By Segun Ajayi
One could easily read the mind of Lagos helmsman, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on account of a policy direction captured in the state’s developmental agenda, the T.H.E.M.E.S+. Among the pillars of Transportation, Health and Environment, Education, Making Lagos a 20th Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism is Security and Governance.
Granted that the governor inherited a solid security structure and funding template, at no time did the state go to sleep over the safety of Lagos residents since Sanwo-Olu mounted the saddle six years ago. At 60, the governor may not be rolling out the big drums as others would, nor shut down all the roads that lead to Marina, his dynamic leadership and deliverables from good governance deserve accolades.
There is an aphorism that a good product sells itself. Governor Sanwo-Olu, therefore, needs no introduction because wherever he goes, his projects herald him and in his moments of introspection and retrospection, he can muse with modesty, ‘hitherto, the Lord has helped me’.
So, Sanwo-Olu’s good works in social and physical infrastructure have been speaking for him aside other attributions that stood him out among his ilk.
It was not a mere coincidence that for the second year running, Lagos was named among 20 most livable cities in the world. Through a survey carried out among international travellers and tourists, Time Out, a global magazine, named Lagos and two other African cities — Cape Town in South Africa and Marrakech in Morocco — among the world’s best for 2025. Cape Town in South Africa leads the pack, followed by Marrakech (Morocco), while Lagos completes the Africa’s trio listed in the global rankings.
The feat was not a happenstance but appreciation of a city with low crime rate, in addition to being Africa’s major cultural and business hotbed. The rating also hallmarks the city’s resilience, diversity, and population density contribute to a social environment where making friends is straightforward.
The city has also gained recognition for its music, creative industry and tourism potentials. Last year’s “Detty December” recorded a high volume of Diaspora visitors and an unprecedented remittances which, according to the World Bank account, amounted to four percent of Nigeria’s GDP. Lagos attracted this significant spending power of returnee Nigerians and foreign tourists, thanks to the safety of the environment and the incumbent administration’s huge spending on the city’s security infrastructure.
Currently, the security situation in Lagos deserves applause even as there are few rough patches that need be straightened. Shortly after Sanwo-Olu’s return to office after the 2023 elections, the state celebrated “four years of no bank robbery”. And between 2023 and now, the state has maintained that rating. Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun lent credence to this during a security town hall last year in Lagos. The No. 1 cop said: ‘I can recall that since 2007, only one bank robbery had succeeded in Lagos. And that was as far back as 2014. The days of armed robbery and bank robbery are gone in Lagos. What we are doing here today is the usual assistance the state government has been giving to the Police. Without the assistance Police receive from government, we will not be able to do as much as we are doing in Lagos State. We would have been overwhelmed by insecurity’.
Therefore, it would be unfair to measure Sanwo-Olu’s prioritisation of security via institutional support only, also by his proclivities for a safer Lagos. At a time many state governors were indisposed to the creation of state police, the Lagos helmsman never shied away from the project. Was it by coincidence that Sanwo-Olu was given the responsibility to read the communique issued after the meeting of All Progressives Alliance (APC) governors in Abuja, last week in which calls for state police featured amidst rising insecurity in the country? Even last year when the idea was mooted, Sanwo-Olu already had a blueprint for the project’s take off in Lagos. That was the insignia of a leader who is always ready.
It was during a media chat and Sanwo-Olu laid bare his plan for a smooth take off of state police. He said: ‘The beauty of any law is when there are consequences to violations. But when you don’t have institutions or capacity to enforce the laws fully, we’ll begin to see people not obeying such laws. This is why this conversation will tilt towards request for state police for example,
Mr. Governor hinted that he would not have hesitated if given the go-ahead to assemble 50,000 policemen to man Lagos. He explained: ‘But for a start, the Neighbourhood Watch is still there and they are about 6,000. I’ve given approval to recruit 4,000 more. Hey! These are jobs for our youths, jobs for our able-bodied men……what this means for me today is that by the time a final approval is given for the operations of state police, I’ll have 10,000 men to train and get them ready’.
According to him, effective policing can be better achieved when intelligence gathering is localised. Impressive presentation, one would say! However there are few grey areas like traffic robbery and one-chance robbery phenomenon posing threats to lives of the average Lagos resident. Meanwhile, the Lagos Neighbourhood Security Network is being repackaged into a crack intelligence unit, armed with modern operational gadgets and equipments.
Now, which birthday gift would be more precious for the second-term governor than a clean sweep of the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas by the the ruling APC in the 12 July council election? Interestingly, the state chapter f the party had seized the opportunity offered by President Bola Tinubu’s presence in Lagos recently to resolve whatever differences within the members. Contrary to opposition’s prayer that the party would be polarised ahead of the election, Sanwo-Olu also met with party stalwarts, flagbearers and stakeholders for the purpose of rallying them to victory at the polls.
APC’s all-round victory on 12 July will be a fitting birthday gift for Sanwo-Olu, 18 days after the real day.
