In the three and a half years that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat have been at the helm of the Lagos State House, they have been a perfect study in how to please. Mr. Governor, in his inaugural address at Tafawa Balewa square, emphatically identified the government’s posture as a continuation of one of the development steps that Governor Babatunde Fashola can take, focused and committed to the Lagos blueprint and master plan.
Governor Babajide, like Governor Babatunde, immediately after swearing in, fell to the ground on the same day. He immediately goes to the office for the day’s work schedule, ready to face inherited challenges, controversial issues, etc., because governance is a continuum. He started serious grafts, signed an executive order typifying the tenacity of the purpose he wanted the administration defined by – the start of a new definitive activity.
Sanwo-Olu’s strategic thinking approach to governance paves the way for success through motivational interventions and the well-being of immediate constituencies who will work with him. Civil servants, security forces, army, police, LASTMA, Justice, state doctors, teachers, trade unions and others, thus maintaining a sufficiently motivated workforce as a human resource base that will push material and other development resources. from the country. This is good thinking in an atmosphere where doing a good job without compromise seems difficult given the devastating economic reality and the extreme poverty that is widespread in the country and around the world. No thanks for the COVID challenge.
The Governor’s performance index can best be assessed by the TEMA Agenda, which is like an ambition. The six cardinal program agendas are Traffic Management and transport, ‘H’ for Health and environment, ‘E’ for education and technology, ‘M’ to make Lagos a 21st century economy, the second ‘E’ for Entertainment and Tourism and ‘S’ for Security and Governance.
Mr. Governor typifies the posture of traffic management with lucid orientation enunciated in the popular Television advertorial, ‘A new sheriff in town,’ which should emphasize decorum, orderly behavior and away from showmanship, bigmanism and impunity on our roads. This orientation drive sent jitters down the spine of road commuters that no matter how the cow is gored, the law will take a road. This brings some level of traffic sanity to our roads. The governor did not just speak harshly, a series of arrests were made, and the culprits were brought to the mobile court and sentenced.
Regarding transportation throughout the country, various road infrastructure projects that were initiated during the period under review are still ongoing. Some include the Pen Cinema dual carriage fly over and the Oniru circulation project, among others. The blue line project is completed when the red line is completed. 500 shuttle buses are available for intracity transportation. Waterway infrastructure has been strategically positioned in various locations, especially in Lagos Island, Ikorodu and Iba, with the newly purchased LAGFERRY Vessels operating efficiently. This is some bold infrastructure expansion.
The health and environment sectors are also witnessing a huge boost, with countless primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities. Some include Massey Children’s hospital, the new General Hospital in Ojo and a 500-bed mental health hospital in Ketu Ejirin.
In the field of Education and Technology, the administration of Sanwo-Olu has done very well; the quality of the teaching staff in our primary, secondary and tertiary institutions has been excellent. The governor, in a recent television interview, said 1047 new classrooms were built in less than four years, 197 new school projects were implemented, in addition to touching over 1000 different things in the school, including providing 200,000 new chairs and benches, and 2000 new beds. boarding houses. New Comprehensive Colleges to teach not only book knowledge but also entrepreneurial skills and vocations like music and acting were built, including two additional state universities. All this shows what has been spent 11 percent of the state budget last year.
For example, lectures at the Lagos State University (LASU) are not disrupted with improved staff welfare, LASU housing for staff and the newly commissioned LASU student Arcade. The youth of the country have been given more digital skills. The governor has also given the rehabilitation of digitized public school libraries here. While the entrepreneurs are supported with capital from the Lagos state Employment Trust Fund, the Lagos Employment Initiative (JIL) also provides support initiatives.
The entertainment/tourism, security and government sectors also witnessed a huge boost. The JK Randle Onikan cultural center and many social intervention initiatives are credited to the ministry of culture and tourism.
The Future of Lagos: Setting the Agenda for 2023 and Beyond
Lagos as a cosmopolitan city is overcome by serious security challenges. The challenge of the mass migration of immigrants from Niger, Chad, Mali, Senegal to Lagos and neighboring towns that is almost unchecked every day is a problem. A former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos and now the Director of APC Strategic Communications Campaign Council, Dele Alake indicated on a Television program that 33,000 or more people move daily to Lagos and it is more worrying that there is no record of their existence. There is a causal relationship between the influx of Aliens into Lagos state and the surge in criminal activities of Aliens in the crime sector especially in the kidnapping and okada assisted crime areas of Lagos. But again, Governor Kudus and his security team have done well by taking the bold step of banning the activities of okada riders in other parts of Lagos.
