As a journalist, he made his mark. Now, a public officer, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde was smooth all through, selling his brand to NIGERIAN TRIBUNE and ultimately to the world out there.

WHAT was responsible for the slow start of the administration; was it down to inexperience, because in the first few weeks of this administration, it was like everything was in topsy-turvy for residents?
(Cuts in)..Like what

Traffic, security, there were complaints all over….
In my opinion, they were not new. I don’t think they were unusual issues at the beginning of the administration. If there were, I wouldn’t think that they were different from other issues that other governors or other states were experiencing. The only reason in my opinion why it would look like it was a slow start would be because all eyes have always been on Lagos State, Lagos is seen and treated like a mini country and the media sometimes is guilty of focusing largely on Lagos, which is not a problem, because Lagos is unique without a doubt. And with an economy that is the second biggest in West Africa, after that of Nigeria, and the fifth largest in Africa, it only means that everything, sort of, happens here. So, if there was a bit of perception around slow start, even though, as I said, I wouldn’t think that was peculiar and I would imagine that if it was in the manner that you are saying it or that it was reported, I think they were largely orchestrated for untoward reasons. But if we agree that there was a little bit of slow start, certainly, it wouldn’t be that of inexperience. It wouldn’t be because the man at the helm of affairs in Lagos State has all the requisite experience. He knows the state, and in particular, running of government, civil service, administration, in and out, having spent 27 years of his adult work life in Lagos State, rising first to the position of Auditor General for Local Governments, and then to the position of Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and the state’s Accountant-General. This is a man that was part of the great league in those days when former President Obasanjo withheld some of the finances meant for LGs. As the Accountant-General, he was part of the league that helped jump the finances of Lagos State from N600m monthly IGR (internally generated revenue) to N6bn that grew to N10bn and beyond to what we have today. When you have such a man as the governor, and when you have issues on ground, like you have all over the country, it wouldn’t be as a result of lack of experience. It would be those issues needed to be dealt with.
In any case, compare the traffic and other problems you had in Lagos then with those of other states, you will see that in more than half of the states, nothing was going on at all. 27 states, as of that time you were talking about were unable to pay salaries; they needed to rely on bailouts from President Buhari. Even the Federal Government from what we now know, from the days of Jonathan, was borrowing to pay salaries. But because we were used to a certain rhythm in Lagos as such anything that appears off-tune, people will react. But don’t let us dwell so much on that. If there was a slow start, there has been a rebound. Like people will always say, it’s been one hit after the other, back to back, and I think Lagosians are happy with where Lagos is right now.

