are ranting about<br />
godfatherism in Lagos politics as belonging to the<br />
class of the opposition saying one-man rule, they<br />
are just mentally vacuous or at best merely playing<br />
to the gallery to attract attention to themselves, for<br />
their own ulterior motive. Yes, I'm sure it's the<br />
governor of Kaduna state that brought this into<br />
focus recently from the lecture, whatever it is that<br />
he came to give in Lagos, and he made those<br />
statements about godfatherism.<br />
Let's define what exactly is godfatherism, even in<br />
religion isn't there a godfather? Even when you have<br />
a newborn baby or child, a lot of family members<br />
aggregate together giving names and some people<br />
say, “I'm his godmother or godfather” and stuff like<br />
that, even in religion, isn’t there a godfather? More<br />
so in politics, and everywhere in the world. My own<br />
basic understanding of godfatherism, in the esoteric<br />
format is somebody who helps somebody<br />
to achieve or to climb a ladder, either social,<br />
intellectual or business, whatever ladder, can<br />
be regarded as a godfather. If I'm in a position<br />
to help you succeed, progress or develop, then<br />
I can be labelled your godfather that is in the<br />
esoteric form, in the positive form. Now when<br />
you say godfatherism in a negative context,<br />
that is what we don't have here. Awolowo the<br />
sage, our revered sage, in this part of the<br />
country, he was a godfather, how? He bred<br />
many leaders, he gave birth not biologically,<br />
but he gave birth to many leaders, he created<br />
many platforms that enabled many other<br />
leaders to flourish, that's a godfather. So if you<br />
refer to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as a godfather,<br />
then I would put him in that mould of a<br />
godfather because he has also bred many<br />
leaders, he has created a system, a platform<br />
that has enabled scores, myriads of people and<br />
leaders to flourish. However, when you put it in<br />
the negative form of the El-rufai format, we<br />
don't have that here and I would like to ask Elrufai<br />
if he can honestly in good conscience say<br />
that he is not a beneficiary of godfathers, has<br />
he not had people who helped him climb the<br />
political ladder, who was El-rufai before Atiku<br />
brought him out, and took him to BPE at that<br />
time, which led to his being noticed by<br />
Obasanjo, was he Obasanjo's younger<br />
brother? Did Obasanjo pluck him from his<br />
cubicle to come and make him minister?<br />
Somebody gave him a platform to get noticed<br />
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before Obasanjo took him on and made him a<br />
minister, so Atiku was his godfather, Obasanjo was<br />
godfather and now Buhari is his godfather,<br />
because we have seen him genuflecting before<br />
Buhari, kneeling down and paying obeisance,<br />
there are pictures of him doing that to Buhari and it<br />
is common knowledge anyway that he rode on the<br />
political wings of Buhari to become governor of<br />
Kaduna state, that's not debatable, you know it in<br />
Kaduna, so is he himself not a beneficiary of that<br />
godfatherism he seeks to denigrate? He said he<br />
had retired some godfathers in Kaduna, I do not<br />
know of any godfather that he retired in Kaduna, I<br />
do not know of any godfather that helped him into<br />
office in Kaduna or on whose back he rode into<br />
office in Kaduna that he retired, except if he meant<br />
senator Shehu Sani that he fought, and Shehu Sani<br />
would never label himself as a godfather or Nkuyi,<br />
that one who's house he demolished, won't call<br />
himself a godfather, I think any other person would<br />
call that one a godfather, so I don't know the<br />
godfathers that he retired in Kaduna to justify his<br />
rethorics. I think he was only playing to the gallery<br />
to draw attention to himself. Again he was like<br />
Awolowo on one of his birthdays when the then<br />
head of state General Badamosi Babangida wrote<br />
him a letter and called Awolowo the issue in<br />
Nigerian politics. Which meant “Awo” was very,<br />
very important that whatever was happening in<br />
the country, you had to think of what “Awo” would<br />
say, and what he will do. Tinubu has become the<br />
issue in Nigerian politics, so if you want to attract<br />
attention to yourself, the easier route is to take a<br />
pot shot at Tinubu, so that you would draw<br />
attention to yourself for your own ulterior motive.<br />
I want to wish BabajideSanwo-Olu lots of goodwill,<br />
heavy dose of goodwill and good luck because he<br />
needs it. Governing a heterogeneous society like<br />
Lagos is not a tea party, I have had the privilege of<br />
being part of it, and given my proximity to the<br />
dynamics of Lagos power play since I left school,<br />
it's not a tea party, but again like I said he is<br />
mentally qualified, he is well equipped, he is<br />
socially and emotionally stable for it, and he has<br />
the knowledge, the intellectual capacity, the<br />
people skills and above all the humility to see him<br />
through. His deputy is also quite knowledgeable<br />
and humble, so they share a lot of attributes. I<br />
think it's a very fantastic combination and I think<br />
Lagos state is quite lucky to have this team coming<br />
in. I wish Sanwo-Olu success in all his endeavours<br />
and I would enjoin Lagosians to give him maximum<br />
co-operation, so that his team can take Lagos to<br />
the land of Eldorado which is all our objective.<br />
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Lagos Prays<br />
PRAY FOR LAGOS AND COVER LAGOS 24/7 IN PRAYER<br />
“Open the floodgates of heaven, Lord. Let your grace, mercy, and supernatural insight rain on<br />
Lagos. Let fresh ideas, kindness, selflessness, humility, and empathy rain on Lagosians even as<br />
we enter into four years of plenty #ForAGreaterLagos in Jesus name.” - HE Babajide Sanwo-Olu<br />
26<br />
Lagos Prays is an inter-denominational<br />
group coming together to cover Lagos<br />
with a blanket of prayer 24 hours a day, 7<br />
days a week. Our mission is to mobilise<br />
people to pray across the state.<br />
We gather online or in designated<br />
locations around Lagos to offer Jesus-<br />
Centred prayers for Lagos, our leaders and<br />
concerning challenges that confront<br />
Lagos. We stand in the gap for our state,<br />
our leaders and our people.<br />
The challenges confronting Lagos State are<br />
enormous and require not just skills and<br />
competencies but continuous intercessory<br />
prayers, from traffic and transportation to<br />
health and environment, from education<br />
and technology to making Lagos a 21st<br />
century cosmopolitan mega-city in the<br />
heart of Africa and from entertainment to<br />
tourism, arts and culture, coupled with<br />
recent rapid growth of population due to<br />
influx from other states, preponderance of<br />
indiscipline and impunity. The<br />
regeneration of Lagos demands “praying<br />
without ceasing”.<br />
Lagos Prays plans to include governmental<br />
leaders and walks on strategic sites within<br />
Lagos.<br />
Lagos Prays is designed to promote a culture<br />
of prayer and bring prayer to the forefront by<br />
igniting, motivating, mobilising and activating<br />
ordinary people from all godly faith in Christ<br />
Jesus to pray for state and local government<br />
leaders, staff, co-workers, family, friends,<br />
neighbors and all citizens, as we bridge gaps,<br />
bring unity and change the spiritual climate<br />
over our state as we invite God into our<br />
everyday affairs.<br />
We will pray for all authorities including<br />
government leaders and pastors, church<br />
elders, school boards, school principals,<br />
employers, businesses, art and<br />
entertainment and media.<br />
“Guarding” means to encircle, hedge around,<br />
pray, war, protect, serve, watch, guard,<br />
patrol, intercede, cover and to shield. The<br />
Lagos Prays team is composed of<br />
intercessors, prayer warriors, prophetic<br />
intercessors, prophets and spiritual warfare<br />
intercessors whose mission is to guard our<br />
state.