• Olabode Ayo-Phillips is a member of the directorate of Publicity, Tinubu / Shettima, Sanwoolu / Hamzat Independent Campaign Council, Lagos.
Another threat that is rapidly threatening public order and peace, security of life and property is street culture. Street cults are the end product of our systemic failure to curtail the entrenched budding culture of tertiary institutions. But the success story begins with the quality and readiness to face the task of eradicating cultism/street cultism with the power of the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi. The former commissioner of police in Lagos, Imohimi Edgar, who was later reassigned deserves commendation and a Lagos state special award for a public servant who has distinguished himself in his duties and service to Lagos state. Imohimi, during his tenure launched an unforgettable confrontation in Godfathers, some traditional rulers and cult children almost everywhere in Lagos, arresting mostly the main cult godfathers in Imota, Ikorodu, Somolu and, Bariga.
Agricultural Revolution: Nigeria is on the brink of a terrible paralysis of decadence. All Applied economic panaceas only worsen the situation. Actors and state institutions responsible for managing the economy are singing, songs that are not harmonious have no synergy whatsoever, eagles cannot hold eagles, things have collapsed and the center is breathing. Sam Amadi, professor of social and political thought said, “Nigeria’s economy has collapsed and needs more than a team of geniuses to revive and stabilize. The crisis is beyond the economy, if Nigeria does not fast-track and prioritize economic growth and distribution justice as quickly as possible, it will submerge irretrievably in the failure of the state”. In all this, if Lagos the most vibrant state in Nigeria does not take strategic proactive steps in leading the current agricultural revolution, through collaborative and cooperative active participation Agricultural especially with Lagos state actors will also be overwhelmed by the concomitant effects of the state guagmire. . Suffice it to say that all major presidential candidates have promised transformative economic development. Let us start restructuring Nigeria’s own political economy, change its trajectory and by extension Lagos improve its economic well-being with a more robust Agricultural revolutionary policy.
In Lagos, we need to expand the good products offered by the state ministry of agriculture, in terms of better loan facilities and ease of doing agriculture in the state. It is quite respectable. But the exigencies of the Nigerian situation require more. Considering agriculture as a very important activity, where the Governor immediately takes the front line in the right way when dealing with COVID-19 as an incident commander. In fact they will save more people from dying from poverty than from COVID. It will not be a bad idea for all ministries and agencies to have Farms This is the way to move from consumption to production state and Lagos state should lead in that regard especially with the collaboration and cooperation of other states. The fact is that the federal government and most state ministries are only paying lip service to agriculture in this country with polite policies and bureaucratic and administrative congestion. Professor Femi Ajayi, a professor of agriculture at Obafemi Awolowo University lamented that the central bank is locking up billions for farmers through these bottlenecks and most real farmers cannot access the funds. Shehu Muazu, the financial secretary of the federal rice farmers association also gave a hard knock on the CBN on Tuesday’s Live Program, NTA, where he insisted that the direct intervention of the CBN in rice production is a setback, because exclusive politics make it. the new structure itself while destroying the existing structure of rice farmers who stated that in 2020-total rice production is 27% while in 2022-total production drops to 23%. This is despite the rice pyramid that many call it. It is our suggestion that the Lagos State Government should encourage, collaborate and cooperate with research Institutions for optimal results.
We must commend the Lagos House of assembly for being sensitive to the rising cost of Living in Nigeria and urge the Federal Government to urgently address the farmers/herdsmen clashes and floods that have negative effects on the country’s food security. The House of Assembly must work in synergy with the Governor’s team to lead the agricultural revolution from Lagos through the facilitation and approval of the need for funds and interventions for product initiatives. This is the path to success.
All said, Governor Sanwoolu over the years in the review has demonstrated a great capacity to listen to various opinions, dissenting alike, little wonder the success of the people centric policy to push his eventful administration. The Governor, a very hard working man, diligent and smart in the way he discharges his statutory duties and so on. With Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu as the second Governor, the future of Lagos can only be guaranteed, insured and secured.
• Olabode Ayo-Phillips is a member of the directorate of Publicity, Tinubu / Shettima, Sanwoolu / Hamzat Independent Campaign Council, Lagos.