Repositioning Lagos

IN a little above two years since Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been in office as the governor of Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence has witnessed remarkable repositioning in all sectors. Lagos State has enviably attained a level of development that will practically be difficult for any other state in Nigeria to match. Governor Sanwo-Olu could be said to have literally performed wonders with the infrastructure and economic transformation of the state. Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic that practically crippled global economies, Lagos has continue to flourish. The state has continued to take maximum advantage of its population and seeming endless economic activities to create economic prosperity.  With the challenge of having to carry the burden of over 20 million residents in the commercial nerve center, no sector of the state has been left out in the drive for an all round developmental stride. In just a little above two years of being in office, Sanwo-Olu has greatly impacted the economy of the mini-country state. Lagos State has since become a huge construction site while he has also shown great commitment to the completion of all inherited projects.

It is a known fact that no meaningful economic activity can take place in an atmosphere that is devoid of security. For this reason, Governor Sanwo-Olu had purchased 150 vehicles, four high-capacity troop carriers, 30 patrol cars, and two anti-riot water cannon vehicles for the use of police personnel in the Centre of Excellence. This huge investment has made it possible for security agents to seamlessly ensure maximum protection of lives and properties in Lagos State. The novel Lagos State Security Trust Fund has continue to serve its all important purpose of providing the much needed support for  security agencies in the state. Through this initiative, operational vehicles, communication gadgets and other logistics were readily made available for security agents in the Centre Excellence. It is to the credit of Sanwo-Olu and his ingenuity in security matters that Lagos State now stands out as one of the safest states in Nigeria. Commendably, Sanwo-Olu has committed a huge chunk of resources and attention to ensuring easy, faster and qualitative mass transportation in Lagos State. Sanwo, as he is popularly called, has since embarked on the construction of 100 bus shelters, out of which  78 had already been delivered. Within two years, the hard working governor had commissioned more than 600 buses under the Bus Rapid Transport system. Also launched were the 500 First and Last Mile Buses. Aim of this project is to provide 5000 FLM buses that would cater for inner transportation within Lagos and ultimately serve as replacement for motorcycles that are popularly known as okada.

Sanwo-Olu is also working very hard to deliver the Lagos intra-city rail projects. The Blue and Red lines of this project fall into the framework of mass transportation. As of now, work is already nearing completion on the Lagos Rail Mass (LRMT) Blue Line Project which run from Mile 2 to Marina. Red line of the project is particularly expected to bring great relieve to commuters within the Centre of Excellence. Also, LAGFERRY has equally taken the delivery of 20 ferries that ply various routes in the state on a daily basis. This agency is also working on the construction of 15 jetties across the state to enhance and boost its operations.  The administration has also performed wonderfully well in its response to and the management of coronavirus pandemic in the state. In only two years, Lagos State government had carried out the massive upgrade of infrastructure in the state owned facilities. This was done through the Medical Project Implementation Unit (MPIU) in a bid to build a resilient healthcare and to also increase access to healthcare delivery in the state. This initiative had so far led to the completion and equipping of two  maternal and childcare centers (MCC) in Eti-Osa and Badagry, while another 110-bed MCC was recently completed in Epe. Also, renovation of Mainland Hospital in Yaba had been completed with a future plan to get it converted to an Institute of Research for Infectious Diseases. In the same vein, General Hospitals at Apapa, Harvey road, Yaba, Isolo, Odan as well as Ebutte-Metta Health Centre had been completely renovated to allow for better access to health care delivery in Lagos State.

In addition, administration is also undertaking the construction of 280 Bed General Hospital in Ojo with another 150 Bed New Massey Street Children’s Hospital. Remarkably, Government of Sanwo-Olu had equally approved the construction of another 1,500 Bed Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre at Ajidun. The Sanwo-Olu led administration had likewise collaborated with a private sector investors to deliver Oxygen Plants at the Mainland and Gbagada General Hospitals. This effort was also in addition to the delivery of Triage and Oxygen Centres in 10 locations spread across Lagos State in just two years.  Above all, Lagos State has in the last two years remain very committed to the welfare of healthcare workers. This much was demonstrated with the construction of a 24 Unit Doctors and Staff Quarters at Gbagada General Hospital. Premium priority has also been given to the prompt payment of salaries and allowances of health workers in Lagos State since Sanwo-Olu took over the mantle of leadership. In view of the requisite technical know-how and availability of infrastructure, the Lagos State government is a lot more positioned now for future control and management of any health challenge of whatever magnitude. Another area where Sanwo-Olu also deserves a thumps-up is in the rehabilitation and construction of new road across the length and breath of Lagos State.

In just two years, the ingenious governor had embarked on massive construction of roads which include the Oniru road networks, Ojokoro road network which is 31 in number as well as the Pen Cinema flyover in Agege.