So, where exactly is the state now?
It’s almost one year for the administration, and for me it’s quite obvious, but we will say it loudly and shout it at the mountain top that this administration has not done badly at all. As a matter of fact, we have fulfilled most of our campaign promises, because what we want the public to benchmark us with are our campaign promises. And in specific terms, three areas stand out: security; roads and social infrastructure, and in the area of solid economy, job and wealth creation. That is the direction where the state is headed and from every analysis that you can find, the verdict, in my opinion, is that of A-rating.
In terms of security, there hasn’t been any state in the history of the country that has invested at a go and in one fell swoop, the amount that was put into reengineering the security of the state in November last year, and which we have maintained up till now. We are talking about the N4.7bn assets donation to the Nigeria Police which is a federal agency and the rebranding of the RRS (Rapid Response Squad). For the first time in the history of the country, there are three patrol helicopters being deployed for security functions. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, there are at least two gunboats. We had one under BRF (former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola) and two helicopters under BRF, but we campaigned on the basis of continuity and also on the basis of continuity with improvement. So what we are doing is to continue in the line of continuity what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu started for eight years – building a solid foundation, which Governor Fashola improved upon, and which Governor Ambode has come to consolidate upon. So for the first time, we have two gunboats. Gunboats are necessary because the escape routes for most robbers are usually the waterways, and you can’t police the waterways without the use of gunboats. We have drones. Don’t forget what one of the (Ikorodu) kidnappers said, that he tried to warn his colleagues that with the state of security in Lagos now, it is almost impossible to get away with crime, and in six days, police in Lagos State, with assistance from Abuja, and support from the Lagos State government, were able to arrest the kidnappers who kidnapped those secondary school girls and rescue the girls at Ikorodu.
Again, the time you are referring to, we were just coming out of election period. It is unfortunate that things tend to slow down in an election period, and coincidently that period also happens to be the rainy season. What we did was to move in en masse to ensure that Lagosians see and that there is demonstrable evidence of massive road construction that is going on. If roads are well tarred, and drainage [channels] are being cleared as we are clearing them on a daily basis, you will see that traffic will improve, and it has improved substantially. You can see evidence of traffic management that we have put in place. We have recruited more personnel for LASTMA, which used to be a unit of agency for 2,100 people for several years, but this is the first time, we will be adding to the number of officers working with LASTMA. This is the first time you will see demarcations along Ikorodu Road, Ojota, particularly, along Ketu-Mile 12, ensuring that traffic on the expressway is free flowing. We are ensuring that no area is left behind in any of the three senatorial districts, or if you like, any of the five divisional districts in Lagos State.
In the area of wealth and jobs creation, which is the direction of this administration, we are maintaining our position in terms of the level of investments coming into Lagos State. The report of the first quarter says that about N50billion direct investments came to Nigeria, and more than half of those came directly to Lagos. You will see that two of the new creations by the Governor – the Office of Commerce and Investment as well as the Ministry of Employment and Wealth Creation have justified the need for which they were created. Investment is still high up there for Lagos State, and the whole of these is designed to protect both local and international investments.
Locally Lagos has partnered Kebbi State for the production of rice. In about six months, 70% of the rice needs of Nigerians will be borne by the partnership between Lagos and Kebbi State. That is a demonstration of local investment.
In foreign investment, you will see that practically everybody comes to Lagos. Barcelona FC was here. They have announced that the first ever youth academy in Africa by Barcelona FC will be sited in Lagos. That is direct foreign investment that they will be bringing here. They have had 17 of such academies all over the world. This is the 18th one, and it will be the first time this will be coming to Lagos and Africa. So, the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Youth Employment is fulfilling one of the campaign promises of His Excellency, which is to focus on job creation. We campaigned with N25bn employment trust fund. Not only has that bill been passed by the House of Assembly, the committee that will run it has also been instituted. The seed money for the first phase in this year, N6.3bn has been set aside for the full take-off of that employment trust fund. This will be done in this manner: there are five divisions in Lagos. Throw N1bn each into those divisions – for start-up businesses, for youths, for young entrepreneurs, small businesses. Look at what N1bn in a year can do for hundreds if not thousands of such businesses, in Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu, Island, and in the Mainland. If you do one-one billion, that is N5bn you will still have N1.3bn, which means that we will be reflating the economy and injecting money directly to those who need to be walked out of the employment market. This will be done consistently for four years. That is a major campaign promise, so if you ask, “what is the direction?” I will say to you again this state is heading in a direction that rests solidly on the tripod of our campaign promises, that we will ensure that lives and property are well safe in Lagos.
Also you will see that work has started on the two flyovers that were promised at Ajah and Abule- Egba. Roads are being delivered; you can see the light-up Lagos project. If the Governor promised a 24-hour economy, this cannot start without the belief that you are secure and that there are facilities for you to move from one place to the other both day and night with adequate security in place.

