Governing Lagos State in the last four years has come with some peculiar challenges to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who recently marked his 58th birthday, writes KUNLE ODEREMI.
FOR the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babjide Sanwo-Olu, the 2023 elections have indeed come and gone with all attention riveted on . Having renewed his mandate for another four years with the electorate, he has the task of confronting the core challenges arising from a geometric rise in population because of the influx of people from the hinterland to Lagos regarded as the real land of vast opportunities among all the states in the country. Therefore, the occasion of his 58th birthday afforded yet another veritable opportunity for stakeholders in the Centre of Excellence to scrutinise the journey so far under the governor.
Since 1999, the opposition parties have watched from the sidelines the running of government in the state. Before the 2023 general election, political contests had remained a two-horse race with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the leading opposition party. But it literally yielded that position to the Labour Party (LP) in this year’s poll, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) consolidating its hold on to the lever of political power. According to the stakeholders, the governor has been able to sustain the tempo of progress since coming onboard despite some critical times, among them, the Covid-19 pandemic recession and #EndSARS protests. They noted that the state has been on the path of steady development under Sanwo-Olu.as his mid-term score card showed that his administration has worked hard to fulfill his campaign promises to the citizens. They said he has not only promoted inclusion in the party, but also in the government and in the state ,as the burden of more than 20 million diverse people of Lagos, a mini-Nigeria, rests on his shoulders.
With the 2019 election over, Sanwo-Olu had unveiled a THEMES agenda, the thrust of his social contract with the people. THEMES is the acronym for Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism and Governance and Security. When he unfolded the agenda, he set the criteria for assessing his administration.
During his inauguration in 2019, Sanwo-Olu promised to work for a ‘greater Lagos’ through the implementation of ‘six pillars of development agenda.’ The pillars, which he described as the framework that encapsulates his vision, include traffic management and transportation, health and environment, education and technology, making Lagos as a 21st century economy, entertainment and tourism, and security and governance. Sanwo-Olu said: “These six pillars of development represent our response to the yearnings of the people. They constitute the foundations that must be restored for future generations. Should we fulfill our promise and deliver on these pillars, we are most confident that we would have succeeded in setting Lagos on a new trajectory of economic growth and development that would be unprecedented in our entire history.” Party elders, particularly members of the Governsnce Advisory Council (GAC), who have showered encomiums on him for living to expectation during his first year, are optimistic that, judging by his antecedents, he will finish well. Ikorodu APC leaders, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye and Olorunfunmi Basorun, lauded Sanwo-Olu for extending dividends of democracy to the division by constructing 15 roads. “We salute our governor on his birthday and pray that Almighty God shall strengthen him physically and spiritually to continue the relentless and highly qualitative service he is rendering to Lagosians,” they said in a statement.
The age-long challenges that confronted the state, according to the stakeholders, made the contents of the blueprint imperative. For example, traffic management and transportation are a major challenge of mega cities, where survival largely depends on unhindered intra-city transportation. This also has implications for economic activities, health and security. The state government decided to develop the three modes of transportation-roads, rail and waterways. Sanwo-Olu converted the state into a huge construction site by embarking on massive construction and rehabilitation of roads. The state publicity secretary of APC, Seye Oladejo spoke on the issue. He said the governor has done the party and the state proud by fulfilling campign promises, completing many road projects across the local council areas of the state. The intra-city rail projects -the blue and the red lines- fall into the framework of mass transportation in the state. Sanwo-Olu is not relenting in his determination to turn the dream into reality. The completion of the Lagos Rail Mass (LRMT) Blue Line Project ( Mile 2 – Marina) and the Red Line is expected to bring succour commuters. It will save a lot of man hour and foster economic.
In the past two years, Sanwo-Olu commissioned over 600 buses under the Bus Rapid Transport system. He also launched the 500 First and Last Mile Buses. The goal is to provide 5000 FLM buses to cater for inner transportation and replace okada. The waterways are now a safe and reliable mode of transportation. LAGFERRY, the agency in charge of water transportation, has 20 ferries plying various routes in the state. The agency has 15 jetties under construction to boost its operations. They are located in Apaa, Badagry, VIP chalet, Badagry, Italy, Ajido, Badagry, Ilado, Amuwo- Odofin, Ilashe, Ojo, Ito Omu, Epe, Offin, Ikorodu, Takwa Bay, Eti-osa, Ijede waterfront, Ikorodu, Marina waterfront, Badagry, Oke-Ira Nla, Eti-Osa, Liverpool, Apapa, Ebute-ero, Lagos Island, Mile 2, Ijegun-Egba, Ojo. The construction of a command and control centre for the waterways and the procurement of search and rescue boats has enhanced safety on waterways.
The crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the major challenges the governor tackled squarely not to derail the pace of governance. The APC spokesman noted that Lagos State, as the epicenter of the pandemic, responded to the enormous challenge. “The pandemic which crept in as the government was settling down, showcased the governor as a great manager of human and material resources. He displayed the expected political will to lead from the front and ensured the provision of the wherewithal to curtail the pandemic and reduce its impact.” He added that the governor became the reference point in the management of a pandemic and ass such, the state government is now better equipped and prepared to manage similar challenges in future in terms of technical know-how and availability of requisite infrastructure. This is because the government, through the Medical Project Implementation Unit (MPIU), embarked on the upgrade of infrastructure in the state-owned facilities to build a resilient health-care and increase access to health. The implementation cuts across the primary, secondary and tertiary health-care system. The government has completed and equipped 2 Maternal and Childcare Centers (MCC) in Eti-Osa and Badagry. Another 110-bed MCC has been recently completed in Epe. It renovated the Mainland hospital in Yaba with a future plan to converting it to an Institute of Research for Infectious Diseases. The general hospitals at Apapa, Harvey road , Yaba , Isolo, Odan and Ebutte-Metta health Centre were renovated for accessible health care delivery.
Presently, a 280-bed general hospital in Ojo and 150 bed New Massey Street Children’s hospital are under construction. The construction of a 1,500 bed Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre at Ajidun has also been approved. The state government in collaboration with the private sector has completed and handed over an oxygen plant at the Mainland and Gbagada General Hospitals. In the same vein, Triage and Oxygen Centres in 10 locations across the state have been delivered. The welfare of health-care workers has also received attention with the construction of a 24-unit doctors and staff quarters at Gbagada General Hospital.
In its first two years, the government was able to re-energise and re- organise the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Private Sector Participation in Refuse disposal for cleaner Lagos. It launched the LAWMA Academy and expanded the Olusosun Dumpsite to 42 acres to accommodate more waste and ensure that trucks can have a quicker turnaround time. The state government constructed collector drains at various locations across the state. Trapezoidal channels and collector drains were also constructed to check the menace of incessant flooding.
Till date, the Sanwo-Olu administration has completed 1,097 projects in 970 schools across the state. The government has provided blocks of classrooms, administrative offices, school furniture , laboratories and modern toilet facilities across the six education districts. A total of 3, 000 teachers at both primary and secondary schools, were recruited and trained to join the State teaching workforce while those already in service were developed through continuous training to update their skills and knowledge with modern technology. The state government signed an agreement with six private investors for the proposed LASU 8,272-unit hostel.
According to APC elders, “As a party, we are proud that you have kept faith as our flag-bearer and on course to fulfill our progressive manifestos to the delight of all Lagosians. As the second half begins, we are convinced that all projects will be completed and more impactful policies, programs and projects will be implemented as you finish strongly. We can as well start preparing to add the appellation “Your Excellency “ to your name which you have earned in words and deed. Without an iota of doubt, your name will go down in history as the governor who took over at an unusual.”
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