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
NIGERIA 2023<br />
Chief Sunny Akinsanya Ajose (OON)<br />
What is your take on rumours of Asiwaju<br />
aspiring to be president in 2023?<br />
It is the expectation of the general populace that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will run for the 2023<br />
presidential elections. He has not even told anybody that he is coming out to run, but that is what the<br />
people want. People are flying that kite, unfortunately, some people are jittery about it, but you cannot<br />
throw away gold or diamond for just a raw iron. If the man is capable of pulling Nigeria out of its death<br />
root, then there is nothing stopping him. He is Nigerian. He has the qualification, he has the expertise,<br />
he has the knowledge and he is open to the people. There are so many qualities that the man has that<br />
the others don't have, so you cannot just adjudge him by trying to blackmail him that he cannot come<br />
out because that's exactly what people are trying to preempt, but I am sure when the time comes, we<br />
all will see what the population will say.<br />
This is the first time in Lagos State since 1999 that an incumbent governor did not get<br />
the support of the party in Lagos State. As the deputy chairman of the APC in Lagos<br />
State. Can you shed some light on this?<br />
You are right that this is the first time in<br />
twenty years that this kind of thing is<br />
happening, it is quite unfortunate that it<br />
happened that way but in our own case in<br />
APC, we take seriously, the affairs of the<br />
general populace and members of the party<br />
especially the down trodden ones. We had<br />
series of experience during the course of this<br />
administration, however, the idea of removing<br />
all the street sweepers from the road and then<br />
incapacitating the PSP operators gave the<br />
party leaders a lot of concern. As you can see,<br />
there is so much garbage in every nuke and<br />
cranny of the state which turned the state almost<br />
to a point where it was during the period of the<br />
military when Asiwaju came in before<br />
restructuring the pattern of how we evacuate<br />
refuse from all the homes.<br />
Deviating from that, gave us a bad image both<br />
locally and internationally and during that period,<br />
there was fear of Lassa fever because rats were<br />
beginning to have a place of abode in all the<br />
debris that are all over the state. So they brought<br />
in the vision scape. The concept vison scape<br />
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brought into the state was quite different from<br />
the revenue we generate, it was not as<br />
effective as we expected in Lagos state. With<br />
that, there was concern from the leaders and<br />
they felt that they were not consulted neither<br />
was the intention made known until this people<br />
came into the state. It appears that they don't<br />
even know their terrain. The operations were<br />
not as effective as it could have been, so that<br />
was what gave the final straw to the patience<br />
of the leadership. Later, they actually closed<br />
down LAWMA headquarters by moving all the<br />
staff back to Alausa, as if they are going to start<br />
a new process and that in itself gave the PSP<br />
operators concern and they started protesting.<br />
So with that, the leadership now felt that well,<br />
we were informed that the incumbent was<br />
invited and matters were discussed with him,<br />
but it yielded no positive result. At that point<br />
they felt that well, if given the opportunity for<br />
the second term, it may be an adverse<br />
damaging effect on the party itself so that was<br />
how they took that decision and was not even<br />
the governor-elect alone that was considered.<br />
There was a screening process. He just<br />
happened to be the one that emerged at the<br />
final stage of which he himself doesn't even<br />
know. There are People that they put on the<br />
line and they screened their antecedents in<br />
terms of their professional skills and the ability<br />
to govern Lagos state with all its uncertainties<br />
and then the governor elect has also been<br />
through the meal in the public service so he<br />
wasn't a novice so he knew exactly all the nitty<br />
gritty that needs to know and he's equally a<br />
professional, So that opportunity came to his<br />
28<br />
door step. And I can assure you when he was<br />
initially informed, he was dumbfounded<br />
because he could not speak for like, twenty<br />
five minutes or so because the thing hit him<br />
with surprise but as a person, you have to<br />
take up the challenge. You have been given<br />
an assignment which people believe that you<br />
have the capacity to man so there's no way<br />
you can now turn back and say I'm sorry I<br />
cannot do it. Put your talent to skill and put<br />
all your ability at it. With the support of your<br />
peers and the general public, you'll be able to<br />
achieve success but one thing is that, don't<br />
allow power to consume you because at the<br />
bottom line, one is responsive to the<br />
generality of the populace. So that was how<br />
he emerged.<br />
Do you think Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu will<br />
meet up with the expectations of the<br />
people?<br />
I have no doubt. He will meet the challenges<br />
and he will even surpass the expectation<br />
everybody is looking at. But one thing for<br />
sure is that, he's going to meet a huge<br />
challenge on ground. He needs to restructure<br />
the entirety of the public service. He needs<br />
to put a structure in place, going back the<br />
memory lane of what happened in 2006<br />
when civil service was restructured. Some<br />
ministries that are very cogent to the needs<br />
of the generality of the rural areas have been<br />
appropriated or scrapped; they need to be<br />
resuscitated. All our parastatal organisations<br />
need to be properly monitored for<br />
effectiveness of discharge of their<br />
responsibility. Not necessarily because the<br />
ministries are
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
supposed to be supervisory ministries, there<br />
must be an independent body that will have to<br />
monitor their activities. That was how and why<br />
things were moving at a very fast pace during<br />
the era of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Fashola. One<br />
thing is that, by scrapping it, you don't even<br />
look at the effect of it, then you move them<br />
under another ministry without looking back.<br />
In Lagos area metropolis today, you have a high<br />
level of people migrating from the rural settings<br />
to Lagos. That is why you have over congestion.<br />
Many people sleep under the bridge because<br />
many people want to come for greener<br />
pastures. Things that are supposed to go to<br />
them in their own area has been taken away so<br />
they have to struggle to get back to Lagos.<br />
Most of them don't even have any place or<br />
people to come and meet here. You go around<br />
Iganmu area, you see so many of them sitting<br />
or lying on the floor or sleeping on the street<br />
there. So I think we need to go back to the<br />
drawing board and do a proper restructuring of<br />
the service in order to meet the challenges<br />
that will bring a holistic approach to the<br />
development to the entirety of the state and<br />
not one segment of it.<br />
I'm sure a lot of things are going on now, trying<br />
to reinvent the will of progress. I think with the<br />
work that they have done so far, in terms of<br />
preparation for taking over the mantle of<br />
leadership here in the state.<br />
They have looked into an area where they can<br />
incorporate some new agendas into the whole<br />
ten point agenda that was being used by the<br />
two earlier civilian administrations besides that<br />
of Jakande. Jakande too came in with a focus.<br />
29<br />
Definitely there must be a drive that we need<br />
to do and there must be something we call<br />
continuity. Like the governor elect has said,<br />
he's not going to abandon any project that this<br />
administration has done. He's going to<br />
incorporate the whole administration's project,<br />
which has been abandoned for quite some<br />
time and revive them because it's the public<br />
fund that was used in developing all this<br />
projects for the benefit of the generality of the<br />
populace. You don't just set it aside as if<br />
nothing has happened. Even if we're setting it<br />
aside, the populace knows that these<br />
structures are there so I think it's time that we<br />
must not try to be a preposition where we set a<br />
project, a people oriented project at bay for<br />
the purpose of our own personal something.<br />
What is Godfatherism in Politics?<br />
Godfatherism is not a question of just picking<br />
or pushing any kind of person, I tell you about<br />
