Let Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat finish what they started — with renewed vigour
By Taiwo Obe
Besides that both had been commissioners in the State, there appears to be an unwritten bond that they had to work harmoniously together to transform Lagos State — Nigeria’s economic nerve-centre, which, according to officials, daily receives at least 600 visitors from various parts of the country and beyond, about half of whom do not return to where they came from.
On 29 May 2019, the levers of power of the State were placed in the hands of the duo — Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and Kadri Obafemi Hamzat.
They are vying for a second term in office. The elections are due on Saturday, 11 March 2023.
It is my belief that they should be re-elected.
On 18 December 2018, while they were campaigning for the election which brought them to power, one communications professional, Segun Fafore, captured an interaction between them in their campaign office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Apparently, the T-H-E-M-E-S Agenda, which is the thrust of Sanwo-Olu’s governance model, must have been at the heart of the 18/12/18 conversation captured by Fafore. Do not miss other interesting things about beans, dodo and gari in the discussion.
My review of their performance is based largely on this conversation which reflected much of what they planned to focus on, if they won.
That “Professor” is Akin Abayomi. Before his appointment as health commissioner, he was a professor of clinical medicine at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Emeritus in the University of Stellenbosch’s Department of Pathology and Principal Investigator of the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment (GET) Consortium which addressed bio-security concerns during the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
His hands-on management of the COVID-19 outbreak in Lagos, with the full backing of Sanwo-Olu as the Chief Incident Officer, was exemplary. It was on this basis that he was awarded the 2022 National Productivity Order of Merit Award by President Muhammadu Buhari.
But, of course, much more has happened in upgrading the health sector including the commissioning of four Mother-and-Child Centres in Eti-Osa, Igando, Epe and Badagry — which was specifically mentioned in that conversation; construction of a new 150-bed Massey Street Children Hospital on Adeniji Adele Road and doctor’s quarters and recruitment of several thousands of health workers.
Mrs Folashade Adefisayo and I have been connections on LinkedIn since 2016. She is passonate about education, youth and development. Her experience includes being, from June 2002 to August 2010, the executive director and chief executive officer of the Corona Schools Trust Council, and from September 2010 to August 2014, director of Corona Schoools Trust Council, responsible for the operational management of Corona Secondary School.
In July 2019, she became the commissioner for education in Lagos State, helping to “revamp education…like yesterday,” as Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat vowed in that conversation.
Adefisayo is an active LinkedIn user. She updates her connections and followers about her work in changing the story of the education sector in the State.
Three weeks ago, she featured the unveiling of the new Lagos State Unified Schemes of Work. Commendations and more commendations on this accomplishment.
On 19 October 2022, Governor Sanwo-Olu commissioned new infrastructure in 15 junior and secondary schools across the six education districts in the State — virtually.
Our focus on education is predicated on several complementary interventions, including physical infrastructure, technology, teacher and student welfare, and the reduction of the number of out-of-school children in the state
Sanwo-Olu
Back to that conversation. On that day in December 2018, Sanwo-Olu had journeyed from Ketu to the Campaign Office wading through what he called “a horrendous traffic from Ketu.” This is the dialogue that ensued after he lamented to Hamzat:
So, if the Lagos State Government has been deliberate about delivering the Blue Line and Red Line Metrorail, you can understand that it is to make intra-city commuting easy.
Come, join Lagos resident, Soji Oyawoye, social entrepreneur, life/business coach and author on his trial ride on the Blue Line, which first phase was commissioned on 24 January by President Buhari. He also flagged off work on the second phase. Work continues apace on the Red Line.
The Adiyan Water Works Phase II was started in July 2013 by the Babatunde Raji Fashola Administrator, with completion date put at July 2016, twelve months after the completion of his second term in office on 29 May 2015. Apparently, it was abandoned. During the Sanwo-Olu-Hamzat conversation, Sanwo-Olu stated that it “will be one of the very firsts we will revisit. Pipe-borne water needs to return to homes across Lagos.”
Fafore reports the duo as lamenting the abandonment of many projects “that would have transformed our lives in Lagos.”
So, what has happened to Adiyan Water Works?
In October 2019, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat visited the site and the governor expressed his government’s “commitment to complete the project on time, and as much as possible, on budget.” He talked about issues bordering on Right-of-Way in laying the pipes for water reticulation but also expressed a determination to have that sorted.
A 15 December report quotes the State’s Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, as saying that Sanwo-Olu approved the “compensation to property owners affected by government acquisition to pave way for the execution of Adiyan Water Works project.”
Finally, this 23 February 2023 report quotes the Lagos State Water Corporation as stating that test runs of the Iju and Adiyan Water Works had begun and that the corporation “launched dedicated numbers (07045973012, 07045973013) to report areas or Communities in the State that are experiencing availability of water, Burst pipes, leakages and any act of vandalism.” The story did not provide an independent reporting of the claim.
“From Igando to Ikorodu to Badagry to Epe to Lekki, there are housing projects that can partly address housing deficits in Lagos,” says Sanwo-Olu in that conversation. There are proofs of delivery of housing units in Ikate Elegushi, Ogba-Ijaiye, Sangotedo, Ibeshe, Igando, Badagry and Surulere.
When the conversation focused on Public-Private Partnership as their model for the State’s infastructural development, mention was made of the 4th Mainland Bridge. This project was conceptualised in 2003. The process was kick-started on 27 November 2019 with the issuance of a Request for Expression of Interest (REOI). On 10 February 2020, a Request For Quotation (RFQ) was issued. On 29 December, a preferred contractor — CCECC-CRCCIG Consortium — was announced.
Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat did not talk about a Smart City in that conversation but the “M” in T-H-E-M-E-S is about “Making Lagos a 21st Century economy.” On 7 October 2022, the government launched a Data Centre for a Smart City. They did not talk about a Deep-Sea Port but, according to the project’s Timeline by the Special Assistant on Digital Communications to the Nigerian President on Tolu Ogunlesi, “in October 2019, the Lagos State Government signed a $629 million financing facility with the China Development Bank (CDB). The first tranche of this loan was disbursed by the Bank in April 2021.” The project was completed in October 2022 and commissioned on 23 January 2023.
Meanwhile, approval has been given by Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council for work to start on the Badagry Deep-Sea Port.
So much in infrastructural development and socio-economic improvement has been accomplished in the nearly four years of the incumbent Lagos State Government, and this pair — Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat — working with their team, has demonstrated that they can do much more — with renewed vigour.
I so believe.
- Taiwo Obe is a journalism trainer and lives in Lagos. This article was originally published at medium.com.
