The creation of Lagos State in 1967 marked the beginning of a complex developmental journey. Since its inception, the state has been led by individuals with varying leadership styles, administrative skills, and visions for development. Within this continuum, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, who assumed office in 2019 can be counted to being the apex. Therefore, having been in the saddle for six years, it won’t be out of place if an appraisal of his tenure comes under the telescope.
To appreciate the essence of this article, it may be necessary to understand that a man who is too preoccupied with working round the clock for the state while taking no time to blow his own trumpet or “praise-sing” his own achievement deserves an assessment form the citizenry.
A drive round the state clearly shows that there is a silent developmental revolution going on and therefore, citizens who are witnesses to these achievements cannot stand aloof without at least showing it to the man and his team that electorates are watching their performances in office. We, as beneficiaries must show that we are not unaware of the economic growth, large-scale infrastructure, transportation reform, education, healthcare, environmental resilience and urban renewal that are taking place before our eyes. We are aware that the priority of the government is on transport, major road construction, public school rehabilitation, hospital upgrades, and climate adaptation measures among others.
One major high point of the administration is in the area of transportation which include the commissioning of the Blue Line (2023) and Red Line (2024), expansion of BRT corridors and road rehabilitation projects across the five divisions of the state. These have reduced travel times in many corridors. However for sustainability of the infrastructures, there is need to ensure that citizens use the facilities judiciously. This projects apart from their functionality also add a good measure of aesthetics to Lagos. Therefore, there is need to imbibe decency in the citizens and users by letting them know that public properties need to be protected by everybody. Also, Proper policing of these facilities is essential to forestall abuse by vandals and other ignorant citizens who see government properties as unworthy of protection.
Apart from transportation, the administration of Governor Sanwo-0lu has scored highly in the area of the environment with focus on flood control, waste management reforms and climate action initiatives. In many flood prone areas, the efforts on drainage constructions and rehabilitation are commendable. The extensive creation of pull factors that encourage investors to come to the state while putting in place the push factors to ward-off environmental nuisances are commendable. The Ministry of the environment is doing a yeoman’s job in this regard.
In the health sector, there are clear upgrades in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare system. There are lots of investments on building and rehabilitation of hospitals, maternal and child health services, and other public health infrastructures. The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital has become a more preferred referral hospital than its counterparts established by the Federal Government. This position is more consolidated by the upgrade of the College of Medicine of the Lagos State University to a full-fledged University of Medicine.
During his six years in Office, the Governor has relentlessly pursued great improvement in the delivery of better education to the teeming youths of the state. Innovatively, he has stratified the Ministry of Education into the Ministry of Basic Education and the Ministry of Tertiary Education, with the addition of three new well-funded specialised universities added to the existing Lagos State University. This makes the number of universities in the state to be four. These are the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Medicine and the Lagos State University of Education. His administration has abundantly deployed Smart modular classrooms statewide. The Governor leaves no stone unturned in the area of rehabilitation and construction of school buildings with more teacher support and digital learning infrastructures in place. Subventions that will make this schools functional and active have been paid regularly to the school by the government. This makes Lagos State schools the most funded sets of schools at all levels in Nigeria followed by Rivers and Delta states.
Apart from the Lagos State University which has been in existence for decades, the credit for the remaining three universities go to the Governor . His drives in the area of education and youth empowerment are legendary to the extent that most of the new universities are already oversubscribed. The Lagos State University of Science and Technology which took off barely three years ago already has twelve thousand, six hundred students.
The Lagos State University remains the best and the most oversubscribed state university in Nigeria,
In the area of Physical Development the governor has shown relentless interest in positively turning the fortune of the state around. One can observe a well programmed urban road reconstruction without neglecting the semi-urban areas. In this regard, the governor leverages on his experience in LSDPC and brings it to bear in the area of housing development and redevelopment. This is complemented with multitudes of drainage works, and public space improvements. Lagos is indeed a beauty to behold at night to the extent that those who know the differences can compare Lagos with some other cities in the world.
The attitude of citizens to public properties in Lagos state is awful. Reckless drivers, particularly Danfo , Okada, korope and other private owned vehicles crashing on government facilities with no direct compensation to the state should attract the attention of the government. It is true that we are in a democracy but freedom cannot thrive if citizens are irresponsible. One hopes that the emergence of the State Police when finally approved by the seal of the president shall empower the state to deal with situations and citizens that are dragging down the good efforts of the governor.
Many citizens have lost their lives and sometimes limbs from the unspeakable activities of manhole cover thieves. The state government should get the state assembly to enact edict that will empower it to create monitoring teams since the conventional federal policing system is not effective in controlling the menace. Installation of more CCTV cameras on our road are becoming exigent to protect lives and properties wasted by these bad elements.
Lagos State is one of the most secured State, that is if it is not the most secured state in Nigeria today. How the state government has maintained and continued to achieve this feat of putting insecurity in check despite the enormous population surge and uncontrollable internal migration is a model that is worthy of independent research studies . Every tenth Nigerian lives in this state and there is hardly a Nigerian that does not have a relation in Lagos. It is known worldwide that overcrowding and excessive population throws in their own negative externalities. How these vices have been put under check and control by the government is a miracle of a sort.
A comparative appraisal of the performance of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu in relation to past administrations in the state shows that his administration made visible progress in infrastructure delivery, transportation reform,sustainable educational programmes, deeper fiscal reforms,human capital investment, urban planning integration and public service expansion.
The above high scoring tenure appraisal does not come as a surprise for the governor who has an enviable credentials. His strong technocratic foundation speaks for him, His profound analytical skills, fiscal discipline, and results-oriented mindset are derivable from the experience he acquired in both the public and private sectors, particular in banking, public finance, and corporate management .Even his worst critic will agree that his legs fit into the shoe prim and proper .
The outstanding qualities of Mr. Governor lie in his commitment to policy continuity with readiness to effectively build upon the development framework established by previous administrations. Indeed, he has delivered meritoriously on his THEMES Agenda. No one who can reflect deeply will disagree that Lagos is taking a rightful place as a 21st Century Economy. In his service delivery, the governor did not ignore entertainment, tourism, and security which of course is a marketing platform for the state.
Through his people oriented and people centered administrative style, Governor Sanwolu has been able to exhibit his commitment to youth empowerment and improvement on the standard of living of the people of Lagos State.
While wishing him and his family a blessed 2026, we hope to see more of his effectiveness of service delivery in the coming years.
• Ojikutu is Professor of Statistics (rtd),
University of Lagos.