some people jittery is exactly what is<br />
happening with El Ruffai's statement. I want to<br />
know how El Ruffai retained his own<br />
governorship candidacy. Is he the best<br />
candidate in the north? He is part of the cabal.<br />
So he cannot come and tell us here in Lagos<br />
that we have godfatherism. Yes! Asiwaju<br />
mentored so many people and you can see the<br />
quality of the people that he has mentored.<br />
They are not just riffraff's'. They are people<br />
that can stand their ground anywhere. So<br />
definitely it's not a question of that. If you're<br />
good, you're good; if you are not good, you are<br />
just not good. So it's not a question of you
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want to lobby me to become something that you are not or cannot even mange. These are<br />
things that I believe. He should manage his own Kaduna that he has he turned into a war<br />
zone rather than coming to Lagos to tell us what we are doing. We can't even put Lagos<br />
state on the same pedestal with Kaduna. Is he telling me that Lagos state is far behind<br />
Kaduna or they are still coming here to learn what we do? I'm very certain that we are not<br />
complaining. If it is godfatherism, we love it ate lest it's a progressive godfatherism and we<br />
love that so we are okay by what we are having.<br />
What should Lagos expect from<br />
Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Administration ?<br />
Under the administration of Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu, I am almost certain that we are<br />
going to move at a very fast pace, and I know<br />
that is what he is determined to do. Although<br />
the magnitude of the financial position of the<br />
state will have to be properly determined.<br />
Nobody knows the financial status of the state<br />
at the moment, not until the final take over.<br />
Then you begin to see or examine the volume of<br />
debt that has been owed to contractors, stages<br />
of things that are happening within the<br />
ministerial structure, and the needs that we<br />
actually need to improve upon. All those<br />
aspects have to be looked into. Determine the<br />
volume of the finance base that we have, before<br />
you can now project how you're going to do or<br />
tackle projects. We all know that Lagosians are<br />
very very restless, they will be expecting a<br />
miracle to happen overnight so we must also<br />
challenge ourselves to meet the needs of the<br />
people so that they don't feel disappointed and<br />
I'm sure they will never be .<br />
I want to wish the incoming governor a very<br />
successful tenure and I want to suggest that<br />
he should listen to advise and not allow<br />
people that will surround him to mislead<br />
him into something that will damage the<br />
image of his government.<br />
30
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THE LAGOS<br />
WE WANT<br />
My name is Sunday Salami and I<br />
am a building materials supplier.<br />
Considering that the incoming<br />
governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is a<br />
member of the APC political party, I<br />
am very certain that we will achieve a<br />
Greater Lagos, because I believe that<br />
party has already laid the ground work<br />
and platform for Mr. Sanwo-Olu to<br />
succeed.<br />
I think one of the major challenge we<br />
are facing in Lagos is the issue of poor<br />
electricity, which everybody is<br />
clamoring for something to be done<br />
about it. Not only the people staying<br />
here in Lagos but other investors<br />
coming to Lagos are also clamouring<br />
for stable power supply. I would like<br />
for Mr. Sanwo-Olu to address this<br />
issue first when he comes in.<br />
For self-employed Lagosians like me, I<br />
think our major challenge is the capital<br />
to develop our business which is not<br />
really available at the moment. If Mr.<br />
Babajide Sanwo-Olu can set up a<br />
scheme for us to borrow money and<br />
also a panel that will monitor the<br />
growth of businesses so they can be<br />
inclined to return the money<br />
borrowed from the scheme, I think<br />
self-employed Lagosians and<br />
entrepreneurs will be empowered.<br />
31<br />
My name is Stella and I am a cloth<br />
seller.<br />
I want the incoming governor to build<br />
markets, roads, and improve the<br />
standard of the state of education in<br />
Lagos. I also want him to support the<br />
beggars on the street because they<br />
don't have Jobs and find it difficult to<br />
eat.<br />
The governor also needs to provide<br />
jobs for graduates because we have<br />
many of them still seeking for jobs<br />
after years of graduation.<br />
My name is Gift and I am a Market<br />
woman.<br />
I want the incoming governor to<br />
build markets for us to sell our<br />
products and find a way to stop the<br />
AGBEROS ( Area boys) from<br />
disturbing us, so that we can make<br />
enough money to live a nice life.
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KOFOWOROLA - ORANGE SELLER<br />
I wasn't selling orange before, it was<br />
because the government demolished my<br />
shop that I am selling oranges. The only<br />
thing I want the government to do for me<br />
as a business woman is to support and to<br />
make my business grow. I don't want to<br />
sell orange again I want to continue my<br />
initial business, it was during Fashola’s<br />
administration that my shop was<br />
demolished.<br />
I am a member of the APC, the platform<br />
which the incoming governor, Babajide<br />
Sanwo-Olu, ran under and I would like for<br />
him to help me and others like me so life<br />
can be better for us.<br />
My name is Nasir Abdul and I am an<br />
“OKADA RIDER”<br />
I like the new governor of Lagos state. I<br />
would like him to come to the aid of bike<br />
riders by helping to reduce the amount of<br />
money we pay to our union from seven<br />
hundred Naira to three hundred Naira. I<br />
would also like him to help us deal with<br />
the issue of Area Boys, in Lagos.<br />
Sometimes they beat, harass and<br />
humiliate us, just to extort money from<br />
our hands and it's not like we make a lot.<br />
My name is Victoria Obi and I am a<br />
fish seller.<br />
What I want the governor to do is build a<br />
market for fish sellers, so me and other<br />
fish sellers like myself can have shops to<br />
sell our fishes. Not everyone has the<br />
resources to collect the regular shop that<br />
are available because of the expense. I<br />
think it is the responsibility of our leaders<br />
to help us get shops that we can sell our<br />
products'.<br />
32
FOOTPRINTS<br />
OF A LEADER - LSDPC STAFF<br />
My name is Jibike Onigbanjo, I am the Assistant General Manager, Property and Land Management,<br />
LSPDC (Lagos State Development and Property Corporation). Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, to<br />
me is a well-rounded person. He is hardworking, he is compassionate, he is full of wisdom, he's got<br />
so much empathy, a leader, and a team player. I have worked with so many bosses in the course of<br />
my career but honestly, thumbs up to him!<br />
He walks the talk. He doesn't just give you direction, he does it with you. He is a leader in all<br />
ramifications. That is the Mr. Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu that I know and I have worked with<br />
in the last two years and three months before<br />
he vied for the governorship of Lagos state. I<br />
joined LSDPC in year 2000 so this is my 19th<br />
year. Mr Sanwo-Olu is a total package. I've had<br />
the privilege of working with about five CEOs<br />
directly, maybe one indirectly and Mr. Babajide<br />
Sanwo-Olu surppasses them all.<br />
I always try to analyse what his weakness is and<br />
usually I end up realising that his weakness is<br />
actually more of his strength. In administering<br />
maybe a penalty or punishment for any erring<br />
staff, he will turn it into positivity. He doesn't<br />
see anyone as being totally useless. He would<br />
rather call you and have a chat with you and tell<br />
you about life experiences, give you examples<br />
and before you realise, the person is better off.<br />
So in comparing him with the other CEOs, he<br />
comes down to everyone's level and he takes<br />
people as they are and he believes everyone<br />
has a role to play and everyone must play. So to<br />
me, his management style is totally different<br />
and very worthy of emulation and it worked. He<br />
was here for like two years, three months and<br />
he was able to impact the people, the<br />
environment and the process.<br />
He started what we call the “Project Eagle”. It's<br />
33<br />
still an ongoing thing. The project eagle is to<br />
come up with new processes of doing things<br />
easier, faster, interacting with the public, ways<br />
of doing our jobs and service delivery.<br />
Generally, public servants, service servants are<br />
seen as lazy, not doing their jobs, not ready to<br />
work and all that but he changed that notion<br />
and with regards to the working<br />
environment;anyone coming into LSDPC, in the<br />
last two years or one and half, and has been<br />
here before Mr. Sanwo-Olu came would notice<br />
that the environment is totally different. Even<br />
my office, compared to before Mr. Sanwo-Olu<br />
came is so much more better now, it looks like a<br />
bank you know. So he actually affected all the<br />
facets of the corporation. Total Package!<br />
Honestly, BOS!<br />
He was still at work on Friday, of course<br />
weekend was full of activities, and then we<br />
heard that Mr. Sanwo-Olu has been chosen as<br />
the party's candidate, and everyone was like oh!<br />
We were all shocked. On Monday morning he<br />
didn't come to work and for the next<br />
management meeting, he had to call and he was<br />
put on speaker and everyone was like…just like<br />
that? He was still working, we even carried<br />
some files to him, “oga please can you look at<br />
this?” So it was sweet and sour for us; sweet in<br />
the sense that Yes! Higher calling for him and
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
the best for Lagos state. If given his<br />
antecedent and knowing who he is, and<br />
having had conversations with those he has<br />
worked with in the past, and his person, it is<br />
quite obvious that he is the best person to<br />
lead the state, and God helped him by giving<br />
him the best running mate.<br />
Sour for us because oh my God!, this was a<br />
dream, changing the whole face of LSDPC,<br />
everyone is already keying into his ideas and<br />
now he's just been yanked from us. We were<br />
shaken a bit but we have to continue his<br />
legacy; we must not let him down and we are<br />
trying our best and I hope that we are<br />
maintaining the standard he left behind. For<br />
example, he started what we also call the<br />
merit award day. In times past, we usually<br />
have end of year get together to thank God,<br />
and the party, but he said he will rather have<br />
a merit award day to appreciate and<br />
recognise members of staff who had worked<br />
meritoriously in the last one year and this I<br />
think started in June 2017, he came in 2016<br />
June, so a year later we had this and he said<br />
he will like for us to have a choreography<br />
group as well so we interject an put a little bit<br />
of fun inside the merit award day and I like<br />
dancing that's my best hobby so I became<br />
that class captain or the coordinator of the<br />
choreography group and Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a<br />
student. He would come for practice every<br />
day, with us. He practices with us. We usually<br />
have the practice for one hour, between2-<br />
3pm and everyone goes back to work. The<br />
days he cannot come, he will tell us to please<br />
record and send to him and he will practice.<br />
He suits to present awards and attend to<br />
people but when it is time for the<br />
choreography, Mr. Sanwo-Olu will yank off his<br />
jacket and join us.<br />
Honestly, he's a leader who walks the talk.<br />
What we have seen him do during his<br />
campaign, like him getting down to help<br />
people, the hair dresser, the mechanic, etc.<br />
That is actually the kind of person he is. He<br />
will say “roll up your sleeves, roll up your<br />
sleeves”. He is not a leader or an MD that will<br />
sit down and expect you to do. No! Everyone<br />
must be involved. That is the kind of leader<br />
and man he is.<br />
Thank God for the kind of people or the kind<br />
of candidate or the kind of breeding that the<br />
former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has<br />
been able to come up with. He came up with<br />
the likes of former Governor Raji Fashola who<br />
is currently a minister; he came up with Dr<br />
Femi Hamzat, the running mate, and Mr<br />
Sanwo-Olu. These are people that have<br />
served in his cabinet. So I am expecting that<br />
Lagosians will see the best of governance<br />
with two technocrats that have learnt from a<br />
former performer and now coming to deliver<br />
to Lagos state. They have been schooled,<br />
they've learnt and they have performed<br />
during the regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.<br />
Dr Femi Hamzat also served under the<br />
current minister Babajide Raji Fashola, what<br />
are we to expect? They are very humble and<br />
down to earth human beings. They've got the<br />
values, they have the right interpersonal<br />
relationship, they've got the technocrats,<br />
they've got the brain and they're ready to<br />
work.<br />
Judging from the way the campaign went,<br />
going to every sector, having discussions,<br />
identifying the needs and the challenges, you<br />
can tell that they are already putting down a<br />
book on what the challenges are, and what<br />
are the likely solutions? They want to hit the<br />
ground running. Like Mr Sanwo-Olu himself<br />
will always tell us, let's pluck the low hanging<br />
fruits especially the ones that will reach the<br />
populace. So I expect that in the next four<br />
years, and by God's grace, Lagos will<br />
experience the best of governance, judging<br />
from what I have experienced in working<br />
here, judging from their campaign.<br />
Putting into consideration what his running<br />
mate Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, what has done at<br />
the state, and at the federal level with the<br />
current minister, because he was his special<br />
34
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
adviser on works, I expect the best for Lagos<br />
state. I expect that the dark areas that<br />
Lagosians are mourning about will be<br />
addressed immediately. So I believe<br />
governance will be felt in the next one year<br />
and that things are really going to change<br />
for the better within the next four years.<br />
That is my belief and I pray God proves me<br />
right and they prove me right.<br />
Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, this is for<br />
you boss! My oga, oga mi, we know your<br />
worth, we know your standard, we know<br />
what you can do and we believe you're not<br />
going to change and if you do, it is going to<br />
be for the better. Most of us have stuck our<br />
neck, we've staked all that we've got on you<br />
as a performer, God willing. Please go ahead<br />
and dazzle Lagos with performance. Let<br />
them say “oh my God, it has been good<br />
during Asiwaju, it was good during Fashola,<br />
and now we are having a blast in Lagos”. Like<br />
he said, he wants to take Lagos to his<br />
“THEME”. We're talking of Dubai; we want<br />
Lagos to be the “Dubai” of Africa.<br />
I believe that God has deposited all that you need,<br />
ably assisted by your deputy governor and I<br />
believe that with your cabinet, the one that you're<br />
going to be having, you're going to be putting<br />
round pegs in round holes and they will key into<br />
your vision and mission and you are going to<br />
ensure that they perform in your gentle manner<br />
and ably assisted by your lovely wife because<br />
without the support of your spouse, and having a<br />
peaceful home and peace of mind, a man would<br />
come to work and he's just disoriented. That is my<br />
prayer my belief and what I think Lagos is in for<br />
best in the next four years<br />
e<br />
My name is Olorunnimbe Ismail, Snr. SA Surveyor<br />
Valuer, LSPDC<br />
Personally, I will describe Mr. Babajide Olusola<br />
Sanwo-Olu in two ways;<br />
1) As a union person; I am presently the secretary<br />
of senior staff association of the corporation so I<br />
will describe him from the union point of view and<br />
from a staff point of view. I remember one of the<br />
first things that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu did when he came into office was to invite the union<br />
representative. One of the statements he made that day was that he invited us because we are all<br />
stake holders in the corporation and to me that was a very wonderful idea because he saw us as a<br />
partner in progress, which is very wonderful and going forward, he ensured that he engages us<br />
periodically when there are issues. This is actually being very proactive because before issues start,<br />
we've already discussed them with him and this is very, like I said, it means that he is a person that<br />
prioritises staff welfare.<br />
2) As a person, I have been opportuned to meet and interact with him on many occasions. I see him<br />
as a mentor, as a father, as a leader and someone that has a very vast knowledge of experience.<br />
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is someone that encourages hard work and rewards hard work too. He<br />
usually tells us he is very finicky. He's very particular about his things. One of the few things he did<br />
