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By Gilbert Ekezie
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe, in this interview spoke on the second term bid of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and also for the state to be given a special status in the nation’s budget.
Could you talk about Lagos State from the economic and political point of view?
Lagos was the capital of Nigeria and Lagos is the nerve centre of the economy of Nigeria. It is at the nerve centre of the development of Nigeria; it is also at the nerve centre of the politics of Nigeria. The whole world looks up to Lagos when you talk about Nigeria.
Yes, Abuja is there as the Federal Capital Territory, courtesy of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, probably to decongest Lagos and widen development of the country. But Lagos is still playing that role of accommodating all the citizens of this country no matter where you come from. And that is why I am very comfortable to describe Lagos as a mini-Nigeria. And that is why I love the title given to the state as the Centre of Excellence. So if Lagos collapses, Nigeria has collapsed when you talk about economy.
You see, Lagos is playing a very big role in the Nigerian economy, the seaport there, the busiest airport is there, from my own judgement, the Murtala Muhammed Airport is the busiest Airport. Most big men in Nigeria started their lives, one way or the other from Lagos, and that is as a result of good leadership.
When you talk about good leadership, how do you mean?
Lagos was blessed enough to have somebody like His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; he came in and changed a lot of things for good, reorganized both the security, development, economy and the rest of them, despite the fact that at that point in time, he was having a running battle with the Federal Government led by well respected leader, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. I may not know the details of their disagreement but I think to some extent it bordered on the creation of local governments. Despite the fact that the federal allocation never came, he continued to trudge, used the resources in Lagos to do a lot of work. When his time was over, he brought in the man they called the Star Boy of that administration, in the person of Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), another giant but silent achiever, an eloquent periodic political speaker, a seasoned administrator who improved on what Asiwaju did. Now when his time was over, Asiwaju in his own political sagacity brought in Akinwunmi Ambode as governor. During Ambode, a lot of projects were commissioned, Buhari was visiting Lagos as if he was going to his office. When that administration elapsed, he brought in the incumbent, Sanwo-Olu.
So, Lagos is always at the forefront, whenever crisis comes, it will hit Lagos. Just like when Ebola came in, the governor then, if I am not mistaken, Mr Fashola had to cut short his foreign trip, came down and visited those places and contained it. The same thing Sanwo-Olu did when Covid-19 came. I used to watch him on Television, I pitied him; he went lean, his physical appearance changed, and a young man for that matter. But thank God both the Federal Government, Lagosians, everybody worked. We have not come out of Covid -19 completely, but the situation has improved greatly. So, Lagos as a city, as a mini-Nigeria occupies a very strategic position in the life of this country. That is why all hands must be on deck to make it retain that status, because if it goes down, all other states will be affected.
You have severally called for special status for Lagos, do you still hold that position?
In two of my publications, I think, during the 7th or 8th Assembly, I implored them; I advised in my own little way that there should be a law where Lagos State Government is given a special status in the national budget. Along the line, the Senator then, representing Lagos Central, Oluremi Tinubu, sponsored a bill to that effect. It didn’t go through, to the best of my knowledge, and I reechoed it, and I am reechoing it again now, that the Federal Government, the National Assembly should make a law geared towards giving Lagos Special status in the budget no matter how little. It can be 1, 2, or 3 per cent to assist the government of Lagos State, to assist the governor for the enormous work he is doing because the population of Lagos is above 20 million and it is not easy; they need to be assisted.
Right now, look, all over Lagos, constructions are going on and as some roads are being constructed, others are getting bad, not that those roads are not done well but because of the pressure, both human and vehicular pressure, they are too much on these roads and you know we have salty water in Lagos. So, that is why they should be given special status.
Lagos is that state that is detribalized because in the cabinet, you see other tribes being accommodated, being given chance to participate in the decision making of the state. Of course, I know that Igbo people have been participating in one way or the other, either at the Directorate level, at the Managerial level or at SA level; so Lagos is very magnanimous. When you look at it holistically, you know that Lagos is doing well, our governors are doing well, the present government is doing well; the present governor is doing well, he is relating very well with my own people, we watch it on Television, we see it on social media and all that, so Lagos is a home for all the tribes in Nigeria.
Even though you have talked on this, but what are your perspectives on the performance of the government of Sanwo-Olu?
I give him commendation on roads, the bridges, but more importantly, security. I give him serious credit on security; he is fantastic, armed robbery is reduced, kidnapping is reduced and banditry is reduced. Like I said before, everybody is rushing back to Lagos, not that there is no security challenges but when you analyse it, you see, they are at the fringes; in short, everywhere in Lagos is safe. Once in a while you hear something and they always get to the root of it and make sure it never happens again. So I give Governor Sanwo-Olu special credit on security. He is equally tackling the issue of traffic, which he said is one of his cardinal objectives and he is tackling it seriously. He is opening the access roads, internal roads are being opened and he has maintained what Fashola introduced; don’t block roads; the LASTMA has been sustained, he has a special squad that impounds vehicles that take one way. So I commend him in all these areas.
