AS LAGOS PREPARE FOR THE GUBER AND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY POLLS




By: Osifeko Mark Olaniyi


Lagosians would have been at the polls to exercise their franchise for the Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections as I currently write if not for the one week postponement by INEC. The postponement has now given all parties one more week to convass votes for their candidates.


As I always posit, I am partisan and not a fencist like some people expect so I am pitching my tent with Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of the APC. 


Lagos has consistently been a Progressive state which evidently has brought a lot of progress to the state through a sustained and rich leadership structure and mechanism that has seen it move from fair to good and better. 


The magical wand Governor Babajide Sanwoolu waded during the COVID-19 pandemic remains fresh in our memories. Lagos became the talking point and shining example in the fight against COVID-19 not just in Nigeria but in Africa and the World. A lot of dignitaries who contacted the virus in Abuja and other cities in Nigeria requested to be flown to Lagos for treatment. The Governor even contacted the virus twice which was a testament to his level of commitment during the rage.


Also, as a Sustainable Development Advocate who believes public funds must be judiciously used to serve the best interest of the people, I challenge anybody to show me any Governor who has completed more ongoing or abandoned projects left by his predecessors than Governor Babajide Sanwoolu has done doing in Lagos since he became Governor. He has completed so many ongoing or abandoned projects that would have been hitherto abandoned to waste which are now serving a lot of beneficial purpose to the citizens.


I was at the Mother and Child Centre yesterday in Epe that was started by Governor Babajide Sanwoolu  but completed and commissioned by Governor Babajide Sanwoolu and the question I asked workers there is where is this crowd of mothers from and where would they have been accommodated if this building was not completed? I later learnt that mothers come from neighbouring communities and to use the hospital.


In the last few weeks, I have toured some parts of Lagos and saw several ongoing projects without media attention and citizens awareness. 


I was in Yaba few days ago and saw a new flyover currently ongoing with several connecting roads been constructed and also saw the ongoing Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board complex.


As an Agriculturist and a , I understand the impact of the Imota Rice Mill that was initiated by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode but recently completed by Gov. Sanwoolu and commissioned by President Muhammad Buhari. The Lekki Free Trade Zone which now houses the Dangote Refinery, Dangote Fertilizer, Deep Sea Port and a lot of upcoming projects was initiated by Gov. Bola Ahmed Tinubu and was nurtured by both Gov. Babatunde Fashola and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Gov. Babajide Sanwoolu is the one taking delivery of all the years of planting and nurturing of what started just as an idea. That is what sustained visionary leadership can bring to a state like Lagos. 


Gov. Sanwoolu is doing pretty well and I am proud of him but he needs to learn from his predecessors by constantly engaging stakeholders and stop being timid about his policies and ideologies. He needs to enshrine stakeholders engagement like Gov. Fashola and Gov. Ambode did during their tenures where citizens are directly engaged periodically in different parts of the state. It is not enough for his Commissioners and SAs to only come on TV to give updates without directly engaging citizens.


Finally, I must express my reservations about the recent reversals of some of his laudable policies. We shouldn't foster a lawless society all in the name of election. Gov. Fashola ran Lagos with stiff laws and never tolerated lawlessness yet, he was overwhelmingly voted by Lagosians. Engagement, Communication and Consistency is key in governance.


Come Saturday March 18th 2023, I am very optimistic that Lagosians will rise above the Ethnic and Religious sentiments being whipped up by few individuals to overwhelming re-elect Governor Babajide Sanwoolu. I also urge us to vote in the House of Assembly candidates from the 40 constituencies to support and sustain the strides of Gov. Babajide Sanwoolu as "a house divided against itself doesn't stand".

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