By Razaq Bamidele
A rights activist and National Convener of the Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), Comrade Razaq Olokoba, has taken a critical look at the 20-point Agenda of the new Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and described the document as a correct working tool.
Recall that the new Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, before his inauguration rolled out a 20-Point Agenda as a compass for his administration.
Olokoba, whose group comprises of over 70 other human rights organisations, simply described the agenda as, “required ingredients for a cosmopolitan and Mega City status like Lagos.”
The group leader, who said the people of Lagos have not made an error in their choice of Sanwo-Olu as the right guy to come up at this critical movement of the state, added that, so far, “history has vindicated us with what we had earlier said that he is the right guy for the job at the moment.”
Speaking further, the youthful activist expressed delight that Sanwo-Olu has started showing his sophistication early enough, stressing that, for a state that would attain the Mega City status; those are the right kinds of programmes the governor must have in mind.
“Against this background, I am not shocked and surprised that he was able to put together that agenda because of where he was coming from,” he submitted.
He spoke further thus: “It has been a sort of concern that Nigeria has been slowing Lagos down in the speed the state has been moving. If you look at the economy of Africa now, Nigeria, sadly, occupies 17th position. But as state in the whole of Africa, there are three states that have attained cosmopolitan status. They are Johannesburg in South Africa, Cairo in Egypt and Lagos in Nigeria. And what makes a city cosmopolitan? It means having sophisticated transport system of the 21st century, enabling environment for business and security of life. All these come together to make a city metropolitan or mega city.
“Even in financial institutions, there are more confidence acceded to Lagos in terms of securing loans from financial institutions like the World Bank.
“You would notice that they put Lagos on privileged list. Not until recently, no country wanted to loan Nigeria money easily.
“But for Lagos, it is not so because you can lend out money to the state without agonising. You would not agonise before you get your money back.
“And even for the PPP, any one that Lagos embarked upon has never run into fiasco from Tinubu and Fashola time.
“And you know we are aware that Sanwo-Olu is also an expert in the line of facilitating funds to move the state forward.
“So, by and large, I have examined the agenda one after the other and I have to congratulate the people of Lagos State that the kind of sophistication they want in a governor that Sanwo-Olu has in abundance,” Olokoba concluded.
