TheCable

BY BABAJIDE FADOJU

In terms of growth and development, it is safe to say that Lagos is indeed the centre of excellence among sub-national governments in Nigeria. This would not have been possible but for the great leaders who have emerged from time past, especially Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who set the path, fixed the tracks and ensured the road map to sustainable progress is being followed.

These past governors have always made a positive impact. The successive governments in Lagos has delivered the mandate for each tenure by aggressively pushing aside all forms of hindrances or selfish intentions and putting the progress and comfort of Lagosians first.

To mention a few, great governors like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Mr Babatunde Fashola, and Mr Akinwunmi Ambode have made history by positioning Lagos state as a true centre of excellence among states in Nigeria since 1999.

It is no surprise that the incumbent governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has, in the past three years, impressively followed the legacy of his mentor and political father, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who had in his own time laid an enduring foundation for those who became governors of Lagos state after him and those who will still be.

This foundation was laid through diligent planning and execution of the famed 25-year Socio-Economic and Political Development Plan.

The leadership of Sanwo-Olu has come with some distinct achievements which include; the construction of over 308 roads, the repositioning of the health sectors through the building of more health centres at the grassroots, and a free health policy for children below 18 years and adults above 65 years of age.

Millions of Lagosians were treated for eye-related problems through the blindness prevention program. Sensitization on the control and prevention of HIV/AIDS was done through the Lagos State AIDS Control centre. Also, an extra ministerial department was created to complement the Eko free Malaria treatment program. Also known as RollBack Malaria treatment, millions of Lagosians were treated daily. In addition to this, several specialized clinics were built to combat diseases like tuberculosis and polio management. To further improve the effectiveness of the medical team, dozens of ambulances were provided to ensure quick and safe movements of patients who were in need of emergency.

During his tenure, partnership in health between the government and private sectors was greatly promoted.

One of the projects which caught the World Health Organization’s attention and placed Nigeria as the fourth-best country in the world was how Lagos state impressively curtailed the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. This great accomplishment will remain in the hearts of many Nigerians and Lagosians in particular.

Before Sanwo-Olu took the government of Lagos, refuse disposal and management was a huge challenge. Sanwo-Olu reorganised LAWMA and empowered them to do their job. Within weeks, refuse disappeared from the streets. Also, following in Asiwaju’s steps, Governor Sanwo-Olu takes the environment as a highly important sector of the state and therefore donated 60 units of 24 cubic meter trucks, 12 loaders and 30 units of 12 cubic meter trucks to further enhance effective and efficient service delivery across the state.

In the educational sector, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu introduced the “One Day Governor” event which allows a winner who must have competed with a couple of students through academic intellectual tests to serve as the governor of Lagos state for a day and this is also being sustained by the Sanwo-Olu administration. In addition to this, the governor took charge of the payment of WAEC and NECO exams and created a more conducive environment for learning for students all over Lagos state.

He did not stop at that, he also heavily touched the housing sector as well as the transportation sector of the state.

The Ministry of Works has been positioned to encourage private sector participation. This has changed the history of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation. In the last three years, the Sanwo-Olu-led administration has delivered over 3,000 housing units to the stock of available houses in the state for homeowners.

Also in the area of infrastructure, Governor Sanwo-Olu has done a lot of great deeds to ensure Lagos’ economy remains competitive and support the mobilisation of more private sector investment. Some of the projects he carried out are; the Lagos-Ogun boundary roads, Lekki-Oniru Traffic circulation projects, Pen Cinema Flyover and road networks in Somolu, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island. The Lekki-VGC Regional Road and Lekki-Epe-Ibeju road expansion projects are transformational infrastructural projects that will improve the quality of life. Rehabilitation of inner-city roads in 57 local development areas as well as local government areas, and commissioning of BRT lane in Oshodi-Abule Egba among others bear eloquent testimony to Sanwo-Olu’s record of performance.

In the area of transportation, the Sanwo-Olu administration has continued to improve on what he met on ground. He reorganised LAMATA, LASTMA, LAGFERRY and other agencies within the transport sector for better performance.

In addition to these great works, Governor Sanwo-Olu has given many youths a means of survival through the agricultural value chain enterprise activation program he created. He has also not just focused on the youths but also trained more women to become self-reliant and to become employers of labour. More impressively, he has continued to reach out to people through incentives including payment of N40,000 to unemployed youths, grants to business owners and startups and also providing direct gratifications to widows to further eradicate poverty in the state.

In sports, Governor Sanwo-Olu did well by encouraging Chioma Ajunwa who won the long jump event at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 with a three-bedroom apartment of her own in Lagos. This act will further charge our youths who are in the field of sports to continue to make Nigeria proud.

Therefore, it is safe to say that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has indeed learnt a lot from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the man who laid the foundation for excellence in Lagos state. Continuing into his last year in his first tenure and going into a second term, he will continue to introduce great projects and admirable changes in Lagos thereby making the state worthy of emulation by others. It will amount to a careless move to stop a government that has just begun its developmental journey. The great people of Lagos must support Sanwo-Olu to finish strong and propel him into a new term in office.

Sanwo-Olu must finish what he started!