Governor Ambode’s second term bid

FROM time immemorial, great thinkers have made us know that the “world always turns aside to let a man pass who knows where he is going.” This can be said to hold true for Governor Akinwumi Ambode. Shortly after the seasoned accountant was sworn in as the fifth elected Governor of Lagos State, he was roundly pestered with criticisms, especially from those who doubted if his tenure would ever be signposted with landmark achievements. Whether fairly or unfairly, many had rushed to the assumption that he was one of those favoured but ill-prepared political godsons who find themselves at the corridors of power by the dint of luck, insinuating whether the amiable former Accountant General had what is required to sustain the frenetic tempo of governance the state has enjoyed since the return of democracy in 1999.

Today, without any shred of doubt, Governor Ambode has proved all the naysayers wrong in many ways. Although the Epe-born leader is not a sporting star, his style and approach to governance in the last 31 months have shown that he indeed is a long distance runner. Like a marathon runner, the former Accountant General always has his gaze fixed on the long-term picture when it comes to policy enunciation and delivery. Because he is never swayed by immediate gains, the governor has brought into governance a huge dose of meticulous planning and brilliant-cum rigorous execution of policies and projects – all aimed at delivering unbeatable services that can leave enduring impact in the lives of Lagosians. Despite being a reserved and unobtrusive person, it is an open secret that Ambode’s love for public service is tempered with a pragmatic approach geared towards meeting the needs of the citizens regardless of their class, ethnic or religious affiliations in an all-inclusive approach, being a man who believes that the main purpose of government is the protection of lives and property of the residents.

In all of his monumental achievements in all the nooks and crannies of the state, which are like an open book for all to see, it is an incontrovertible fact that the governor’s over 27years’ experience in the state civil service have played a role in the way and manner he runs the affairs of a complex state. Even the opposition in the state has agreed that Governor Ambode has delivered on his inaugural promise to “make Lagos work for everyone” and lead an inclusive government. But there is a method to his achievements. Since he took the reins of government in May 2015, he has strategically embarked on periodic town-hall meetings, where he often hears the pains and challenges directly from the residents with a promise to alleviate their sufferings. And such promises are often instantly kept, most times immediately on the spot.

Because he is well prepared for the job, the former accountant general seems to have seen light where other saw darkness; hope where his contemporaries have resigned to fate in this era of a paucity of fund imposed by the recession. Since his development projects cut across all the nooks and crannies of Lagos, nobody has been able to paint the governor with a brush of “governor of the elite and the business class.” As his administration cares for the rich in the state, people in the lower rung of the social ladder – who are in the majority – are not left behind. Undoubtedly, his first three months in office were very challenging coupled with massive traffic gridlock that took over the major roads in the state metropolis. Worried by the developments, he embarked on a tour of the trouble spots (traffic-prone areas) with a view to carrying out on-the-spot assessment and proffering a lasting solution to the problem. After assessing the problems, Governor Ambode came up with a blueprint to ease transportation in the state. Hence, the idea of construction of inner-city roads across the state, fly over bridges and pedestrians bridges where necessary to further ease transportation in the state emanated. All these have worked to the delight of Lagosians!

That is why, in his first year in office alone, over 500 roads were rehabilitated and reconstructed with flyovers bridges and lay-bys. In what is touted as an innovation in governance, most of the roads were selected by the stakeholders of the communities who benefited from the road project. A few months later, 114 roads were also constructed across the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Areas. The consequence is that, in the last two and half years, Lagosians have adjusted to the sweet ‘pains’ of having the dear state become a huge construction site with arrays of projects that are dictated by the public needs and yearnings. Even critics have admitted that the distribution of projects is not skewed in favour of any group or section; they are evenly distributed across the five division of Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos, Epe and ultimately the three senatorial districts. In addition to the 500 road rehabilitation in the first phase, the governor has also earmarked 189 inner city roads in the second phase. Some of the completed roads include Ago Palace Road, Capitol Road, Ajasa command Road, Ejigbo-Ikotun Road, Okota Road, Isolo, Metal Box Road, Ogba, Daleko Road, Mushin Brown Street, Brown Street and the network of roads in Alimosho and Epe. To address the traffic gridlock in the areas, the administration also constructed Fly-over Bridge in Ajah and Abule-Egba. The Berger pedestrian bridges and multiple lay-bys as well as slip roads were also constructed in response to the yearnings of the residents and to enable them to navigate the ever-busy bus stop and to put a stop to the recurrent loss of lives of people in an attempt to cross the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Of course, the icing on the cake in terms of social infrastructure is the “light-up” project, which the government has also embarked upon. With the sustained light-up project embarked upon by this administration, residents now have a Lagos that is not only safe in terms of security but also in terms of moving and driving around at any point in time. Unknown to people outside the state, light-up Lagos is not about street light; it is also about connecting hitherto neglected communities one-by-one back to the national grid. All the roads constructed and rehabilitated by the administration were also connected to the light-up project.  Aside from the fact that many projects progressed steadily in the year and ongoing such as the world-class Oshodi Transport Interchange, Airport Road, Pen Cinema Flyover, 20 border town roads in Agbado Oke-Odo, Oworonshoki tourism hub project, waterways channelization, among others, many projects were completed and commissioned. With the same gusto, Ambode is leaving his footprints with monumental achievements in the health sector.

Besides commissioning 20 Mobile Intensive Care Units ambulances and 26 Transport ambulances deployed across the various General Hospitals, Ambode also commissioned the first state-owned helipad for medical emergencies at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). This was followed by the recruitment of more paramedic staff and medical coordinators while the General Hospitals were upgraded with standby generator purchased for each of them. Similar giant strides are also being recorded in sectors such as security, safety, environment and administration of justice, to mention just a few. As Jonas Salk said, the only “reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” And if the reward for hard-work is more work, as management scholars have often posited, is it not in the overall interest of the state to allow Lagosians to enjoy four more years of Ambode’s Midas touch?

• Dr. Abdul-Lateef is the Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs