The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Appeal Court upholds Lagos monarch’s title

    Appeal Court upholds Lagos monarch’s title

    The Onigbanko of Igbankoland, Badagry,  Oba Babatunde Adekunle. Lawal, has won a major legal battle to retain his title.

    The  Court of Appeal, sitting in  Lagos has dismissed an appeal seeking to set aside the title of Oba Onigbanko of Igbanko land, in Badagry Local Government Area of the state.

    In a unanimous judgment,  Justices of the Court of Appeal, Rita Nosakharepemu, Chinwe Eugenia Iyizoba and JamiuYammamaTurkur, upheld the judgment of a Lagos High Court delivered by Justice Fatai Afolabi Adeyinka  (rtd) on  June 27, 2002 in suit No ID/544/95.

    The appellants,  Benjamin Olayemi Akinyele, Peter  Olufunmi Adeyemi and Salami Agbajelola Ilo, had sued the Badagry Local Government Area and Oba Babatunde Adekunle Lawal before Justice Adeyinka.

    They sought, among others, a declaration that the Oba Onigbanko of Igbanko land (Approval of change of title) Notice: 2 of 1995 is contrary to the recognised custom of Igbanko and Irede Communities.

    They prayed for  an order setting aside the Oba Onigbanko of Igbanko land title.

    They also asked for an order restraining the Badagry Local Government and the Lagos State Government from changing the title of Onigbanko of Irede to Onigbanko of Igbanko land.

    The plaintiff asked for an order restraining Oba Babatunde Adekunle Lawal from parading himself as Onigbanko of Igbanko land.

    Oba Babatunde Lawal, in his counter claim, sought  among other things, an order that only his blood relation and descendants Ogabi Aroporiojoye can be appointed as Ogboni-Isa  and not just anybody from Igbanko Community. He averred that such person shall be a nominee of Onigbanko of Igbanko land.

    Justice Adeyinka upheld the prayers of Oba Lawal. Dissatisfied with the decision, the appellants headed to the Court of Appeal, Lagos.

    The notice of appeal was founded 10 grounds.

    In his lead judgment, Justice  Yammama upheld the historical narration of Oba Lawal that his progenitors emanated from Ile-Ife about 300 years ago and travelled through many places before arriving at Igbanko. He added that the village now known as Igbanko was the founding village that gave birth to the Obaship the subject matter of the case.

    Justice Turkur noted that the first Oba of Igbanko was the founder of many villages around the area, including Irede and that the first Oba of Igbanko was Ogabi Awoporojoye and that the title was change to Onigbanko of Irede during the reign of the second Onigbanko, Oba Ajose Adawongoriokerbaje when he moved from Igbanko to Irede. The trial judge the naration of how Irede then became the headquarters of Igbanko and that “Onigbanko” means the owner of Igbanko who  reigned at Irede.

    The Court of Appeal held that Oba Lawal’s history of Igbanko and its environ “is congent, credible, authentic and represents the truth of the history of Igbanko and its environs’’.

    The judge noted that Ogabi Aworopojeye, the founder and first Onigbanko of Igbanko successively handed the title down to Oba Babatunde AdekunleLawalthe 10th and the incumbentOnigbanko.

    The judge declared that the appellants’ history of Igbanko and its environ “is an after-thought”.

    The Justice of the Court of Appeal said: “ With the resolution of all the issues against the appellants, it naturally follows that the appeal fails and is not allowed. It is dismissed.”

     

     

     

  • Lagos APC condemns Agbaje’s plan for Lekki toll

    Lagos APC condemns Agbaje’s plan for Lekki toll

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has taken a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) governorship candidate for promising to reverse the toll gates at the Lekki end of the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

    The Lagos State government had franchised the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) to source funds and rebuild the highway to international standard under the Build-Own-Operate- and Transfer (BOOT) arrangement.

    But Agbaje said he would cancel the arrangement, if he succeeded Governor Babatunde Fashola.

    The APC, in a statement by its spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, said the promise by the PDP candidate could scare investors from the Centre of Excellence.

    “The threat is an irrational electoral promise directed at foreign investors, which stands to cripple the economy of Lagos and affect the wobbling Nigerian economy.

    “It is quite surprising that at this age and time, when the drive for foreign investment is needed to break the shackles of economic doom, an aspiring candidate to the Lagos State governorship stool should issue such naked threats to investors to boost his electoral chances.

    “Two days after Agbaje’s disastrous election promise to cancel the foreign-driven concession on the Lekki-Épé Expressway, newspapers carried a report that foreign investors, alarmed by the economic and political risks in the country, had pulled out N783.17 billion from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (SEC).

    “This is an alarming economic statistics that should worry every Nigerian but in his desperation to scoop votes from Lagosians, Agbaje is threatening to stop foreign investments in Lagos, such as the concession arrangement behind the construction and subsequent tolling of Lekki-Epe Expressway.”