when he came into office in 2016 is the present block we are in. (he made a lot of changes to the<br />
corporation). He actually turned the block around and like he says, for a total overhauling of the<br />
system, you need people and a process. Process is easy but you have to change the mind-set of the<br />
people which he actually did. He is a people's person, he makes sure he interacts with you when he<br />
sees you and if he forgets your name, he will ask again. That is one of the good things about him.<br />
As a leader, he has three qualities which I admire. He is accessible, he is a listener and he is selfless.<br />
Like I said this block is one of the physical examples of the impact of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well<br />
as the reception. Asides that, he actually invested a lot in staff welfare. Like during his program,<br />
most staff actually went for training.<br />
35
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
This is part of the process. It is like feeding the goose that lays the golden egg. He invested so much<br />
in staff welfare which is a very nice thing to do. He made each staff feel like a part of the<br />
development process itself. One of the programs he actually engineered was project eagle. Project<br />
eagle is actually an initiative to take LSDPC to the next level, and why did we choose eagle? We chose<br />
eagle because of its peculiarity, its ability to survive. We realised we are in the construction industry<br />
and whether we like it or not, LSDPC of today, is not the same LSDPC of 30 years ago. LSPDC was the<br />
only company 30 years ago that builds houses, now we have a lot of competitors and we need to<br />
have an edge and put our head above course if we want to remain relevant in the industry, that is<br />
one of the reasons we had ‘’Project Eagle’’, to revive the corporation; the total over hauling.<br />
I was really excited when I heard about Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu's candidacy. They say “he that is<br />
tested with small shall be tested with large”. In the small capacity, within two years, he has done a lot<br />
for the corporation like I said, so I can now imagine with a lot or resources and the bigger scope,<br />
what the state will enjoy when he is the state of power.<br />
I am just happy for Lagosians because he is one of the best things that has happened to Lagos in<br />
recent times.<br />
My name is Ayo Alabi, Head of council, LSDPC<br />
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to me is a man that fears God and I believe that makes him wise, and that<br />
has helped him in his work in LSDPC. The wisdom that he exhibits has given him a better edge in the<br />
corporation.<br />
He achieved so much in so many areas while<br />
in LSDPC; he improved the life of staff in<br />
LSDPC, staffs were well trained, officers that<br />
had never been out on training were out on<br />
training and most people that had not been<br />
considered for capacity building or to improve<br />
themselves in any area, had the opportunity<br />
of adding knowledge to what they know<br />
before. I can say he had that as a credit to<br />
himself; Improving the lives of members of<br />
staff on the job and even in their personal<br />
lives. Most people were well taken care of<br />
while he was in LSDPC.<br />
During his tenure, everything was going on<br />
smoothly, if you are lacking in any area, you<br />
can go to him, even officially you will be<br />
considered. Your life gets better. Leave<br />
bonuses were paid, furniture allowances were<br />
paid, people became more comfortable when<br />
he was around and you can see a lot of<br />
improvement still going on in the corporation,<br />
those are his handiwork. That is what he<br />
started when he was here, he has added to<br />
36<br />
the colour of LSDPC, more buildings, better<br />
infrastructure in strategic places, like this office<br />
that we are in, was completed just some few<br />
months before he left LSDPC and as a<br />
management staff, we had the opportunity of<br />
riding new cars, that was to his credit. He did<br />
quite a lot for us.<br />
When I heard about his candidacy, I was surprised<br />
and along the line I had to adjust myself because I<br />
saw it as an improvement on his own personality<br />
and he is a man I've always been praying for; that<br />
God will take him to higher grounds because he is<br />
been so good to us, members of staff of LSDPC so<br />
I have to adjust myself quickly as to “this man is<br />
going for something better you better allow your<br />
mind come together and just wish him well as a<br />
person” which I succumbed to. Lagosians should<br />
expect the best because while he newly came into<br />
LSPDC, we heard about him that during his time at<br />
the state office, he added a lot of improvement to<br />
people's life, staff welfare, and in the ministries<br />
where he had served before. So we were also
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
watching if in LSDPC he will do something similar or better and he didn't perform less than that. So<br />
Lagosians should expect the best. I will continue to pray for him that as God has given him the<br />
opportunity to advance, God himself will sustain him. He is wearing a larger shoe and I believe he<br />
did not scheme himself to become the governor of the state.<br />
God that has lifted him, brought him up, will sustain him, back him up, and give him the wisdom<br />
beyond that which he has exhibited in LSDPC because he is now going to get himself involved with<br />
the state as a whole, that he will be able to perform even beyond his expectations.<br />
I told him when we met with him that people's expectations are so high but I believe that God that<br />
backed him up in LSPDC will see him through all his tenure. He will be able to perform even beyond<br />
the expectation of men by the grace of God.<br />
Femi Ajayi - Security Man at LSDPC<br />
Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a leader and he is an ideal boss. He is an easy going man and he is very<br />
generous to me personally and the other staff members as well.<br />
He made an immediate impact from the very beginning of his time with LSDPC. Personally, for the<br />
nineteen years that I have been working here, I only got a promotion and the other basic things but<br />
when he came, he promoted and gave me<br />
an award.<br />
When I heard about his candidacy, I felt it<br />
was a good thing, but considering the<br />
quality of his time here, we didn't want him<br />
to go. I personally didn't want him to go but<br />
I know the next level is where he is going.<br />
Personally, I'm happy.<br />
Lagosians should expect that Babajide<br />
Sanwo-Olu is a man that will bring about<br />
changes to Lagos. I trust that from day one,<br />
he will impact everyone both young and<br />
old.<br />
The promise he gave during the campaign,<br />
he should ensure that its fulfilled and his<br />
impact will also be felt at LSDPC now that<br />
He is Governor.<br />
Olusola Martins - Deputy GM, corporate,<br />
Comm. & Marketing LSDPC<br />
Mr Sanwo-Olu is someone I find to be an<br />
astute administrator, he's a man with a<br />
vision, he is a man with a purpose, and he is<br />
a man that takes measured steps towards<br />
achieving his purpose. He spent only just<br />
about two years and about three months,<br />
here in LSDPC and he was able to achieve<br />
very major positive changes. I will say he left<br />
37<br />
lasting legacies. I am sure you have seen some of his<br />
legacies around, in terms of physical infrastructure<br />
and he left legacies in terms of human capital<br />
development, in that short period of time.<br />
There were times when things were a little bit at the<br />
low end for the corporation, operation wise; we<br />
were a bit on the low side, but despite that<br />
situation, he was able to achieve a turnaround. You<br />
would recall that was the period that even the<br />
national economy itself, was not doing too well and<br />
finances were hard. Mr. Sanwo-Olu applied his<br />
ingenuity, and by the time he left, we had close to<br />
about six projects with three or four at advanced<br />
stages and all out of almost nothing.<br />
He was able to open about three projects in lekki<br />
axis, doing very well and another three projects on<br />
the mainland. So I would say that he is an ingenious<br />
person. He applied himself to the job, he was able<br />
to bring in his wealth of experience; he has a wealth<br />
of experience, having been in government for a long<br />
period of time and he was able to leverage on that. I<br />
am sure there are good things in his confines for<br />
Lagosians<br />
If you are given little resources and you cannot<br />
manage it, how do you want to manage bigger<br />
ones? Let us not forget that this man has operated<br />
at the bigger level before coming here so for him,<br />
managing Lagos state, the challenges are not new.
