There are times and situations when we must be seen to boldly take a stand for public good. Indeed, it is forthright to throw one’s towel around a human sweater and enabler of progress, peace and development.
Saturday, March 18, 2023, is so decisively important that some of us, particularly in our tourism space, must step up and stand out to be counted with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for a second term as Lagos State governor.
Interestingly, in the past two weeks, some concerned tourism trade professionals and entrepreneurs across board had thrown their weight and mind behind the business of Sanwo-Olu’s re-election.
I will make one or two confessions before going deep into this testimonial for a governor who has made governance look easy and attractive.
The mind, human mind, is the engine room for perfection of all that is meaningful and important about leadership, no wonder God looks at the heart, the mind of an individual, not the height, beauty or academic status, before choosing those who must leave legacies and must be known to turn around the fortunes of peoples and nations.
In a nation where leaders exploit and enslave the citizenry, Sanwo-Olu would rather pick up a man from the gutter, brush and clean him up, and goes on to his duties as if nothing really happened.
Last week, one read a Facebook post of our soccer legend, Segun Odegbemi, on his encounter with Sanwo-Olu over Henry Nwosu, former Nigerian soccer star, who was sick nearly unto death, until Sanwo-Olu appeared like an angel of God and Henry Nwosu, Igbo by birth, is alive today and kicking. Governor Sanwo-Olu never mentioned it anywhere, Odegbemi did.
Odegbemi’s piece was touching, the simplicity of Sanwo-Olu, his humility and self-denial to see that one of us, many of us, live to call Lagos a home. I wept!
Back to our beat, industry leaders in Lagos, cutting across tribal lines and indeed reflective of the beauty of cultural tourism diversity, gathered to jaw-jaw on Sanwo-Olu, a gift to the industry in Lagos and to the players.
Let me credit Gbenga Sumonu, president of Nigeria Hotel and Catering Institute, who marshalled other influencers to join the campaign for Sanwo-Olu’s return to second leadership missionary journey to Lagos House. There’s was also Apkata Samson Nuyson.
This unprecedented gesture, yet unseen except for the re-election of Babatunde Fashola, which the Ganiyu Tarzan Balogun-led Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) successfully brokered, from one littoral community to another in Lagos, and indeed counted, nothing is near to what Gbenga Sumonu has in mind.
However, this piece revalidates and reinforces the aggregation of Lagos industry professionals to return and repay a good listener and tourism caregiver (Sanwo-Olu) with an industry estimated 40 per cent vote ranking of the six million registered voters in the City of Aquatic Splendour.
Now, to key developmental milestones. Yes, rail, road and waterways transportation ecosystem in Lagos, many may not have not had the sod-laying fingers of the governor, the truth, however, remains that no governor in Lagos has worked assiduously as Sanwo-Olu to connect the three intermodal systems, strategically and deliberately targeted at getting the city dwellers to drop cars out of the roads and to connect movement of goods and persons through well-thought-out transportation systems.
Averagely and a wonder, Lagosians and their visitors groan through long vehicular traffic, wasting valuable productive hours, the presence of its brown water economy begged for true interpretation, until Sanwo-Olu factored an awareness-driven mass facilities engineering process, backed with technology and life-saving equipment to the bargain.
I speak of Lagos waters because it potentially has capacity to filter out the wellbeing and survival of Nigeria’s biggest metropolis economy, the third largest in Africa and those who live in glittering space.
At the Falomo, Ikoyi office of Lagos State Waterways Authority, Sanwo-Olu purchased and installed a modern maritme control room with equipment to monitor and respond to critical emergencies, and also assisting waterways users and commercial boat operators with information on weather reports, thus making the use of water transportation attractive.
And unknown to many people, 60 per cent of the city dwellers, live, trade and commute from the littoral communities of Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu, Apapa, Badore (Victoria Island), contributing to the ecomarine and recreation services economy of the state.
To those of us that love to drive and power logistics businesses, connecting Lagos’ various local governments is now fun, made by Sanwo-Olu. From Agege to Surulere, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, communities’ link roads and bridges are so delivered delightfully, redistributing population evenly across the state as it responds to challenges of pressure of urbanisation and estates development.
To our tourism space, of course, supportive of its expansion and provision of various cultural tourism and hospitality offerings, Sanwo-Olu’s remodelling and enhancement of heritage sites, museums, local theatres and galleries, including grants to creatives, stand him out for re-election.
In all these, frontline persons and private sector influencers such as Gbenga Sumonu opine that the industry must stand up and canvas for Sanwo-Olu from village to village, from one eatery to another, and from one city bus to another.
Though rails have been tested and waiting for deployment, Sanwo-Olu’s second coming, surely, will spread the tourism prosperity and enhance the value chain of the business, which will further up the destination ranking of Lagos, boosting the livelihood of tourism professionals.
However, one must suggest that our governor, on second mission, surely and well-footed, must redefine, privatise Lagosferry, which has not lived up to the expectations of giving Lagosians cheap and visible capacity to move at speed and connecting effortlessly the littoral communities’ opportunities.
Possible and prayerfully, on Saturday, after we shall count the votes and shout, in Epe, Badagry, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, Ikorodu, Surulere, Apapa, Agege and Alimosho, Sanwo-Olu! Sanwo-Olu! Sanwo-Olu!! Sanwo-Olu!!!! Sanwo-Olu!!!! Then we can be rest assured that our industry shall finish well, provide more jobs, enhance security and effectively empower our youths. Gbenga Sumonu, are you there?
On Saturday, March 18, a few days away, ignore mischief-makers and tribal jingoists, vote the man wey sabi, the man wey love everyone as his own. Search his heart, look at his works, and reward him with our vote for being faithful to the call to serve. Me? I stand with sanw Sanwo-Olu!