    Picking holes in Agbaje’s statement, Igbokwe said the PDP-controlled Federal Government should explain to Nigerians why it planned to mount toll gates at six locations on the yet-to-be-built Second Niger Bridge.

    “Lagosians will like to know from Agbaje and his PDP why the Federal Government is promising a non-existent 1.8-kilometre Second Niger Bridge that will be tolled from at least six positions for 25 years while he is making a campaign issue of tolling a well delivered Lekki-Epe Expressway that meets the great needs of the beneficiary towns for a relief from endless traffic bottlenecks the PDP Federal Government has turned a blind eye to.

    “Again, Lagosians are aware that the dilapidated Airport Road, which the PDP controlled-Federal Government has abandoned while playing politics with completed world-class roads in Lagos are tolled.

    “But we find it alarming that someone who dreams of governing Lagos is issuing such economically disastrous threat to foreign investment in a state such as Lagos when the Federal Government under the control of his party has made the sing song of attracting elusive foreign investment the epicenter of its failed economic programme for the past 16 years.”

  • I’ll retain 37 LCDAs in Lagos, says PDP candidate

    I’ll retain 37 LCDAs in Lagos, says PDP candidate

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in  Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, has said he will  retain the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) created by the Bola Tinubu administration, if elected.

    Agbaje told reporters in Lagos that he would grant greater autonomy to the LCDAs and the original 20 local government areas.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 37 LCDAs created in 2003 are yet to be listed in the Constitution and recognised by the Federal Government.

    The Federal Government still deals with Lagos State on the basis of the original 20 local government areas but Lagos State has been running the grassroots through the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs.

    Agbaje said if elected, his administration would move on with the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs.

    He said the LCDAs had been recognised by political parties.

    On reconciliation with Musiliu Obanikoro who went to court after losing the party’s ticket to him, Agbaje said the party had a unity of purpose.

    He said the APC administration in the state had good policies, made achievements in some areas, but recorded poor implementation of many policies due to “vested interest”.

    “Vested interest will prefer building commercial houses to constructing low cost houses,’’ he said.

    Agbaje said that, if elected, his administration would construct low cost houses and offer free quality health care services through a health insurance model, in partnership with the private sector.

    “PDP will do things differently. We will have the boldness to do it,’’ he said.

    Agbaje said that if elected, his administration would allocate five per cent of the state procurement project for young entrepreneurs and graduates, adding that he would ensure transparent public procurement process.

    The governorship candidate also said the administration would exploit the aquatic nature of the state to develop its economy.

    “We have not tapped the ocean’s resources. We will take advantage of our living on water and take what is there to build our economy.

    “We will ensure that Epe and Ikorodu are national fisheries processing hubs and the focal points of the new ocean economy,’’ he said.

    Agbaje said that his administration would ensure 100,000 vocational and internship places annually as well as local and international certification and standards for artisans and technicians.

    He added that his administration would ensure that companies operating in the state employed a certain percentage of their workers from their host communities.

    Agbaje said his administration would avoid multiple taxes, cancel tolls and expand the tax system.

  • Lagos to move fire victims to resettlement centre

    Lagos to move fire victims to resettlement centre

    •Fashola promises help as he visits scene

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola visited yesterday the Iwaya, Yaba Mainland Market fire scene, saying those displaced would be moved to the Resettlement Centre in Agbowa.

    He said the government would seek ways of assisting the victims.

    Fashola, who addressed members of the Iwaya Community, most of whom lost properties to the fire, advised market and transport associations to set up committees to ensure that inflammable items were removed after each day’s business.

    The governor implored Lagosians to be safety conscious by switching off electrical appliances before leaving their homes daily.

    While noting that government has the capacity to respond to emergencies, Fashola said fire prevention is the responsibility of all.

    “This is the dry season and with the harmattan haze, any small fire quickly gets out of hand. So all of us must be interested in our safety; we must do everything possible to avoid fires”, he said.

    “In market places, I am appealing that we should set up committees from today so that at the end of every market day, that Committee must go round the market to ensure that there is nothing that is left switched on that can cause a fire. In motor parks, in communities, in homes and offices the same thing should apply. Everybody must take responsibility”, he said.

    Noting that most of the fires at homes and business places were caused by power surges, Fashola advised all residents: “Before you leave home in the morning or the office at night, go round and make sure that everything that could cause fire is switched off.

    “Anything that you don’t need put it off. It is better that the cold water is probably not there in your refrigerator when you return than that your building has disappeared. Let’s try to be safe instead of being sorry. Let us act to prevent fires and all will be well”.

    Fashola, who thanked God that no life was lost in the incident, said  although properties could be replaced, life could not,  adding that government would help them get back on their feet.

    As a first step towards helping the victims, he said, those who lost their houses would be moved temporarily to the resettlement centre.

    “This is part of what your government has done with your taxes”, he said, adding that during their story in the camp, the victims would be fed at the state’s expense; those who need medical support would get it from the doctors there.

    According to him, government has also built teaching facilities there for displaced pupil’s who would be taught by teachers seconded to help them.

    On why the victims are being relocated, Fashola said even if his administration wants to rebuild the place overnight, it would not be possible, adding: “So putting you in that camp will help us get your accurate data, what your problems are and how we can help to get you back on your feet”.

    The victims back on their feet, the governor said the fire once more brought to the fore the importance of getting government approvals before erecting a building.

    Fashola said: “As a government, we will do all we can to get you back to your feet. But let me say that you yourselves must be careful the way you build; the way you organise yourselves in clusters. This is why we always advise that you come and take government approvals before you build anything, whether it is a temporary or a permanent structure.

    “Those approvals will help you set out the place properly, observe minimum safety rules, electrical connections, disposal of your waste water; all of these can become hazardous to your health if you do not do the right things in the way that you have built, in the way that you gather yourselves”.

    Earlier, a community leader, Chief Oladiji Oluwo, hailed the government for the prompt response of its agencies, suc as State Fire Service and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the movement of victims to the resettlement camp.

    He told the governor: “We thank you and all the top government officials for coming to sympathise with us over the fire.  Our people have been enlightened on the relief centre at Agbowa and we thank the government immensely for the promise to help us”.

    With the governor on the scene  were the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Wale Ahmed, LASEMA General Manager Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, Executive Secretary, Yaba Local Council Development Area LCDA, Mrs. Bola Olumegbon, community leaders and residents.

  • Social Media Awards holds in Lagos Friday

    Social Media players across Africa will converge on Lagos between Friday and on Saturday for the annual Social Media Awards Africa initiative sponsored by Sterling Bank Plc.

    This between according to a statement, follows the closure of the voting window for the continent-wide initiative on social media development, #SMAA2015 across Africa last December. With a Summit scheduled for Friday, the Award presentation follows the next day.

    The event will bring together social media influencers; experts, enthusiasts and policy makers that would explore and forge new developmental paths for Africa. SMAA is a premier continental initiative, which seeks to recognise and reward creativity, excellence and impact in the usage of social media across Africa.

    The voting phase, which is part of the process led to the emergence of 45 Finalists for the four Categories. A total of 923 nominations were received. They are: Personality Based (468), Platform Specific (266), Institutional (115) and INDIGENOUS (74). Also, during the window period, over 5.5 Million Connections, at least 821,886 Retweets and 29 Million accounts were reached through all 22 social media platforms where the messages were promoted.

    Each winner will take home a cash prize of US$1,000 and a SMAA Plaque. Other benefits include: Social Media training, access to memberships and attendance of Social Media events, publications on Social Media and complimentary advertising on Social Media Africa portal.

  • Lagos confirms resurgence of Bird Flu

    Lagos State Government yesterday confirmed the resurgence of Avian Influenza also know as Bird Flu in Badore Ajah axis of the state.

    State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, who confirmed the development yesterday while briefing journalists along side Commissioner of Health, Mr. Jide Idris, also disclosed that a zoological park based in Victoria Garden City is currently on suspicion list and is being investigated following high mortality of wild birds.

    He listed steps taken so far to prevent spread to include; active disease search by surveillance agents, bio- security monitoring and sensitisation in poultry farms and markets, disinfection of poultry. Markets decontamination of affected farms and sensitization of poultry farmers and traders on insurance policy.

    “A team of eight technical staff, comprising of representatives of the Federal Livestock Department, National Quarantine service and the National vertinary Research Institute is currently in the state on disease assesment and surveillance.”

    He added that active disease search is ongoing in farms and poultry markets, while sensitisation of poultry farmers and fowl sellers is being vigorously embarked on by the surveillance and extension of all live bird markets in the state.

  • My investment plans for Lagos, Abuja

    My investment plans for Lagos, Abuja

    Mohammed Alabbar sits atop a 35 billion-dollar company called the Emaar Group. The outfit owns, among other top notch properties, the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa; the biggest shopping mall in the world, the Dubai Shopping Mall; one of the biggest water fountains in the world and one of the best hotel chains in the Middle-East, the Address Hotel and Apartments. He told OKORIE UGURU how he started one of the world’s biggest business empires and his plans to invest in Nigeria. Excerpts: 

    How long have you been in business?

    We started our development business about 18 years ago. They call us a developing country but we are not really a developing country. We are a young country. This country (UAE) is about 45 years old. So, when I compare ourselves with the city of London that is 400 years old, and New York that is 200 years old, we are babies.

    Of course, we are behind. Our people just want to live a normal life. They just want to stay in a comfortable place, civilised. Apart from the kids having their bicycle routes, we want to make sure we have electricity and running water. We want to make economic progress and safety and have a little bit of hope.

    I spent seven years of my life in Singapore, I was in Singapore originally, but I came back to Dubai in 1992. I did a little bit of what some will call economic development for seven to eight years. I was doing a lot of business relations, stuffs like that. I had a lot of young people, about 200 of us. We really did an incredible job. We had so much fun.

    After seven to eight years, I decided that I could see progress in the city and infrastructure was important. When I started the company, I had no money. That was the challenge. I drew a business plan and people believed in it and, I think, my credibility, based on the work I had done. So, investors put in about $15 million. The rules allowed me to go public at that time and I raised another $15 million from the market. But I never thought it was going to be this big. I really like to do things well.

    We started development and drew up designs. I really like to do things well. I like reputation. I just believed I was in a business where if anybody wanted to buy a home from me, it was the most important decision in one’s life; and that is the biggest chunk of investment for anyone. You’re buying a house for investment or you are buying it to live in, that is the most incredible moment of your life.

    What would you say has been your business philosophy?

    Our philosophy here, me and my staff, is to do a good job. While we want to make profit, we still want to do fabulous jobs. Instead of making three dollars, because we wanted to do things well, we ended up making five dollars. People paid us more than we thought in our financial feasibility because they wanted to trust someone. We started that way and we continued.

    We got lucky. We like to do large projects. We did 2,000,000 square meters, 4,000,000, and this is our third largest project that we have done (Downtown Dubai), and this is huge. We had done Dubai Marina, which is 6,000,000 square metres. We finished that and we came to town. This is about 3,000,000 square metres.

    But all along we see ourselves and all of you travelling to London, Paris, New York, Kuala Lumpur and we say ‘Waoh! What beautiful places you have there. I get quite annoyed. I think they are good, but can’t we be just as good? We want to be proud of ourselves. We want to make some money while we are doing business, but can we do things right? This (last) year, we will finish with 80,000,000 visitors. I never believed that this would happen in my lifetime.

    We have 1,500 sensors, so, I can tell you exactly how many visitors we have every day. And we are growing at about 10 per cent. But we control it. We manage the roads. We manage the flowers. We clean the bathrooms, the parking lot. Every day, we add one security. Everything is totally managed by us. We are so lucky to be trusted to do this. That in my life time I am able to build a monument like this or a large mall (Dubai Shopping Mall), the one I am doing in Cairo, it is such a great gift and we should be able to do a good job.

    Don’t you think you can replicate these in Nigeria?

    We are a young country and need to do more of the same thing in Nigeria. There is so much we can do. If we are making two dollars, why not do a good job? Isn’t that nice? To have a good brand, a good name is very critical for us. I am sure there are a lot of young people and older people in Nigeria who are probably doing the same thing. They are doing good quality work in technology, banking, real estate and so on. So, I think we are just being passionate about what we do.

    But when you look at Nigeria, you look at Africa, there is so much that can be done in Nigeria. People complain about power supply issues and all that. I know it is a problem, but as we progress, it will be solved. We once had power cuts in the city (Dubai) too. This is a growing thing. We are very lucky. We are only 1.5 million people. Nigeria is about 170 million people; that is a different scale. I am sure it can be fixed and I wish it can be fixed as soon as possible. We can’t wait too long because we are all connected to technology. We are connected to the television. We see how other people lived everywhere and we just want to live as good. Whether we are practising democracy or whatever, we want decent life for our families.

    I am in the business of providing reasonable, comfortable quality life. If it is the house you live in, how the road is laid, how it is maintained, how the playground of your kids is done, how the clinic is put there for your service, the nursery and school for your kids and the office building’s design, that is the business we are into. This site alone contributes four per cent of Dubai GDP. You know the velocity of business is so much. We are a big tourist attraction by the way.

    Would you attribute all this to good planning?

    Yes, we planned well, but we never knew it was going to be as big as this. We planned it by studying Las Vegas. There is a fabulous stuff in Vegas. We studied Paris, London and New York and we saw the fabulous stuff they had done, and we tried to go and talk to these people. For example, we have the Three Crown Boulevard here. We brought in the people who are working in museums and we said: ‘Let’s talk about designs.’ More importantly we told them: ‘Can we talk about mistakes? What are the mistakes we have in Chancery Museum? They said very simple: we have problems with parking because Chancery Museum does not have any parking space. We said okay, but what do you suggest we do? They said we think you should put the parking first and put your boulevard on top. We made space for 5,000 car parks, and then put a boulevard on top.

    If you drive by the boulevard, there is actually a kingdom underground. We said okay, what is the other shortfall? They said it is very embarrassing that toilet is a problem; that with all these tourists, there is no place to go to toilet. We said waoh! So, we have 55 toilets underground and we make sure they are clean. Of course they want security and technology and we put those that in. But for us from the Middle East, I can’t put a mosque in this congested area. So, in our car parks, we have five mosques for men, five mosques for women.

    Are you also making money from the parking space?

    No we are not. But if we want to succeed, if we want to have a good environment, we have to provide these services and we make money from the real estate. We installed our fountain for 180 million Euros. You think I can charge people for the fountain? No, I can’t. But we discovered that every building that we have built with a view to the fountain, we make more money from the building than we paid for the fountain. I never knew that.

    At the same time, we made mistakes. We adjusted some, and some we could not adjust. Today, we would like to take this experience to countries all around us. We are taking this to Nigeria. We will build one in Abuja and one in Lagos. These are great cities in the world, not only in Africa. In my job, I follow up designs in detail, and the marketing. I have got a strong team who manages the finance. We make sure that we do things right and there is always money in the bank. So, we’ve got a good team that manages that side. I manage the design, marketing and strategy sides.

    Is your background in design and architecture?

    No, my background is science. It is interesting. My parents and I lived in a government-owned house. When I got a job, the first thing I did was to borrow money and renovated my mother’s house, which was our house. I remember in those days, I think I liked designs, I like adjustments. So, I changed that government house that we lived in to something smart. I think design and construction is something that I like.

    Where did you pick that skill from?

    I don’t know. My grandfather, my uncles are all mathematicians and they are really into designs. They are quite good. Maybe it is something in the DNA. A lot of times, things in our DNA affect how we behave.

    What was your first vision?

    When I was in Singapore, I was flying back and forth. In Singapore, when you open the newspaper, the biggest news was always Mr. X,Y, Z, owner of a real estate doing this or that. Property was always the big news. When I came back to Dubai, it was still growing but not as much as now. Then you had one building built by Mr. Abdullah, one by Mr. John, and in between, you had maybe road, maybe not. I said it would be nice to do things right; plan the roads, landscape the roads, make sure the road and buildings are designed well and in harmony. I said it would be nice for someone to do this with a development company that has comprehensive planning. That was how it all started. I was lucky because Dubai was moving forward. That was pure luck.

    What would you say has been your driving force?

    When I started, as I said, I didn’t know it was going to get this big. There are two elements: one, because we became public. I live in a society that when I go public, I take your money and invest. In our society, and I am sure in Africa, the business that I take your money to invest and I don’t make money for you is unheard of; or I take your money and I lose it. No way. That is just not acceptable in my society. Now, maybe some people did lose money, but ethically, the home I come from and the society too, I think taking people’s money, it was a lot of pressure, unbelievable pressure up till this moment.

    Number two, today we’ve got to the size where we are. We’ve got about $35 billion company. We are profitable. Do we need to run around to do projects in Morocco or do project in Nigeria? I don’t have to, but I think we need to enrich the world and enrich ourselves. These are opportunities. Okay, we are a company, we make money, but we need to come and make a change. For me, I am so excited to participate because Dubai is not as big as Nigeria, a huge country such as Nigeria needs business partners; it needs good, decent hotels. It needs beautiful neighborhood for people to live in. It needs a downtown for people. It is just common sense for me. But on top of that, I am very passionate about designing new neigbourhoods.

    Funny enough, I don’t know how I did it. My first project was 500 homes. The site was about 400 hectares. Why I started that way and why I like big size? Because I like to control the environment and control what happens in it, good or bad. It has worked.

    In some countries, if you hear a person talk like this, you would say he has a political ambition…

    No, I don’t. Being a public company is enough pain for me.

    How do you expect to sustain this?

    You should have an open mind. You look at the world, look at the market you are in, and you always search for opportunities, surround yourself with good people. Make sure you have good business principles as you do your business, and one of them is that we want people to trust us. We have to have discipline, without discipline you cannot do a thing. You can’t.

    You have the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. You also have the biggest shopping mall in the world. Did you set out with projects like this in mind?

    At the beginning, we just wanted to make sure that in the first two years, we succeeded. No clue at the beginning of what we wanted to do, to be honest with you. But we tried to do things and it is working and we say let’s push the boundary, let’s get bigger, let’s do things well. You know as you do this, you make mistakes, you learn, you become better. And then after, you say well, I can do bigger things because I have done this, I have done that, I have enough people, I have knowledge, I have ability. The original thinking was very simple: how can I do this business? I barely have money to start the company. And how can I make money for myself while I am becoming successful? It is really a very simple vision.

    Now, as this comes up, till today, it doesn’t make a difference. What makes the difference is what we’ve been able to achieve. We’ve been able to add value to our society, to our investors. We built quality structures, we have good reputation.

  • Lagos: Experience or experimentation?

    Lagos: Experience or experimentation?

    Next to the presidential election on February 14, the Lagos State governorship election two weeks later, will be the most interesting, significant and critical in the country. The office of Lagos State governor is easily the most powerful and influential in Nigeria after the Presidency. Lagos is miniature Nigeria. There is no ethnic group in Nigeria that is not represented in Lagos. She has a population that is equivalent to or larger than at least 30 African countries. The megacity is Nigeria’s commercial and industrial nerve centre. While she has recorded steady and easily demonstrable progress over the last 16 years, Nigeria has experienced undisguised retrogression in virtually all critical sectors under the leadership of the PDP since 1999.

    It is against this background that this column has consistently made a case for continuity in Lagos but change at the centre at the forthcoming defining polls. The two leading governorship candidates, Mr Akinwumi Ambode of the APC and Mr Jimi Agaje of the PDP have since stepped up their campaigns. The APC on Wednesday held its first mega rally at the Airways ground in Ikeja. Agbaje answered Lagosians’ questions in a live video chat the same day commencing from 6pm the same day. On Thursday, the two candidates squared up with those of other parties in a debate at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, GRA, Ikeja.

    In picking Agbaje as its governorship candidate, the PDP seeks to mitigate its unsavoury public image that has so far denied it electoral success in Lagos State through the credibility and appreciable goodwill of the pharmacist and politician. Despite his understandable public endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election, Agbaje has delicately projected his own candidacy rather than his party platform. In this respect, he walks a difficult tight rope. But then, as Dr Dapo Thomas of the Lagos State University (LASU) has pungently argued, his chosen platform raises serious questions as regards Agbaje’s consistency and fidelity to political principles.

    As a member of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Democratic Parties Alliance (DPA) and Afenifere, Agbaje has always identified with parties committed to the re-structuring of Nigeria in the direction of true federalism. In joining the PDP, he has undertaken an amazing ideological and philosophical somersault. The PDP symbolises the opposite of all that Agbaje has espoused in his political career. If a man will sacrifice his cherished values to gain political office, will he not readily jettison ennobling principles to remain in office? It is not an invalid question.

    On the hustings, Ambode has rightly projected his public sector experience of service that saw him rising from the local government cadre through the state civil service to reach the zenith of his career as Permanent Secretary and Accountant General of Lags State over a 27-year period. To be fair to Agbaje, he has not claimed any public leadership experience. He has only contended with characteristic honesty that his private sector experience as an entrepreneur and industrialist is sufficient to acquit himself creditably as Lagos State governor.

    After all, Agbaje argues further, what public service experience did Awolowo, Dr Goodluck Jonathan or even Asiwaju Bola Tinubu have before the commencement of their public leadership careers? As Ambode aptly quipped at the Archbishop Vining church debate, President Jonathan’s below par record is an excellent example of why relevant public service experience is critical for effective and positive leadership in a complex polity like Lagos or Nigeria. It was a wrong example for Agbaje to cite.

    What about Tinubu? True, he had no public sector experience when he assumed office as Lagos State governor in 1999. But then, in the private sector, he had risen to become treasurer of Mobil, the international oil giant before opting for a political career. Tinubu thus had some experience of complex organisational dynamics. Even then, Tinubu had to spend a considerable learning period before he settled down to effective governance. Thus, the period between 1999 and 2001 were years of intense criticisms by the public of the perceived non-performance of the Tinubu administration. It was as he gradually understood and mastered the system that the tempo of governance increased under Tinubu.

    As Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has publicly said, a key factor in the outstanding success of his administration was his prior experience as Chief of Staff and member of the Lagos State Executive Council for about five years in the Tinubu administration. Unlike Tinubu, Fashola thus had an appreciable understanding of the system and could hit the ground running.

    Ambode stands on even firmer ground than Tinubu or Fashola. On a general level, he had operated in the service for 27 years. He understands the system thoroughly. On a more specific note, he has been a key participant in the conceptualisation and implementation of the development master plan under which Lagos has taken impressive strides. These invaluable experiences stand him in good stead to take Lagos to the next level.

    How then about Awolowo? His case must be placed in the appropriate historical and political context. First, Awolowo was an exceptionally gifted human being who remains intellectually, morally and spiritually unequalled by any politician in this dispensation. Secondly, Awolowo’s generation of politicians inherited a qualitative colonial civil service of the highest standard that made it easier for them to quickly adapt to the demands of public leadership. Thirdly, the parliamentary system under which Awolowo operated placed greater premium on collegiate rather than personalised leadership. In the presidential system, much more depends on the personal experience and effectiveness of the chief executive.

    Fourthly, even as talented as he was, Awolowo had to undergo a learning period when he emerged as Leader of Government Business and Minister of Local Government in the Western Region on 7th January, 1952. As Olufemi Ogunsanwo writes in his book, ‘Awo: Unfinished Greatness’, “For some time, the lieutenant-governor himself continued to preside informally at cabinet meetings to guide the proceedings…The governor eventually took a backseat as Awolowo stamped his political authority and administrative competence on the government”.

    Lagos State for the last 16 years has been implementing a development master plan under which it is widely agreed that the state has made tremendous progress. Yet, Agbaje promises a new master plan, which can only be experimental. Lagosians are thus being asked to jettison a working master plan for a speculative and untested one.

    One of the components of Agbaje’s new master plan is to build 150,000 new houses for Lagosians in his first four years in office.  These houses, he promises, will be private sector driven but made affordable for ordinary Lagosians and non-Lagosians using mortgages with reasonable interest rates. First, how will his proposed mortgage plan be different from or superior to the current one of the Fashola administration? Again, if his housing scheme is private sector driven, how will it at the same time be mass-oriented and affordable? The private sector is motivated by profit and not philanthropy.

    Again, Agbaje plans to open up Epe, Badagry, or Ikorodu rather than the on-going Lagos Atlantic project, which he claims will have a negative impact “on the congestion of the Victoria Island axis given the increased growth in traffic flow to the area”. First, does the Lagos Atlantic City project, perhaps the most sophisticated and ambitious project of its kind in Africa, in any way clash with or obstruct the numerous on-going projects such as the Lagos-Badagry Expressway to open other parts of the state? Second, can you magically develop other parts of the state without elevating the current economic and revenue generating capacity of the state as the Lagos Atlantic City project seeks to do?

    Agbaje is unhappy with the debt profile of Lagos State. He has the view that debt is inimical to development. As Ambode has argued, however, debt must always be considered in relation to GDP and the total economic capacity of the state. Debt is an inevitable feature of modern public finance. What matters is its effective use to generate further development as is the case in Lagos State. Agbaje is against debt. Yet, he wants to reduce taxes and at the same time enhance welfare services. This can be nothing but government by magic – a dangerous experiment Lagos can ill-afford.

  • Ambode: The strategist Lagos needs

    Everyone has the legitimate right to aspire to serve in any political office or position in a democracy provided he has not been convicted in a court of law.  However, at all times, conscious efforts must be made to ensure the emergence of the best candidate for the polity to enjoy the benefit of a good leader.  The onus rests on the voters to actually elect a worthy leader for the state or nation.

    Currently, Akinwunmi Ambode of the All Progressives Congress and Jimi Agbaje are busy selling themselves to electorates across the length and breadth of Lagos State with a view to getting the approval of the voter to become governor of the State of Excellence in the elections slated for February.

    Beyond emerging as the party’s flag bearers, each passing day, Nigerians in general and Lagosians in particular, are striving to see what these men bring to table to lead the commercial capital of the nation in terms of experience and competencies beyond the stoic desire to lead Lagos for the next four years.

    Agbaje, 57 has been at the political treadmill since 2005 and has contested for the position of Lagos State governor two times, going for his third while his archrival, Ambode is making his first attempt. Agbaje is a 1978 graduate of pharmacy from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He was a practising pharmacist with over three decades before he veered into politics. “I started my pharmacy on the shopping floor, which is about the community- people, customers, and patients. Therefore, you find that you are dealing with your environment. So, going into politics is just an extension”, he says indicating how close he has been in touch with the grassroots.

    By comparison, Ambode seems to have a more robust career, focus and landmark accomplishments. Born on June 14, 1963, he is an accomplished accountant, an administrator and a public finance management expert. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Brandsmiths Consulting Limited – a firm with specialisation in public sector finance management.

    He had a sterling career in the civil service where he rose to become the Accountant-General and held many sensitive financial positions in the Lagos State government in a 27-year career in the Lagos State Civil Service.

    He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management. His desire to give back to the society is expressed in his founding the La Roche Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organisation focused on developing the next generation of leaders.

    Ambode began his education at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Meta, Lagos in 1969. Always brilliant, in 1974, while still in Primary five, he sat for the National Common Entrance Examinations and excelled and was admitted to Federal Government College, Warri in the same year. He spent seven years in Warri, where he completed his Ordinary and Advanced Levels and had the distinction of achieving the second best result in all of West Africa in the Higher School Certificate Examinations in 1981.

    He then proceeded to the University of Lagos where he studied Accounting, graduating at the age of 21 in 1984. He completed his mandatory National Youth Service Corps year serving with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sokoto, Sokoto State, where he started his relationship with public service.

    After his NYSC, he commenced his career at the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA) as Accountant Grade II. He enrolled for Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) examinations and at the same time was awarded a Federal Government scholarship to pursue a Masters Degree in Accounting at the University of Lagos. By the time he turned 24, he had qualified as a Chartered Accountant and had completed his Masters Degree programme in Accounting, specialising in Financial Management.

    His career was fast-tracked and in 1988, he was appointed the Assistant Treasurer, Badagry Local Government. In 1991, he was posted to Shomolu Local Government as Auditor. He was later deployed to Alimosho Local Government as Council Treasurer. Ambode was posted back to Shomolu as Council Treasurer and later on to Mushin Local Government as Council Treasurer. He crisscrossed many Local Government Councils in different roles in a 10-year period, which has equipped him with a first-hand experience of the direct impact of governance on the citizenry across the State.