I learnt also that he is repositioning markets, not taking them over but at least making them look presentable, advising them on their internal security, advising them on health management issues. I have met some of them.
Sanwo-Olu has also maintained the tempo of the state IGR because that is the only way. At end of 2021, Lagos made N535 billion from Internally Generated Revenue, and made a projection of N980.6 billion in 2022; this is the internally generated revenue of more than 15 states in Nigeria combined. I don’t know the size of Lagos but I do know that Lagos lacks land, so they make use of whatever they have but my only humble appeal is that when these laws are made, let them have human face so that the people don’t complain too much. Everybody that is in Lagos loves Lagos and they should not allow them to complain too much.
What is your view on the clampdown on Okada operators?
I knew that ever before 1994 or thereabout, there was nothing like Okada, at a stage it manifested. Well, it is really a problem, considering the population of Lagos, because there are some areas you may not be able to go to easily without Okada but then, there are other problems coming from the usage of Okada. I entered Igbobi Hospital, on a second thought I started to move round. I was shocked, this one Okada, that one Okada, broken leg, broken hand, broken waste, broken mouth, and these Okada, you see them drive against traffic just like the yellow buses. So everything has its advantages and its disadvantages but when you weigh the two, if the disadvantage is higher, then you have to take certain drastic decisions. The crimes some people are committing in some of these areas, at times they use Okada. I think Mr Governor didn’t do that to punish anybody but he did it to save lives, he did it to make Lagos look neater but more importantly, security problem. I can see some new white buses, I think he is making adequate arrangement to cushion the effects of Okada ban. On personal sentiment, you can say governor, tempter justice with mercy; I for one can say that; that is personal sentiment but the reality on ground may not match personal sentiment. Therefore let us allow him, he is a human being, he is a Lagosian, he knows when to do the right thing to help the people, let us be calm, because he has information we don’t have.
What area or areas would you want the Lagos State government to improve on?
He should step up on traffic, it is not yet Uhuru, and issue of area boys, people still complain that when they are moving at night, underworld men still break their glasses to collect their phones; they stab them and all that; let them look at the dark spots in Lagos and beef up security in those places. Let him also step up on the rail project because once that rail comes up, these things will calm down, it will create more jobs, some of these boys giving problems here and there will be recruited as workers there. Then proper enumeration, you must know the person living in your house, so that if something is going wrong, you would be able to trace the person, and if something is going well, you will equally be able to trace the person and say, oh you are doing well.
Do you think Sanwo-Olu deserves second term?
The answer is yes. I have spoken enough, but I am saying it in black and white, I am saying it in capital letter and I am writing it that Sanwo-Olu deserves a second tenure. And I want to thank the Governance Advisory Council of Lagos State for endorsing him for a second term. I want to thank all the past leaders, past governors where Asiwaju is at the helm of Affairs, for endorsing Sanwo-Olu for a second term, and we are working seriously to vote him in. I have my vote, I have the people I am leading, we have started talking to them, we have started educating them, to make sure Sanwo-Olu goes in for a second term.
People talk about Tinubu Legacy; how far do you think Governor Sanwo-Olu has followed that roadmap?
What I am telling you is that no governor that came after Tinubu has ever derailed from the master plan. Tinubu is a master strategist; to answer your question, Sanwo-Olu is following the master plan, to the best of my knowledge unless somebody says the contrary. The much I know, and that is why Lagos is above other states in Nigeria. It is number one, whether anybody believes it or not, even an enemy, you can argue but deep down him, he knows that Lagos leads and others follow.
Could you advise Ndigbo in Lagos, especially as the electioneering campaign for the 2023 general election is approaching?
One thing is that Igbo are good people, they are enterprising, they are good listeners, if they support you, you an be sure of their support, if they believe in you, they believe in you. They are travelers, wherever they settle they help in developing that place. So I cannot imagine any Igbo man in Lagos not supporting Sanwo-Olu, or not voting APC into power. I am yet to see an Igbo man that will do that because we have no problem with Lagosians. So my advice to Ndigbo in Lagos is to maintain the lane, making sure that Sanwo-Olu’s administration continues. What we obtain in Lagos we may not obtain it in other states, so my advice, let them maintain the lane. Myself, I am maintaining the lane, people behind me are maintaining the lane, there should be no mistakes. If there is anywhere that is giving them problem, then we approach the government for a roundtable because everything must not be perfect but my advice is let us maintain the lane, let us continue with APC, let us continue with the incumbent governor of Lagos State.
