I know this would come as a surprise to the Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, but that is the whole idea. If a man is doing well, the least we can do is to support and encourage him.
I wish to confess today that Ambode has surpassed my expectations in under two years. I remember getting an invitation to meet with him sometime in 2014. A call came through to me in Ghana from his close aide, Idowu Ajanaku. The caller was very confident that the next Governor of Lagos State would like to meet me at my earliest convenience to solicit my support. I had wondered what support ordinary me could render when the man was amply surrounded and motivated by political juggernauts, especially the irrepressible Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All the same, I accepted the invitation, if only out of curiosity and left everything to fly to Lagos.
I met Mr Ambode somewhere on Glover Road, Ikoyi. We had never met nor spoken before then. He came across to me like a very simple and humble personality. He divulged his plans and I felt honoured that he consulted me at all. He spoke eloquently about his plans for Lagos. I knew he was going to have to fight a major battle to become the Governor of Africa’s most powerful state government but he had God and the human backing of the former Governor of Lagos, Tinubu. I believe only God can bequeath or take power and so knew he had a good chance. Ambode radiated pure confidence and at the end of our meeting, he saw me off to my car and I wished him well.
He fought a gallant battle to get his party’s ticket. Between Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, a political wizard, and I, we did everything we could to support him. I was particularly willing and ready to back him up heavily on social media. I couldn’t get over his simple mien and this made his matter compelling for me. Besides, Asiwaju Tinubu, had mentored a few of us while we were in exile in London after the June 12 imbroglio and this was payback time. The general elections came and Ambode won and we were all happy and jubilant.
Since then, I visited him once on a courtesy visit, in company of my best friend, Prince Adedamola Aderemi, and we met the same Ambode I had met before he became Governor, humble and simple. Like the first time, he saw us off to our car, and we chatted freely. On another occasion, I saw him on the Third Mainland Bridge and sent him a text and he called immediately to exchange greetings. But what has impressed me the most is not his interpersonal relationships but the manner he has simplified governance. In less than two years, he has improved drastically on the great Lagos the then Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola handed over to him. Fashola himself had laboured hard to emulate the giant strides of Tinubu in Lagos.
I’m very proud that the three Governors of Lagos since the return of democracy in 1999 have all done a lot to make Lagos such an enviable city and a success story. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is obviously determined to surpass the humongous achievements of his predecessors, including the great veteran journalist, Papa Alhaji Lateef Jakande, and the legendary military Governor, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson.
Prince Adedamola Aderemi and I were stunned when we drove recently through Epe, from Ijebu-Ode, where we had gone for the 40-day funeral festivities of Bimbo Ashiru’s mum. The transformation we encountered was truly massive and impressive, more so, because we had passed that same route a few months earlier. Within the Lagos Metropolis itself one can see the stellar work that Ambode is doing but our experience in Epe made us realise that the Governor is touching all parts of the state and not just the showpiece capital.
Ambode’s operational smoothness, typified by the novel but simple way in which he has changed the traffic situation on the Lekki-Epe Expressway by removing roundabouts and replacing them with intersections and flyovers, shows the lack of clutter in his mind and a willingness to innovate and be creative.
Lagos used to be badly polluted but Ambode is working at the speed of light to clean up the environment urgently. Cleanliness is said to be next to Godliness. The Cleaner Lagos Initiative is a bold and ambitious project that seeks to rid Lagos forever of its traditional filth. The plan is to expand the scope of LAWMA and enforce the regulation of the waste management process to the highest international standards. This will also create jobs for thousands of residents.
The vision of Ambode is very impressive and he has started driving a social infrastructure revolution in Lagos. His style is recommended to his colleagues who must think outside the box to improve on their states. While I agree that Lagos is a rich state, Ambode must be commended for spending the resources of Lagos judiciously and positively.
He deserves our support and prayers.