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He had participated in the conception of the developmental programs that were done between<br />
1998 and 2003 most of which is what is being implemented in the last 20 years.<br />
I don't have any doubt, he will take Lagos state to greater heights no doubt about it. There is so<br />
much to expect; I know what happened to us, he turned around this place, he improved the<br />
personalities here, people were trained, bigger exposures, bigger responsibilities, people were<br />
challenged, people were fulfilled, people were motivated and that is what happens when you<br />
motivate your staff, they will deliver bigger. So Lagos state government staff should be thrilled.<br />
They are going to be motivated, they will be happy doing what they are doing and God willing,<br />
Lagos will be better for it.<br />
We should all join hands with the governor, support him with our prayers, we should also support<br />
him with what is expected of us, in terms of our civic duties and once we do that, the sky is the<br />
limit for Lagos state.<br />
Oluwakemi Lateef - GM, Admin & HR LSDPC<br />
I can describe Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in many forms because he is many things to a lot of people<br />
but from my own purview which is HR, he is a man that has workers welfare at heart. Right from<br />
his inception here at LSDPC, he took staff welfare as his priority, even when there were<br />
challenges. Initially when he came in, the system wasn't too smooth, there was the challenge of<br />
funding, the challenge of labour issues and many other challenges, but he came in, and probably<br />
due to his vast experience at the private and the public sector, he was able to resolve all the<br />
lingering problems within few months that he was here. In fact, I am also a testimony to one of<br />
his early achievements here at LSDPC. Before he came in as the managing director, the highest<br />
that any staff could get to here was the deputy general manager so he came and he said for him<br />
he doesn't see anything stopping any staff here, a deserving staff from getting to the zenith of<br />
their career; so he changed the existing rule. He was the one that brought in the idea of elevating<br />
staff to the position of general manager. That is how few of us in the system were able to get to<br />
the position of general manager.<br />
Before he came to LSDPC, we had this idea of, training is done only when there is money, but<br />
when he came in, he said if you want to get the best from staff, you need to motivate them. He<br />
took staff motivation as his priority and no matter what constraint he has at that time, he<br />
ensured that every month or at every point in time, staff training and other welfare are taken as<br />
priority and at times, some of us wonder how he is able to achieve these things that he achieved.<br />
The other thing that I also see is, since I got to LSDPC, I dare say I have not seen the<br />
infrastructural regeneration that he undertook and he completed most of them. This office is a<br />
testimony. You need to be here some few years back and see the state of the office but he went<br />
round and he said look, if you want your staff to give you the best, it is not only training them,<br />
you also must give them the best environment to work and that will challenge them to give you<br />
the best. So he undertook that project, he started with Block A, that's where he was when he was<br />
here and when he completed that block A, people thought “oh this is the best LSDPC has ever<br />
seen” but, little did they know that he was just bringing out the bird from his pocket. He took this<br />
one too and he did a complete renovation. At some point, some of us were thinking he was overtrading,<br />
when we looked at the cost implication of what he was doing, but he was able to achieve<br />
all those with the problem of cash flow that was inherent in the system at that time.<br />
Apart from his love for staff welfare, he also came with a genius financial engineering that some<br />
of us do not really understand and we have never seen before he got here.<br />
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governor<br />
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The other area that I can also comment on is<br />
his ability to bring out the best in every<br />
member of staff. Some of us were not so<br />
challenged to bring out the best of ourselves<br />
before he came. When he came, he gave us<br />
the environment to excel and also challenged<br />
us with tasks. He will give you a<br />
commensurate task to what he thinks your<br />
experience should carry. For some of us, it<br />
was a new experience because we were used<br />
to the usual standard, but when he came, he<br />
brought that touch of excellence and he<br />
demands the best from you every time and<br />
that was a challenge to every one of us. Most<br />
times we had to go back to crosscheck, before<br />
we even go before him to make presentations.<br />
He will ensure that you go back and check and<br />
double check to make sure that what you are<br />
bringing will meet his standard.<br />
I wouldn't say it's a pity he left shortly<br />
because if you compare what he did here to<br />
the number of years he did with us, you will<br />
probably want to say he was the shortest<br />
serving CEO in terms of his achievements. We<br />
served under those who served ten years and<br />
they hardly achieved a quarter of what he<br />
achieved. So for me, he was a wonderful<br />
person, and in so many aspects, in terms of<br />
welfare, he was up there, in terms of bringing<br />
out the best in staff, he was there.<br />
Also, I need to mention this, he never failed to<br />
reprimand when necessary. When you take<br />
things to him and he feels this does not meet<br />
the required standard, he wouldn't fail to<br />
chastise you and he wouldn't do that because<br />
he hates you, some times when you leave, he<br />
will find time and call you and tell you “look.<br />
That thing could be done better than what<br />
you did and he wasn't just out to hurt you but<br />
there to correct you and ensure he brings out<br />
the best in you.<br />
When I heard about his candidacy, I was<br />
happy for the state. If using his achievement<br />
here as a parameter, he probably will take the<br />
state to the level that we've never seen<br />
before, because I think cumulatively, he spent<br />
two years or less here and you need to go round<br />
and see what he achieved compared to most of<br />
his predecessors who were here for so many<br />
years, so taking that and applying it to the state,<br />
I am assured that he is going to transform the<br />
state. More so, he's not new to administration in<br />
the state. He was a commissioner and his<br />
footprints are everywhere in the record of Lagos<br />
state on things achieved during his tenure when<br />
he was in treasury and when he was also in<br />
establishment “that is the ministry that deals<br />
with HR and Human resource issues”. I have this<br />
belief that he is going to take the state to great<br />
heights.<br />
I am asking Lagosians to give him the maximum<br />
support, and to be rest assured that he is not a<br />
man that will disappoint them.<br />
Aladeloye Leo Francis - Asst. Town Planning<br />
Officer, LSDPC<br />
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is an astute<br />
leader, he is a man of character, he is a leader<br />
and a mentor per excellence.<br />
He is ever interested in bringing out the best<br />
from his employee and I have benefitted<br />
immensely from his wealth of experience and<br />
his leadership style.<br />
Before Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu got to<br />
LSDPC, the corporation had a process but the<br />
process was not as defined as much as it is now.<br />
The major cardinal points while he was here was<br />
the people, the process and then the<br />
environment.<br />
He was so much interested in the people,<br />
knowing fully well that it is the people that will<br />
drive the process and that was why he invested<br />
so much in human resource development.<br />
During his time, a lot of staff both senior, junior<br />
and middle ranking staff in the corporation went<br />
on training within the state, outside the state<br />
and even outside the country.<br />
He was also much interested in the environment<br />
and you can also see that in the transformation<br />