    In 1998, Ambode was awarded the US Fulbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship programme, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA. His Fellowship Year was spent studying Public Leadership with emphasis on Finance and Accounting. During this programme, he had professional internships at The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Cabinet Office of Administration and Finance (Governor’s Office), and City of Boston Treasury Office as well as with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

    On his return from the programme, Ambode became acting the Auditor-General for the Local Governments, Lagos State. This position was confirmed by the State House of Assembly in 2001.

    In January 2005, he was redeployed to mainstream public service as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. By February 2006, he was given the added responsibility of Accountant General for Lagos State, in charge of all the financial activities of the state and directly responsible for over 1400 accountants in the state service. Under his watch, the State Treasury Office (STO) revolutionised the way Lagos State finances were raised, budgeted, managed and planned. In his six-year tenure as the Accountant General of Lagos State, the state’s financial performance improved visibly with the budget performing at a remarkable average of 85% annually.

    This high rate of performance stems from Ambode’s personal belief that “public financial management is about ensuring that public money is well spent and it is made to stretch as far as possible. It provides leaders and public-sector managers with information to make decisions and to know if they are using resources effectively”.

    He voluntarily retired in August 2012 after 27 years of service and founded Brandsmiths Consulting Limited, a public finance consultancy group.

    As a stickler for high performance whose  decisions are never based on race, gender or religion, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress [APC} in Lagos State in his manifesto promised, to set up a four-year N25 billion trust fund to cater for unemployed people in the state under  the Lagos Employment Trust Fund (LETF). The fund would provide a minimum of N1 billion naira annually for entrepreneurial ventures across the state’s five divisions of Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos and Epe.

    As a financial management expert, he also plans to protect the growth of small and medium scale enterprises by providing tax incentives: “we will implement government policies that will encourage the private sector to employ more citizens and foster economic development”.

    Also of critical importance in his plans are the issues of health, education and housing. For education, Ambode’s administration if elected says, “would provide free education up to senior secondary level, as well as provide one meal per day for students while bursary and scholarship initiatives for tertiary institutions will executed in partnership with the private sector as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.”

    His housing plans is a bit more revolutionary as plans to improve the state’s current policy of home ownership through Lagos HOMS and provide ownership options, such as Rent-to-Own-Programme (R.O.P).

    “We will encourage the creation of a Corporate Social Responsibility Trust Fund (CSR-TF) by the private sector, to be managed by a Board of Trustees charged with the responsibility of identifying growth opportunities yearly and financing such opportunities to further boost economic development across sectors and communities in the State.”

    Good luck is when opportunity meets with preparedness; therefore determining where the pendulum swings should not be akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. It is obvious in this situation that one is more prepared than the other.  Ambode’s career trajectory, work and life experiences, revolutionary vision and open mindedness make him the better choice of the two for the job of leading Lagos in the nest political dispensation.

    • Adewale is a public affairs analyst

  • Lagos introduces CBT for Model College exam

    The Lagos State Ministry of Education has introduced Computer Based Test (CBT) for entrance examination into its 15 model colleges/upgraded junior secondary schools for the 2015/2016 academic session.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, who announced the sale of entry forms for the examination, said as the pilot edition, only about 20-30 candidates would write the CBT version.

    She noted in a statement that the CBT would only be for interested candidates, while the majority would write the conventional Pencil Based Test (P.B.T.).

    The CBT would hold at the I.C.T/ Computer Centre of the Lagos State Examinations Board (LSEB), Agege, while the PBT would hold in designated centres across the state on May 9.

    The Commissioner noted that candidates, after paying the N10,000 registration fee, would get  a customised Compact Disc (CD) from the Lagos State Examination Board.

    The 15 model colleges/upgraded schools include Lagos State Model Junior College, Meiran; Vetland Junior Grammar School, Ifako-Ijaiye; Lagos State Model Junior College, Igbokuta; Lagos State Civil Service Model Junior College, Igbogbo; Oriwu Model Junior College, Ikorodu; Government Junior College, Ikorodu; Eva Adelaja Memorial Junior Secondary School, Bariga.

    Others are Lagos State Model Junior College, Badore; Lagos State Model Junior College, Igbonla; and Lagos State Model Junior College, Agbowa; Government Junior College, Ketu-Epe; Epe Junior Grammar School, Epe; Lagos State Model Junior College, Kankon; Lagos State Model Junior College, Ojo; and Badagry Junior Grammar School, Badagry.

    The sales of forms will close on April 3.

    However, a group, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit (LSAU), has objected to the N10,000 registration fee, which was the same amount charged last year.

    A statement signed by its Amir (President), Kaamil Kalejaiye, MSSN LSAU, said the burden of bringing quality or change in the education system should not be placed on parents.

    “The fear is that this is just the beginning, very soon the Lagos State government may begin to ask parents in public schools to start paying ‘token’ school fees.? This may not come directly, but with another obscure tag. This is possible because we have seen high fee regime happened in the state university, polytechnic and colleges of education. All these have made the educational policies of LASG scary and mostly anti-masses,” he said.