In this opinion, he explains why there is no better candidate for Lagos governorship than the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He writes:
I have followed with kin interest, the politics of Lagos from the time Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu became the governor of Lagos State in 1999. Before him, the only civilian governor who made appreciable and positive impact in lagos state was Alhaji Lateef Jakande. Bola Tinubu came and laid foundation for modern Lagos, a foundation for positive transformation of the state.
What we see today in Lagos as development is a legacy bequeathed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu. There has not been any governor after him that has not commanded the envy of other governors in Nigeria.
Tinubu, before living office in 2007, did not only bequeath a clear road map for continuous, sustainable transformation and development of Lagos, but also made sure that persons who came after him were men who would not renege or shy away from the unbroken chain of transformation and development of the state .
Let us not forget that before Tinubu left office in 2007, he backed and supported Babatunde Fashola to succeed him. When Fashola eventually won the election and became the governor of Lagos State, what did we see? We began to see in Fashola a man who not only continued with the transformation agenda of Tinubu, but also a man who worked to improve upon the developmental stride of Tinubu.
Recall that it was because of the outstanding performance of Fashola as governor of Lagos state that president Mohammadu Buhari chose him to become the minister of three key ministries – power, works & housing in 2015 & under Fashola, Nigeria has recorded tremendous improvement in infrastructure provision & development.
Let’s not forget that after Fashola in 2015, Tinubu again presented to Lagosians Akinwumi Ambode who after winning the election continued to carry on with the legacy of making Lagos the centre of excellence and today Lagos, under Ambode, is better of.
Let us not forget also what Lagos State used to make as tax revenue before Tinubu brought Mr Babatunde Fowler. With Fowler at the helm of affairs, all Lagosians knew what tax revenue of Lagos became. No wonder Babatunde Fowler became the choice of President Muhammadu Buhari to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in 2015. Today the economy of Nigeria has been boosted by Fowler’s tax reforms.
How about Professor Yemi Osinbajo? I make bold to say that Bola Tinubu discovered Yemi Osinbajo when he made him Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Lagos State and later recommended to be running mate to Mohammadu Buhari in 2015. Today Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is known to be the best Vice President Nigeria had ever produced .
I can go on and on to mention those that Bola Tinubu has presented for service not only to Lagosians but also to Nigerians and these men have not disappointed in their respective duties and assignments but rather have excelled.
There is certainly truth in the dictum that says, “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are”. It is in the light of the above that when Babajide Sanwo-Olu was nominated during the APC primary election supported by Tinubu, even when the sitting governor Akinwunmi Ambode who is performing, still has another four years to complete his second term, without hesitation I queued behind Sanwo-Olu to become the next governor of Lagos State after Ambode.
This is because there are somethings going for Sanwo-Olu that Tinubu is aware of just as he was aware of the outstanding and salient qualities of those mentioned above that he presented for service who did not disappoint.
So fellow Lagosians, let us queue behind this man – Sanwo-Olu. Let us not break the chain of consistent development and transformation of Lagos. Let us not break the chain of making Lagos the centre of excellence and envy of other states. Let us massively vote for Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the next governor of Lagos State come March 9, 2019.
Mr. Vincent Uba is a Public Affairs Analyst and the National Coordinator of No Alternative to Buhari/ Osinbajo 2019 (NATBO 2019).
