Pericles is one of the greatest men who ruled ancient Athens and redefined the capital of the ancient Greece into a standard for modern styled democracy. In one of the popular quotes attributed to the great Pericles, “a man who takes no interest in public affairs not as a harmless, but a useless character,” he charged his fellow Athenians to play a role in public matters or at least show concern for what is happening, for the common good.
In many millennia after this famous expression, the press was established as an official arm of the government, strictly established to monitor public developments for the sake of the masses.
Since the establishment of press (mass media), it has remain a major institution which takes note of happenings in the society, bringing to the fore just and unjust activities of the power brokers; beaming searchlight into the hidden agendas of the enemies of the masses; sharing the plights of the helpless and voiceless and ensuring that the people are kept abreast of developments in their immediate environments.
Oriwu Sun, since inception has not only been on the vanguard of its immediate environs, Ikorodu Division, it but also present every important information about the government to the people. The doyen community newspaper in Nigeria has carefully follow the massive activities of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu since he assumed the mantle of leadership in the state of excellence in 2019.
While this edition may not cover the loads of infrastructural works of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in this edition, we have decided to chronicle and follow up on his successful public projects around Lagos State, and in Ikorodu. Particularly in the areas of education, health, technology and transportation.
It is clear that the governor’s THEMES agenda will yield more than people envisaged and the markedly conspicuous capital projects straddling Lagos metropolis are simply breathtaking to be overlooked.
The theme of his campaign titled THEMES is rooted in the needs of Lagosians and touches the critical areas of everyone’s daily lives. T, stands for Traffic management and Transportation. Lagos is a city occupied by millions of residents and the commercial headquarter of businesses in Nigeria, making the metropolis a home to busy people who ply public roads for one reasons or another. Traffic congestion is one of Lagos’ major challenges and residents spend an average of four hours in traffic on every working days. Traffic related challenges in the city led to the formation of LASTMA (Lagos State Traffic Management Authority), an agency many states in the country have emulated even when they don’t have the kind of road issues Lagos is facing. But the traffic agency is only a part of the solution; Lagosians need good road networks, motorable roads, and alternative routes.
Governor Sanwo-Olu took cognizance of these facts and promised to rehabilitate our roads and waterways. True to his words, he went straight to work and got started. In his three years in office, the governor has rebuilt many roads and about completing others. In Ikorodu for example, Sanwo-Olu commissioned the Itamaga-Elepe road and it was completed in less than one year. All affected homes and property owners along the road were duly compensated and the road have modern amenities like dualise paved lanes, streetlights, covets and others.
The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way in Ikorodu also received the governor’s attention. Several roads in Epe, Alimosho, Apapa, Agege and other areas of Lagos State received attention and have been completed while others are near completion.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his effort to upgrade public transportation in Lagos, made headlines after he approached an American company in the United States where he acquired metro trains for the city of Lagos. The first phase of the Lagos metro train line is at the test-stage and other routes are near completion.
The second pillar of his THEMES agenda is represented with the letter H, and it stands for Health and Environment. Governor Sanwo-Olu believes in good health programme and wasted no time in launching the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme, christened Ilera’Eko. The health insurance scheme was unfold to bring succor to the masses and workers in Lagos, as beneficiaries would enjoy highly discounted health bill. Within few years he assumed office as the governor of Lagos State, Governor Sanwo-Olu has given attention to and provided required resources to public hospitals in Lagos. In the area of public waste management, his administration has revived the defunct private waste collectors known as PSP in Lagos and our streets are once again kept clean.
The third pillar of the THMES agenda represented by letter stands for Education and Technology. The governor plans on laying a good foundation for Lagos educational system, and he subsidized public primary and secondary schools in Lagos. He has rehabilitated many public schools including building of male hostel block at the Lagos State Junior Model College, Meiran; female hostel block at Lagos Model College, Badore; female hostel block at Lagos Model College, Agbowa; 18 classroom block at Orisunbare High School, Alimosho; fifteen classroom block at Muslim Junior College, Oworonshoki; female hostel block with Laundromat at Eva Adelaja Junior Secondary School, Bariga; eighteen classroom Block at Ojota Junior Secondary School, Ojota; eighteen classroom block at Lagos State Baptist Secondary School, Ori-Agege; eighteen classroom block at Abesan Senior High School, Alimosho; twelve classroom block at Lagos State Girls Model College, Agunfoye; female hostel block with Laundromat at Lagos Girls Junior Model College, Agunfoye; 12 classroom block at Luwasa Senior High School, Ijede; male hostel block with Laundromat at Badagry Junior Grammar School; female hostel blocvk with Laundromat at Badagry Junior Grammar School; 15 classroom block at Araromi Ilogbo Junior Secondary School, Badagry; 15 classroom block at St. Joseph Secondary School, Mushin and 12 classroom block at Ajumoni Junior Secondary School, Iyana-Isolo.
It came as a big surprise to many when the Lagos State governor converted three tertiary institutions in Lagos into full-fledge universities. The Lagos State College of Education previously known as Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education were merged and converted to the Lagos State University of Education while the Lagos State Polytechnic transmuted to the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, all in 2022. During a public briefing, the governor explained how he realised that the existing state university alone could no longer handle the high rate of university application in the state; hence he created additional universities to meet this need.