What would you say is the signature policy of this administration?
Number one: Top-notch security for a megacity. In the constitution, the first responsibility of the government is to first and foremost secure the lives and properties of its citizens and the Governor is saying that “you will know me and appreciate me, because I will keep you safe.” In the first six months of this administration, the police declared crime went down by 65 per cent. As laudable as that is, that is not where we are going. We are entering an era where you will begin to see all over power bikes like we see abroad; power bikes with police officers using communication gadgets and public address system, whereby they can flag you down and you will be hearing them announcing to you to pull over. Crime is a near permanent feature of any megacity in any part of the world. Crime is everywhere, but how functional cities and smart cities distinguish themselves is the manner in which they confront and combat crime. Lagos, under Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, is saying that one of the signature projects, legacy project, that this administration will be known by and appreciated by will be the fact that you will see all over Lagos top-notch security equipment to combat crime.
Number two, he wants to run Lagos, not just as a megacity, but as a smart city. The features of a smart city are essentially technological and technical. You will begin to see as from this year the investment that we are making in the collection and acquisition of land use charge in Lagos State. How many buildings or structures do we have in the city? We can’t determine that by going from street to street; it is technology, so that the billing and identification of buildings can be precise, accurate, and accountable. These are the features of a smart city, and where Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s Lagos is going. You will begin to see evidence of this from this year. Another feature of a smart city is to have a 24-hour economy. Let the streets be well lit up; it doesn’t matter whether they are on federal roads, as you have on the Third Mainland Bridge. By the time we will be celebrating Lagos @50, or second anniversary of this administration, almost every part of Lagos, in terms of street lights, will have been well lit up. We will move the entire light-up Lagos project to the IPP (independent power project) – again we are talking technology, the feature of a smart city.
We are also saying that part of the smart city concept for Lagos is to de-emphasise usage of roads. In Brazil, traffic is so bad in Sao Paulo and Rio that there are more than 400 helicopter taxis in those two cities moving the rich and affluent from point A to B on air. We are not there yet, but we are saying that we can make good use of our waterways. We can make good use of our railways. We are happy that the Federal Government has Lagos-Calabar Rail project as part of the 2016 budget, but for Lagos State, we are also happy that we have been able to gain access to the third tranche of the $600m loan from the World Bank for infrastructural projects. You will remember that Governor Fashola started it, and we have access to the remaining $200m, which will be used to complete the Blue Line Rail, leading all the way to Badagry. Don’t also forget that there is also the Fourth Mainland Bridge. They are about signing the MOU with the consortium that will get that done. So, signature project, smart city, smart Governor.

Many people disagree with the choice of Professor Wole Soyinka, as the Chairman of the Lagos @50 Planning Committee; they say he is not even a native of Lagos, why did Ambode choose a non-native to lead this group?
I am not aware that a lot of people have said that Professor Wole Soyinka shouldn’t have been the chairman. I am aware and the government is aware that there is a particular group in Lagos State that has expressed displeasure over the appointment of Prof Wole Soyinka. Honestly speaking, that does not amount to a lot of people complaining. Because this is democracy; the governor was selected by a whole number of people, not by a selected few, and his mandate is to please the generality of Lagosians. Lagosians that include youths, women, traditional rulers, civil servants, and everybody, therefore, the mandate that he has also means that he consults widely and will use his best judgement to make appointments as he deems fit after due consultations. In my opinion, the appointment of Prof Wole Soyinka has been widely applauded by the majority of Lagosians, by institutions in Lagos State and by the entire world, who feel that Lagos deserves a ball at 50. This is one of the most important city states in the world; this is where you have the largest concentration of black people per city in the world, and, therefore, if you have a global citizen, who identifies with Lagos, who is the only Nobel laureate in Literature in Nigeria, who we celebrate globally, serve as the co-chairman with another illustrious son of the soil, in Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, who is also another eminently qualified industrialist, and more importantly, a thespian and a writer, a novelist and a former chairman, of the Musical Society of Nigeria, who else would you want to use to chair such a committee? And by the way it is just a committee. It is not an appointment that comes with any remuneration, and it comes at the discretion of the man who has been elected to run the affairs of the state. I think we should allow him. My other response to this will be that the committee held a meeting in the residence of the co-chairman, Alhaji Rasheed Gbadamosi, where Chief Gbadamosi addressed the media to say that he is more than happy to serve as the co-chair with Prof. Soyinka who is eminently qualified to chair anything let alone the celebration of Lagos @ 50. It is just a committee; it is not an election really.

We have spoken with some of the personalities involved in this struggle. We have spoken with the president of the Eko Foundation, with Dr Banire and a couple of other leading indigenes whose main grouse is beyond the composition of this appointment. They accused the governor of being inaccessible, and that he is also weeding out Lagosians from governance structure in Lagos State. How do you react to this?
I really do not think it requires any reaction other than what I have said about the fact that the governor was elected and he has the mandate to lead. If there is an expression of displeasure from a particular group, I think that what is fair is to allow them to air their views and grievances. But you know as we always say, ‘the minority will have their say; the majority will have their way.’ It is a democracy and in democracy you cater for the needs of the generality of the people not the ones of a particular group.