By Okey Ugwu
World over, great nations and societies are built by leaders who understand the place of empathy in governance and leadership. These are leaders who jettison parochial interest for the common good.
Despite the pressures by sycophants and henchmen around them to compromise, they remain a shining armour and distinguish themselves by living above the fog of public life, performing the uncommon and unique things that hence transform their societies and drive collective economic prosperity.
Down here in Nigeria, by all indices of good leadership, only a very few leaders fit in into the above description.
Since his assumption of office as Governor of Lagos state in 2019, Gov Sanwo Olu left no one in doubt of his bold ideas and visions to re-engineer Lagos state and make it greater through his six pillars of development, known as Project T.H.E.M.E.S. This development agenda was carefully formulated to tackle the problems identified in sectors that are strategic to the growth of Lagos State.
As a man of bold ideas and eager to hit the ground running, on the first day of assumption of office, Gov Babajide Sanwo Olu signed the first Executive Order that contained strategy on management of traffic and transportation in the state. The State’s traffic management agency was authorised and empowered to operate two daily shifts to control traffic up to 11pm. The result is the obvious gradually decongesting of roads across the state.
Gov Sanwo Olu through the Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme, has transformed the Agricultural sector in Lagos state.
Many youths in the state have being trained in various agricultural practices which has gone a long way to giving them a means of livelihood and sustenance.
He has seen to the training of over 12,000 women, thousands of youths in the State have been empowered across the several value chains.
In addtion to this, Lagos State witnessed 127% growth in Q1 2021 in revenue inflow. The Lagos State Government has also continued to ensure the training and facilitation of more women, youths and the employed to become employers of labors and to become self dependent.
In addition to this litany of achievements, Gov Sanwo Olu didnt stop, he faced the environmental sector and made sure Lagos despite its population maintains a very clean environment.
This he achieved by acquiring and donating 30 units of 12-cubic meter trucks, 60 units of 24-cubic meter trucks and 12 hook loaders which is expected to compliment over 850 PSP compactor trucks to enhance service delivery in under-served communities across the State.
Nevertheless, in the area of public transportation, the integrated mass transportation initiative has also recorded huge progress with the successful completion of the elevated seas crossing track of the blue line mass transit project while also recruiting 1,017 LASTMA officers to ease traffic flow. The State Government availed itself of the three modes of transportation -roads, rail and waterways to boost public transportation in Lagos State.
Just in the last 24 hours, Lagos State announced the acquisition of two new speed trains for its Red Line metro project, a 37-kilometre intracity railway system and will traverse eight stations and move passengers from Agbado to Oyingbo.
The governor has also started work on the 27.5km Blue Line Rail project which is expected to commence commercial operations between the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 and when completed, it will be the first operational metro system in West Africa.
Suffice to say that Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu is a silent achiever who Without any iota of doubt whatsoever has gainfully used the THEMES template to transform Lagos State beyond the imagination of many Lagosians, making Lagos a modern Mega City with a 21st century economy supported by a world class infrastructure and other social amenities.
Like the saying goes, when a road is good, it will be passed severally. It is important that Lagosians queue behind this man of vision as he continues to churn out developmental projects for the people of Lagos.
Okey Ugwu writes from Lagos
