Once upon a time, growing up in Lagos was akin to living in El-Dorado. Life in Igbosere Road and Lafiaji was tolerable, with good social amenities and infrastructure for the common good. On a rather sad note however was the degeneration that became its lot due to rural-urban migration; and there was no town planning, which was more rigorous in the 1950s and the 1960s. These put immense pressure on public facilities and infrastructure to a breaking point, more or less turning the state into a looming disaster.
Well, this situation could have been foreseen by those in government but partially so as the effect caught one government after another unaware. Moving forward to the present status and style of governance, that Lagos State has done well despite population explosion and its attendant debilitating consequences, the least of which are security issues, is no longer news. Be that as it may, one of the issues that led to the ‘Lagos is no man’s land’ slogan was that #EndSARS, which once turned the state into a contested space for mass demonstrations and vociferous violence, was not addressed. Tragically, this central issue hasn’t been properly addressed, still. Therefore, Sanwo-Olu needs to rejig the people’s confidence and rebuild their trust. He needs to do more in securing the state through continuous employment, training and retraining of security personnel in technology-based crime fighting techniques and frontline operations anchored on actionable intelligence. Lagos under Sanwo-Olu must continue to identify, isolate and bring to book any criminal fraternity kingpins with a view to forestalling their growth and expansion.
There were governors and there have been governors in Lagos State. On a day like this, Nigerians remember Mobolaji Johnson (1967-1975), Lateef Jakande (1979-1983), Buba Marwa (1996-1999), Bola Tinubu (1999-2007), Babatunde Fashola (2007-2015) and Akinwumi Ambode (2015-2019) for the quality of their social market interventions. But who remembers Raji Rasaki (1988-1991)? Who remembers Michael Otedola (1992-1993) beyond the melodious interpretation of his surname and the ranking of Femi, his son, as Africa’s 20th richest person by Forbes? So, Sanwo-Olu will be doing his tenure a great deal of good if he takes the noises of the marketplace for what they are: hustlers, even as he seeks more proactive ways of tackling the menace of Okada (motorcycle taxi) business owing to the danger it portends. For this class of Nigerians, things are almost getting to the boiling point and one can only hope that the governor would help change the narrative. Sanwo-Olu also needs to engage with the youths, for any policy that does not address youth restiveness in a democratic setting is not likely to fly in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos.
Still on the ‘Area Boys’, it is on record that Fashola tried to handle this menace and there was relative peace in the state but, not unexpectedly, whatever achievement that was recorded at the time went away with his government. Since our major challenge as a country and people is continuity, the government that took over from ‘Èkó ò níí bàjé’ had its own plans and that’s how Lagos missed a vital opportunity. Sanwo-Olu is now in the saddle; and, since it’s about legacy trust, a very rewarding option will be to up the ante, not slow the flow.
Let Sanwo-Olu be deeply alerted to the current security challenges in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for Lagos may most certainly be the target, ultimately. Though COVID-19 ravaged the entire country, Lagos was a special case. #EndSARS was also supposed to be a nationwide thing, but we all knew what happened in Lagos. So, let the governor revolutionize security matters by investing hugely in scientific and integrated technology crime detection and prevention; and ditto for a combat-ready force, to the extent that criminals will not have a place to hide. Installation of hoods and prevention of traffic bottlenecks will also go a long way in securing lives and immovable assets in the state. Although there are challenges even in the advanced nations of the world, hardly will a criminal escape without being caught, and this is not unconnected with what they have put in place.
Abiodun Komolafe, Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State