that took place in Block B and in Block D and he<br />
39
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
had already started in Block B before the clarion call came for him to lead the state as the<br />
governor.<br />
When you also talk about the process, he made the process seamless, he made the process easy<br />
currently, he made the process to flow and that was why he also started a project while he was<br />
here and they call it the project eagle; trying to make sure that the process in LSDPC is seamless<br />
and also as fast as it could. He had started working on that before he left. The difference is too<br />
clear and we are sure that in his coming to the state, the state will move forward and get better<br />
for it.<br />
I was very happy to hear about his candidacy. While he was at LSDPC I used to say he is like<br />
somebody that has capacity for 50 and is only given five, so he still has forty five. I worked with<br />
him closely and by God's grace, he is somebody that rewards hard work. I benefitted from that.<br />
When he went to pick the form, I was very excited because I know that Lagosians will be happy<br />
for the governor that they have chosen. I am very excited, I look forward to his leadership in<br />
Lagos state, I look forward to a Lagos where things will work again. So I'm very happy and I'm<br />
looking forward to his ascension of the leadership of Lagos state come may 2019, by God's grace<br />
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, you have excelled before especially in the private sector and<br />
also in the public sector, and I have no doubt in me that you're going to excel in Lagos state as<br />
you take us steadily, step by step, as we follow you, and in four years' time, when we look back,<br />
we will say “no, this cannot be Lagos, this is actually the Lagos of our dreams”.<br />
Jibike Onigbanjo<br />
Oluwakemi Lateef<br />
Olorunnimbe Ismail<br />
Ayo Alabi<br />
Aladeloye Leo Francis<br />
Olusola Martins<br />
Femi Ajayi<br />
40
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
EXPECTATIONS<br />
Lagosians<br />
of<br />
My Name is Hon. Babajimi Benson, I am a<br />
member of the Federal House of<br />
Representatives, I represent the finest<br />
constituency in Lagos State, Ikorodu Federal<br />
Constituency<br />
Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been a great<br />
mentor and a big brother. I've known him<br />
for couple of years and I have always loved<br />
his antecedents, pedigree and he comes<br />
with a lot of work experience. He has<br />
worked in the private sector and the public<br />
sector.<br />
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a trisector athlete, he can<br />
view things from three different lenses or<br />
dimensions. Looking at his history, he has<br />
worked in a lot of private sectors, public<br />
sectors and done social works. He is<br />
someone I also look up to, he has capacity,<br />
and wisdom. I am sure he is bringing<br />
something fresh and new to Lagos.<br />
I think he has the capacity to take Lagos to<br />
great height.<br />
He was commissioner for budget, planning<br />
and establishment and M.D of LSDPC. So<br />
that gives him the requisite skills and<br />
should be able to add value to what he<br />
meets on ground.<br />
I was extremely happy to hear about his<br />
candidacy and fortunately, LSDPC breeds<br />
super intelligent people which I am one of<br />
them. I used to be the company secretary<br />
and legal adviser before he assumed office<br />
as the M.D. Anybody that comes out of<br />
that institution and establishment, comes<br />
with a rich pedigree of experience and<br />
capacity to change things positively.<br />
I am happy that he is our number 1 citizen<br />
in Lagos and I know he is going to add<br />
value and ensure that the GDP of Lagos<br />
increases and improve. I am sure he is<br />
going to put Lagos in the pride of world<br />
smart cities.<br />
I know that BOS will assist Ikorodu in<br />
attaining its eminence that the good<br />
qualities offer.<br />
We have infrastructure deficit, we need<br />
more political positions so that our people<br />
can enjoy the dividends of democracy. If<br />
you look at the last election Ikorodu really<br />
surpassed all expectations, Ikorodu came<br />
first in delivery of votes to its candidature,<br />
so we expect a very good thing and he has<br />
promised to deliver.<br />
41
governor<br />
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SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
......................<br />
My Name is Moses Patrick and there are quite a few things I expect from the new governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu:<br />
1: Reduction of Traffic on our Roads<br />
2: Cleanliness of the state; Virtually everywhere is dirty, so we have to engage people that will do a thorough<br />
cleanup of the state.<br />
3: Unemployment: I would expect him to Create New Jobs for Lagosians, so that more people will be recruited<br />
into the working class level.<br />
This also means that more roads need to be built in order to reduce the traffic that might be created as a result.<br />
As for people in my field of work, which is engineering, I believe the governor can ensure that every household<br />
and business in the state,have a prepaid electricity meter. People all over the country are clamouring for that and I<br />
believe it's something he can look into.<br />
My name is Akintade Olayinka Victor, I work in<br />
Dolphin Estate for Gosslink Engineering<br />
Limited.<br />
I believe God himself anointed Mr. Babajide<br />
Sanwo-Olu to be our governor and not any<br />
man. If it were to be by the will of man, he will<br />
not be successful during the past elections.<br />
I will like to encourage him to continue the<br />
projects left behind by his predecessor. Most<br />
governors would not continue from where the<br />
previous governor stopped, but I would<br />
encourage him to promote continuity.<br />
I would also like him to look into improving the<br />
standard of education in the state. Another<br />
area I would like for him to look into are street<br />
roads.<br />
We all are praying for better Lagos, we want<br />
Lagos to be like the U.K, US, Dublin, and<br />
Canada and this means that there's a lot of<br />
work for him to do in order for Lagos to reach<br />
the heights that those cities have attained. I<br />
expect him to visit other countries and come<br />
with results that will improve the state.<br />
As an engineer, I think the current issue of<br />
PHCN delays with distributing prepaid metres,<br />
is one pressing issue that needs to be looked<br />
into and resolved as soon as possible. I will like<br />
him to see into this as I believe it's very<br />
important.<br />
42<br />
My name is Temitayo Israel, I work at Gosslink<br />
Engineering Limited<br />
First and foremost I would like to welcome the<br />
new governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu<br />
into office.<br />
I expect him to focus on the educational sector of<br />
the state. I understand that there are other sectors<br />
in the state that demand attention but I feel like<br />
the educational sector is poorly monitored and it<br />
is the same sector we might all turn to in a few<br />
years time as it is the bedrock for the future of the<br />
state.<br />
Let the school be a training ground when it comes<br />
to developing skills. What we need in Lagos state<br />
is people who are great with creativity who can<br />
actually mentor students who can bring in<br />
something new to the state.<br />
I work in the power sector and in Lagos, I must<br />
admit that power supply is nothing to write home<br />
about.<br />
The power sector is very cogent; when you<br />
channel more resources on building human efforts<br />
it will go a long way towards yielding increase<br />
concerning the capital aspect. So I expect the<br />
incoming governor to look into the building of<br />
manpower.<br />
There are many other areas of energy; we have<br />
the solar, wind, hydro, and renewable energy<br />
through biomass and other sources of renewable<br />
energy, yet we are not actually making use of any<br />
of them. We are not taking advantage of their<br />
resources.<br />
I generally will expect the incoming government to<br />
focus more and increase the capacity of power<br />
supply not only on the electrical and the manual<br />
part that we use as before but with the many<br />
available options that can be explored.
