Many parts of the world came out of the Covid-19 pandemic poorer. Many states in Nigeria, too, but Lagos State came out of it richer, more vibrant, more digitized, and globalized. Rising prosperity becomes evident not based on who you are or where you live, but what you are doing in the state. Possibilities become open to all as Lagos works for all, courtesy of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwoolu came into office in 2019 on the back of what is termed the THEMES agenda, his development template. The acronym THEMES means: Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment Education and Technology. This is being used now to transform Lagos State beyond the imagination of many people, with the state rolling out various highly commendable projects and initiatives to create happiness for all .
A tested and trusted professional, management expert and consummate administrator, Sanwo-Olu’s management skills, administrative acumen and his personal attributes of humility and empathy are making things work out. This is why in just 757 days in office, under very difficult conditions occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic and the unfortunate EndSARS protest, he has been able to record many achievements across the THEMES agenda.
He told Lagos electorate during the electioneering that his administration would governance from where his predecessors had stopped. This is exactly what he has done.
The near abandoned Lagos Homs in Igando was completed and commissioned, the Agege Pen Cinema bridge, which was roughly at 19 to 20% foundational level when he assumed office in May 2019 had been completed, with additional roads network, the Igbogbo Ikorodu housing project, the BRF Housing Estate, Iponrin, Lagos Homs in Lekki, several roads across the metropolis started by the immediate past administration have all been completed and commissioned.
For Governor Sanwo-Olu, it does not matter who started what project. What’s important is completion of those projects for the greatest good of the people. It is all about the people of Lagos State.
Late last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranked Nigeria as the fourth best country in the World in terms of prompt efforts to curtail and contain the harsh effects of covid 19 pandemic. Arguably Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration effort contributed immensely to this rating. This is because since Lagos is the epicentre of the epidemic in Nigeria, the major contribution to that sterling performance by Nigeria must be attributable to the contribution of the Lagos State government. True indeed. At that time, the governor was able to lead a formidable and efficient professional team which saw to the effective management of the situation, thereby curtailing what would have been a devastating pandemic in Lagos state.
Praises should also go to the Governor with his performance in the area of transportation infrastructural development. Concerned about giving Lagos a reliable intermodal system of transportation, the Governor has been making heavy investments in waterways, the light rail projects as well as road transportation to make life easier for Lagosians.
Two the light rail projects are on the verge of completion. These are the blue and red rail lines.The Blue line is the one on the Lagos-Badagry Express Road. On that rail corridor. The first phase of the Blue Line, which is from Mile 2 to Marina will become operational at the end of this year. Whilst this blue line is an excites Lagosians, the Red line project that is the real talk of the town now.The Red Line is the existing rail corridor that uses Lagos-Ibadan alignment, which belongs to the Federal Government. Lagos state government looked at the composition of the track and checked the need to have a rail track that fits the kind of intra-city train they want. They have a standard gauge, and are building eight stations in all the corridors from Alagbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba and Ebute-Meta, which is the first phase of it. The second phase of it will get to Iddo and eventually terminate at Marina. It will do lagoon crossing to Marina. This will happen at the same time as the Blue line is being completed. So, Lagosians will enjoy actively working trains; two rail lines by the third or fourth quarter of this year.
Sanwoolu is very upbeat about these rail projects. In a recent interview, the governor declares:
“I dare say that we are about the only sub-national anywhere in the world that is being audacious to build a rail infrastructure by itself. People will say Lagos doesn’t have a rail line; they say we should go and check Ethiopia, Egypt and Senegal. I say to them, those are countries; you are right. In Addis Ababa, it is the country of Ethiopia that is building it. So, Lagos felt we need to have our mark there. While growing up, we missed it at some point; about 30, 40 years ago. So, we have been very audacious in this conversation, and we said let us actually do this.”
The State Government has also reduced traffic congestion in some critical parts of Lagos with continuous road infrastructure, junction improvements and opening up more communities with new link roads and bridges.
Residents of Ikorodu are also strong in Sanwoolu’s road master plan. There are ongoing projects, such as Oba Sekumade Road leading to Ogolonto, the Igbogbo-Baiyeku Road and the road that leads to Old Shagamu, Agric-Isawo. The Fourth Mainland Bridge is also a work in progress. This is a 37-kilometre ring-road from Lekki-Ajah axis, crossing the water, going all the way behind Ikorodu, and eventually terminating on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In Badagry, Sanwoolu is building three jetties to fully utilise the waterways from there to other parts of Lagos. Two of the jetties have been completed and people have started using them. The third one, called the Badagry-Marina, is about to be completed. With 3 jetties already in Badagry, people will be able to move from a place like Ikoyi-Falomo and Liverpool in Apapa and straight to Badagry in about 20 to 25min, without having to come in on the express road.
