TIME Africa Honours Sanwo-Olu for Infrastructure Drive, Urban Transformation in Lagos State

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has received the 2025 TIME Africa Special Recognition Award in acknowledgment of his administration’s delivery of large-scale infrastructure, transport reforms, and economic modernisation in Africa’s largest city.

TIME Africa said the award recognised Lagos’ progress under Sanwo-Olu in addressing long-standing urban challenges through sustained investment in transportation, roads, healthcare, education, digital infrastructure, and governance reforms, describing the state as a reference point for African megacity management.

In its citation, TIME Africa stated that managing Lagos, home to more than 24 million people, required structural and long-term solutions rather than incremental interventions.

The organisation said the Sanwo-Olu administration had pursued such an approach through its T.H.E.M.E.S.+ development agenda, which integrates transportation, health, education, economic growth, security and governance.

The TIME citation stated, “What Lagos has achieved in the past six years is not simply incremental improvement; it is structural and generational. And, increasingly, it offers a continent-wide roadmap for how African megacities can transition from overburdened to future-ready.”

A major highlight of the award ceremony was the launch and operation of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit system, beginning with the Blue Line. The electric-powered rail line, it said, had moved millions of passengers since its commissioning, providing an alternative to road transport and easing congestion on major corridors. TIME Africa described the project as one of the most significant urban transport achievements in West Africa in recent decades.

Beyond rail, the organisation cited the scale of road construction and rehabilitation under the current administration. It stressed that since 2019, Lagos had completed 172 roads, while an additional 61 roads and five bridges were commissioned in 2025.

Key projects, according to the organisation, included link bridges, access roads in fast-growing districts, such as Lekki, Ikorodu, and Epe, and ongoing work on the Lagos–Badagry Expressway, a major regional trade route.

TIME Africa emphasised that the projects were implemented across multiple local councils, including historically underserved areas, rather than concentrated in high-income districts.

The award also highlighted investments in public health and social infrastructure. Under Sanwo-Olu, it stated that Lagos had expanded maternal and child-care services, upgraded emergency and trauma centres, and invested in medical equipment and specialist training. Environmental sanitation reforms and climate resilience programmes were also cited as critical to improving health outcomes in a densely populated city.

In education and technology, the state, TIME said, had undertaken classroom construction and rehabilitation, teacher training, and the introduction of digital learning tools, while Lagos attracting over $1.2 billion in digital infrastructure investment, including data centres and broadband expansion, and strengthening its position as a leading technology hub in Africa.

TIME Africa added, “Sanwo-Olu’s administration has positioned Lagos as a laboratory of African urban possibility: a place where large-scale public projects are delivered, where ambition is matched by execution, and where the future of African megacities is being imagined in real time.”

Economically, TIME Africa stated that Lagos continued to drive a significant share of Nigeria’s output while pursuing diversification. New industrial and logistics hubs had been developed in Ikorodu, Badagry, Lekki and Epe, while the state supported creative industries, such as film, tourism and entertainment, it said.

Reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and reducing administrative bottlenecks were also acknowledged by TIME Africa.

The organisation further cited governance reforms, including digitalisation of public services and a budgeting framework focused on shared prosperity, youth empowerment and community development.

According to TIME Africa, Lagos offers practical lessons for other African cities facing rapid urbanisation, particularly in integrated transport planning, equitable infrastructure distribution and long-term policy continuity.

While acknowledging that challenges, such as population growth, infrastructure maintenance and environmental risks remained, TIME Africa said the progress recorded under Sanwo-Olu had positioned Lagos on a clearer path towards global competitiveness.

It stated, “Lagos’ transformation is far from complete, but its trajectory is unmistakable. As African nations look ahead to an era of unprecedented urbanisation, Lagos stands as both a model and an inspiration — a city proving that with vision, strategy, and sustained investment, the future can be reshaped for millions.”

TIME Africa said the Special Recognition Award honoured the governor’s leadership in delivering high-impact infrastructure and steering Lagos towards a more inclusive and resilient urban future.