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
My name is Olatunji Olusogo, and I do not<br />
expect anything less from the incoming<br />
administration of governor Babajide Sanwo-<br />
Olu, than the level of success the outgoing<br />
administration was able to achieve.<br />
Lagosians will be expecting Babajide Sanwo-<br />
Olu to actually complete all the projects that<br />
the outgoing governor was unable to<br />
complete because governance definitely is<br />
about continuity, and if that is broken, it will<br />
have a negative effect on Lagosians.<br />
Looking at the recent collapse of buildings in<br />
Lagos, I believe Babajide Sanwo-Olu should<br />
try as much as possible to raise the standard<br />
of engineering in the state, particularly when<br />
it comes to the building and infrastructure, to<br />
ensure that due processes are followed as well<br />
as the standardization of the materials that are<br />
being used.<br />
I think the governor should look at ways to<br />
generate power for the state internally so that<br />
Lagosians can have a better power supply.<br />
I am a media executive and I would expect the<br />
incoming governor to invest more in the media<br />
industry. I do know the field is doing pretty<br />
well for itself right now but it can get better…<br />
way much better, and I know Mr. Sanwo-Olu is<br />
into entertainment and media and I expect him<br />
to do a lot, to the extent of his capacity as<br />
governor of Lagos State.<br />
During his campaign, he spoke about the media<br />
and has done a lot of things in that regard. So I<br />
expect him to supercede our expectations,<br />
really and just make sure the media sector in<br />
the state is working and improving.<br />
My name is Kehinde Adegboyega, I am a<br />
sustainable development expert and a<br />
documentary filmmaker.<br />
My expectations from this new government is<br />
first, the completion of abandoned infrastructural<br />
projects. I think the incoming governor needs to<br />
look at the huge number of uncompleted<br />
infrastructural projects in the state. Not just bad<br />
roads and transportation but all abandoned<br />
projects need to be completed in order to ease<br />
the living situations of Lagosians.<br />
I also wish that Governor Sanwo-Olu will take a<br />
look at power supply , because when there is<br />
better power in the state, small and medium<br />
scale businesses will flourish, which will enable<br />
them to pay up their taxes. I think he has to look<br />
at alternative power generation and supply<br />
methods, such as renewable and solar energy.<br />
Unemployment is another issue that needs to be<br />
looked into; I love the initiative of Lagos State<br />
Employment Trust Fund and I understand an<br />
MOU was signed with World Bank, I believe that<br />
should be judiciously used to reduce the<br />
unemployment rate in the state.<br />
Another issue the state government needs to<br />
look at is the NURTW members. These people<br />
have become so unlawful and have started<br />
harassing citizens. This is a major security issue<br />
st<br />
and in a 21 century, that should not be heard of<br />
as It's very embarrassing to a state like Lagos<br />
State which has global recognition.<br />
Lastly, I really hope the incoming governor looks<br />
for ways to support young filmmakers and<br />
documentary makers because apart from<br />
technology, we are still scratching the surface of<br />
this industry.<br />
He can look at investing in buildings and structure<br />
for the filmmaking industry.<br />
43
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
I am a corp member and I also do media related things.<br />
My expectations from the new governor is continuity. I think it is very important that projects<br />
that have started from the outgoing administration are continued and completed as I believe<br />
that continuity is very important.<br />
I also feel that he should tackle the seemingly never-ending issue of traffic in the state. Traffic is<br />
the major problem in Lagos and I know for sure that some of the issues that cause traffic are<br />
bad roads and bad drainage systems, because when it rains in Lagos, you already know that<br />
there's going be traffic.<br />
Sometimes there are just too many cars on the road so transportation is something he should<br />
look into as well. I believe there is so much he can do with our waterways, he just needs to<br />
make sure that they are safe and people can make use of them properly. So I think proper water<br />
transportation can help reduce traffic.<br />
We also have the railway transportation system that was started a long time ago, but we don't<br />
know what has happened to it, I wish that can be worked on as well.<br />
Transportation and traffic go hand in hand so I think this is something that should be worked on.<br />
Traffic lights! yes, traffic lights before I forget, I feel our traffic lights should be wired in a proper<br />
way that works with traffic flow. You know, not just 60 seconds, 10 seconds and all that.<br />
Something else Babajide Sanwo-Olu should work on, is tourism in Lagos. Lagos is a business hub<br />
and we have a lot of people coming in and going out and feel there are a number of places we<br />
could turn into tourism hubs for the many visitors that flood the city. I know that Badagry is one<br />
of those places that could be developed into a globally recognised tourism hub. I recently<br />
visited Badagry and the road was horrible and that should be looked into. Like I said,<br />
transportation, our road system, Badagry itself should be at the top of the priority list as it is a<br />
great place for tourism which is a very good way for the state to make money.<br />
I also think housing is another sector that needs to be worked on.<br />
There are so many things, but I think for me, what is really important is transportation, our road<br />
system, good roads and all that.<br />
Also, continuity; continue projects that were started by the outgoing governor.<br />
44
governor<br />
the<br />
SPECIAL INAUGURAL EDITION<br />
CLOSING<br />
REMARKS<br />
HE Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu<br />
would like to let Lagosians know that I am<br />
Iexcited about what lies ahead of us, I am excited<br />
about the inauguration and I am excited that we<br />
will be able to show Lagosians a clear roadmap of<br />
how we will achieve all the things we have said we<br />
will do on a month to month basis. Our government<br />
will be open, our government will be inclusive, our<br />
government will be transparent, our government<br />
will be participatory. With regards to engagements<br />
we can continue and burning issues in the hearts of<br />
Lagosians that can be resolved swiftly. We will bring<br />
about solutions that will improve the quality of life<br />
of Lagosians, we will ensure that the ease of doing<br />
business in Lagos will be part of the immediate<br />
issues we can resolve. We will ensure that all of the<br />
challenges that are within our immediate<br />
resolutions will be resolved pretty swiftly.<br />
On the medium to long-term, we will<br />
clearly articulate our plans, policies,<br />
programs, and vision for Lagosians so<br />
that as they are being carried out. The<br />
people will know what we are doing<br />
and why we are doing them. We will<br />
have a plan that will transparently<br />
explain to Lagosians what they should<br />
expect in one year, two years and so on.<br />
The relationship, however, has to be<br />
both ways, so we will have to have a<br />
contract with Lagosians, regarding what<br />
the administration will be expecting<br />
from them, behavior wise, culture wise,<br />
the attitudinal change, the expectations<br />
of revenues that we will need to<br />
achieve our goals once Lagosians fulfil<br />
their part, we will definitely fulfil our<br />
end of the bargain.<br />
I would like to assure Lagosians that<br />
they have made the right choice and<br />
voted for the right team and the right<br />
team will ensure that the quality of life<br />
in Lagos state is improved, security of<br />
life and property is assured, ease of<br />
doing business is well defined and well<br />
anticipated, such that at the end of our<br />
first tenure, Lagosians will be most<br />
certainly better off for it.<br />
45
Dear contributors/Readers of The Governor,<br />
It is less than three weeks now since the idea of The Governor was first mooted, a unified news<br />
platform and monthly magazine focusing on the business of government and governance in Nigeria<br />
and specifically highlighting activities, projects and social transformation initiatives of state<br />
governors in Nigeria.<br />
The platform was launched online on May 5th 2019. The idea was to bridge the gap between state<br />
governments by keeping citizens informed and bringing government closer to the people and the<br />
people closer to government, as well as showcase business and investment opportunities in various<br />
states. In this short time, The Governor has undergone rapid growth and is fast becoming the go-to<br />
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This <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Inaugural</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> in such a short time frame is a tremendous achievement. Clearly there<br />
was scope for a sector specific news platform which could offer fast track insight into the business of<br />
government and governance, whilst maintaining internationally accepted standards of peerreviewed<br />
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The rapid acceptance of The Governor has resulted in a greatly increased workload for the honorary<br />
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As The Governor is evolving, so also have the expectations for publication standards and the<br />
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I would like to thank all the contributors to this <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Inaugural</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> of The Governor, for your<br />
interest in the publication and for granting our request for interviews at very short notice. We are<br />
extremely encouraged by your support and ask that you send us your invaluable feedback and ideas<br />
for further improvement of our publication.<br />
I am indebted to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Adeyinka Igbinoba, for the tremendous support she has<br />
given me since the instigation of The Governor and I am pleased to announce going forward she will<br />
act as Joint Editor-in-Chief of The Governor.<br />
I wish to acknowledge the contributions made by the dedicated members of our Editorial Board and<br />
the hard working, professional staff of The Governor, the media crew at Ibile Foundation Lagos and<br />
AIG Media Pro, who worked day and night to ensure we delivered on our mandate. This <strong>Special</strong><br />
<strong>Inaugural</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> is a testimony to their commitment.<br />
Henry Balogun<br />
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief.<br />
The Governor- The Business of Government | <strong>Special</strong> <strong>Inaugural</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> | May 2019