Other road projects already delivered by Sanwo-Olu in just two years were the Oshodi/Abule-Egbe BRT corridor, Phases 1 & 2 of Badagry Expressway, Lagos-Ogun boundary roads, 6 major junction improvements at Lekki1 & 2 , Ajah, Maryland, Ikotun and Allen Avenue.

The governor had equally delivered on Jide Oki / Ade Adedina/ Olugbani streets in Iru/ Victoria Island, Ijegun-Egbe road and Ishuti road in Igando as well as St. Finbarrs road/Diya street in Yaba and Iwaya road.

Not done yet, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had likewise carried the rehabilitation of 216 inner roads in the 20 Local Governments Areas as well as the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) of Lagos State. Road projects that are still ongoing in the state include the Lekki Regional Roads, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Agric-Isawo Road in Ikorodu, Bola Tinubu-Igbogbo-Imota Road, Ijede Road and Oba Sekumade road.

Undoubtedly, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu truly deserve a loud applause for his ingenious   management of the waste generated on a daily basis by the over 20 million residents of Lagos State. Activities of the the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Private Sector Participation in refuse disposal have so far become completely re-energized and re- organized in the determination to achieve a cleaner Lagos.

In the last two years of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration, the LAWMA Academy had been launched while  the Olusosun dump site had equally been  expanded to 42 acres so as to accommodate more waste and ensure a quicker turnaround time by trucks. It is also to the credit of Sanwo-Olu that Trapezoidal channels and collector drains were also constructed across the state to check the incident of incessant flooding in Lagos State.

Performance of the Sanwo-Olu led administration in Lagos State in the educational sector is evidently incomparable. In just two years, 1,097 projects had so far been completed in 970 schools across Lagos State. Also, blocks of classrooms, administrative offices, school furniture, laboratories and toilet facilities have been provided across the six Education Districts of Lagos State.

In a bid to improve the quality of education in the state, Lagos State Government had in the last two years recruited and trained 3000 teachers for the public primary and secondary schools in the state. Similarly, teacher that were already in the state teaching workforce also became exposed to continuous training in an effort to update their skills and also arm them with modern teaching techniques. More so, the APC led administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu had also signed an agreement with six private investors for the construction of 8,272- units hostel at LASU.

The housing sector of Lagos State had also not been left unattended to by the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The administration had undertaken a 3,000 kilometer of metro fibre connection across Lagos State for security enhancement. Also, the government of Sanwo-Olu had only in two years made provision for a fully digital mapping platform in addition to an integrated end to end land administration system which includes integrated land automation system. The administration had equally embarked on the construction of houses for both low and high income earners. Worthy of commendation is the stride of Lagos Mortgage Board in  strengthening the “Rent to Own” policy so as to provide the desired opportunity for many residents especially the first time home owners.

Also worthy of note is the efforts of Governor Sanwo-Olu to grow the agricultural sector and promote food security in the state. In just two years, not less than 879 farmers and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) had so far  benefited from the Lagos Agro-Processing, Prodctivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project. In addition to this effort was the creation of Eko Farmers’ Market for the purpose of  providing ready-made off-takers for farmers to sell their products on a regular basis. Remarkably, the Imota Rice Mill is well positioned to create  250,000 employment opportunities for Lagosians.

Interestingly, several empowerment and poverty alleviation programs had also been rolled out by Lagos State in the last two years. So far, 3,673 businesses had been supported with #1.156 billion. Other economic intervention programmes which include grants, mentorship, business advisory, capacity building and market access opportunities had also been made available to Lagosians.

In addition to these, another 1,835 businesses had likewise been supported with #939.97 million. This in reality, had saved more than 10,000 direct jobs and 40,020 indirect jobs through the MSME Recovery Fund. This is actually an intervention program that is designed to cushion the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses in Lagos State.

The government of Sanwo-Olu had also rolled out the  Lagos Economic Acceleration Programme (LEAP) to reduce the negative impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on small businesses. Thus far, N5 billion EduFund was made available in partnership with First Bank Plc and EdFin FMB. Additional N1 billion was also set up and targeted at businesses in the tourism, hospitality, entertainment, arts and culture sectors.

It is definitely very surprising that Babajide Sanwo-Olu could still manage to perform wonderfully well in just two years, despite the initial challenge of Covid-19 pandemic that almost brought economic activities to a halt in the state. This has undoubtedly convinced that the governor is truly a leader with outstanding leadership qualities. Sanwo-Olu has worked tirelessly to transform and make Lagos State an enviable model of development in Nigeria.

The man is still very much full of zeal, strength and ideas to deliver a greater Lagos.

• Adebisis writes in from Lagos

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