More than 51 major infrastructural projects such as the Pent Cinema fly over, ramp and road networks, Lagos-Ogun Boundary roads Phase II, Lekki Oniru Traffic Circulation Projects, network of roads in Ojokoro , Somolu and Ikoyi, among others. The administration also constructed and rehabilitated 301 inner roads in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). It also commissioned the Oshodi-Abule Egba BRT lane. The Eleko junction to Epe concrete pavement road construction is ongoing. These road projects were executed to bring comfort and succor to the people of Lagos.
Dear to the heart of the administration is public transportation. The integrated mass transportation initiative of the state, on the watch of Governor Sanwoo-olu, has recorded huge progress with the successful completion of the elevated seas crossing track of the blue line mass transit project. In the master plan, there are about seven rail lines. These include Green Line, Yellow Line, Purple Line and Orange Line. Red and Blue line rails will be the pioneers in the rail sector , Lagos Urban Transport Master Plan, ongoing projects in different parts of the State,
While these intermodal transport schemes are on, road traffic is on the front burner. Sanwoolu has recruited about 1,017 LASTMA officers to ease traffic flow.
The State Government availed itself of the three modes of transportation of roads, rail and waterways to boost public transportation in Lagos State.
In the Agricultural sector, through the Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration has trained many youths in various agricultural practices which has gone a long way to giving them a means of livelihood and sustenance. He has seen to the training of over 12,000 women, thousands of youths in the State have been empowered across the several value chains.
In addition to this , the State witnessed 127% growth in Q1 2021 in revenue inflow. The Lagos State Government has also continued to ensure the training and facilitation of more women, youths and the employed to become employers of labors and to become self dependent.
Also adding to this long list of achievements, are positive activities in the Environmental sector. In this particular area of Environment, Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration in close to three years in office has invested significantly in the waste collection capacity of LAWMA as well as significant improvement in drainage management and maintenance. In order to secure a clean Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu donated 30 units of 12-cubic meter trucks, 60 units of 24-cubic meter trucks and 12 hook loaders which is expected to compliment over 850 PSP compactor trucks to enhance service delivery in under-served communities across the State.
Governor Sanwo-Olu has also made significant impact in the lives of millions of Lagosians in the areas of Health and Environment. He believes that nothing should be spared to give Lagosians quality health care and that’s why he has made a lot of intervention in the health sector.
Apart from the comprehensive renovation of medical facilities at various Health Centres and General Hospitals in the State, the State is also developing new facilities, such as the New Massey Children Hospital, New General Hospital, Ojo and a Rehabilitation and Mental Health facility in Ketu Ejinrin. The State Government is also building a 300-bed Isolation Centre and a Research Institute at IDH, Yaba. It has also improved maternal and child health with the provision of the Mother and Child Centres (MCCs) in Eti-Osa, Igando, Badagry and Epe.
Under social welfare programmes, the governor has continued to reach out to the people with various incentives to boost their standard of living, notable in this category is the payment of allowances of N40,000 monthly to 4000 unemployed graduates, including some direct gratification to widows. Grants have also been made available to business owners in the state to provide much needed financial supports and assistance to their various business enterprises, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which negatively impacted on many businesses including MSME as well as the nation’s economy.
Even in sports, Governor Sanwo-Olu still had the positive disposition to give consideration to Chioma Ajunwa by fulfilling the commitment by donating a three bedroom apartment to her in Lagos as a fulfilment of the House Reward promised her for wining the Long Jump event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Sanwo-Olu has passion for quality education. This has been the driving force behind his numerous interventions to revive things in that sector. In reviving the education sector in Lagos State. For some time now, the bulk of Sanwo-Olu’s attention has been divided between empowering the members of his cabinet with the resources they need for good governance and gunning for the achievement of his digitalization of secondary school education in Lagos.
Late last year, Sanwo-Olu commissioned a structure for education, with 18 blocks serving as classrooms. The newly-constructed Elemoro Community Junior Secondary School was also furnished with sporting facilities, showing that Sanwo-Olu intends to drive the potentials of young Lagosians to the maximum, squeezing out every gift they have for formal (classroom) learning and extracurricular activities.
The Elemoro school is only the latest of Sanwo-Olu’s grand momentum. Sanwo-Olu’s efforts have yielded very ripe fruits, including a mass transformation in mentality regarding formal education. Apart from underprivileged Lagosians who now have access to educational resources and tutoring, even older people can now stretch their minds and allow innovative learning to recondition their lives for the better.
His administration has completed more than 1,097 school projects in just two years, built six secondary schools, provided over 100,000 tables and chairs, provided 2,000 hostel beds in model schools and recruited over 2,000 teachers for public schools. It also introduced EKO EXCEL – an education reform programme targeted at developing highly skilled teachers through training, support and motivation, which has reached about 1,009 schools, 13,000 teachers and 450,000 pupils.
Sanwo-Olu will be remembered, just like Ahaji Kayode Jakande, for prioritizing and improving education, in the years to come.
with regard to security and governance in the State , he is doing much. His administration has worked tirelessly to ensure that Lagos is safe and secure for residents. Hence the flourishing of night economy.
Under Sanwoolu, the state government is working on strategies to ensure that the state’s economy is more diversified, adequately connected, and safe for investors, and this is yielding some results today. For a long time, poor infrastructure and widespread insecurity have made it near-impossible for cities to operate the night economy, leading to massive loss of potential revenues by state government. However, things are changing as Sanwoolu, is making efforts to ensure Lagos residents enjoy the benefits of night economy, and a number of entrepreneurs and small businesses have keyed-in into the dream, against all odds.
Of course, since the return to democracy in 1999, Lagos has shown its desire to become Africa’s model megacity, and one of the ways it has expressed this is through its commitment to running a 24/7 economy. Now with the vibrancy and expansion of the night economy, Lagos hardly sleeps. And many believe that the city has genuine reasons to be awake all the time. Their reason is that millions in the city make their money late at night; defying the daunting challenges those hours often pose.
All over Lagos, men and women and even teenagers are part of the burgeoning tribe whose members make the night their day. Call them kings and queens of the night; that indeed is what they are – people who rule the nights the way the gods do.
A segment of Lagos population in season and out of season runs a potpourri of businesses that keeps the city bubbling with night life, thereby keeping Lagos awake. Among those businesses are foods and drinks, sales of various items, transport services, night clubbing and casino undertaking, leisure, entertainment management and many more. And many believe that a lot of those night-hour businesses contribute largely to the country’s economy.
Of course, Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial capital and largest economy, but with a rapidly rising Gross Domestic Product (Lagos contributes approximately 25% of Nigeria’s total GDP) and an estimated population of about 25 million people, the city is projected to become the continent’s leading economic hub in the nearest future. Expectedly, the government’s strategies to ensure that the state’s economy becomes more diversified, adequately connected, and safe for investors, is yielding much results today. No wonder, the vibrancy and growth of night economy.
This night economy would never have been possible without government investment in security. Now security agencies in Lagos State can boast of modern crime fightingequipment. In June 10, 2021 President Muhammadu Buhari joined Governor Sanwo-Olu to officially handover patrol vehicles and security equipment to security agencies in Lagos State.
The equipment were; 150 Double Cabin Vehicles, 30 Saloon Patrol Vehicles, 1,000 Ballistic Vests, 1,000 Ballistic Helmets, 1,000 Handheld Police Radios/Walkie Talkies, 100 Security Patrol Bikes, two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), four High Capacity Troop Carriers, two Anti-Riot Water Cannon Vehicles and Office/Command Furniture and other Ancillary Support Resources.
He has also done well in agriculture. Under the Agro-Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS) Women and Youth Empowerment Scheme (WYEP), 350 have graduated being the batch 1. Out of these beneficiaries, 165 majored in the poultry value chain, 35 in the rice value chain and 150 in the aquaculture value chain. The thrust of the project is to increase farmers’ productivity, production, and improve the processing and marketing of the target value chains, which would foster job creation along identified value chains.
The Imota Rice Mill in Lagos is nearing completion. The 38 metric tonnes per hour mill will be one of the biggest on the continent when completed. It is expected to throw up between 1000 and 1,500 jobs and positively impact the rice value chain that will produce 2.4 million bags of 50kg rice yearly.
The governor also unveiled a five-year master plan that would guide the state’s intervention and investment in agriculture for a long-term return with the objective to reduce food importation and over dependence on finished products from outside the country.
The state government is also in the process of establishing the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (LACE) to drive fish production in the state. The centre will have a hatchery with a capacity to produce 50 million fish – enough to supply 5,000 smallholder farms. It will also include a 24,000 tonnes feed mill and a 20,000 tonne capacity fish processing centre. He said that the annual demand for fish in the state was 374,000 tonnes, considerably below the state’s current 155,000 tonnes of production.
Going by his track records and achievements in office over the last three years, Sanwoolu has done well, making Lagos work for all.
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