Lagos: As the mega city gets a make-over from Gov. Ambode...

JOHN SILAS writes that some of the landmark achievements of Governor Akinwunmi Amdode in the last one year are clear indications that Lagos is well on the way to becoming a truly mega city.
There is no doubt that Governor Ambode has rede­fined governance in La­gos State as well shown the dexterity, commit­ment and capacity to take Lagos to the next level within one year that he has steered the ship of state of the Centre of Ex­cellence.

Though the discourse in the public space ahead of the 2015 governorship election was about his competence and capac­ity given the fact that his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, raised the bar of governance in the state, many who knew Am­bode described him as the right man for the job.
After being sworn in as governor on May 29, 2015, Ambode, who knew that his major challengers at the poll are still lurking around to cast aspersion on his policies, immediately hit the ground running. Interestingly, one year after, the very opponents have been wowed by the sterling achievements of the former Accountant General of Lagos. Un­like those who will still take time to revel after being sworn-in as gov­ernor, Ambode took up the gauntlet immediately and by May 30, 2015, a day after his inaugu­ration, he delved into work.
Regarding them as the live wire of the civil ser­vice, the governor con­vened a meeting with the body of Permanent Secretaries in the State Civil Service to share his vision with them of his vision to reposition the Civil Service as a more efficient and ser­vice oriented organisa­tion which will involve streamlining some min­istries, departments and agencies to cut cost of governance as well as creation of new offices to cater for the emerging needs of the people in the next four years.
To bring this to light, the governor, realigned the Ministry of Rural Development, Parastat­als Monitoring Office as well as Political and Leg­islative Powers Bureau, while he had earlier an­nounced the establish­ment of the Office of Overseas Affairs and In­vestment (Lagos Global), Office of Civic Engage­ment as well as Ministry of Wealth Creation.
Governor Ambode also scrapped the Office of the Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Debt Management Office while he merged the of­fice of Works and Office of Infrastructure; Office of Drainage Services and Office of Environmental Service. This aside from improving the process and procedure of service delivery has also created opportunities for global competitiveness.
Not done on that same day, Governor Ambode also received President of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob, whom he had productive discussions with about the desir­ability of Lagos State as investors’ destination. Since then, the Governor has met several groups of local and foreign in­vestors including Presi­dent of Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, inves­tors from Dubai, United States of America, as well as envoys from several European and Middle East countries promis­ing them an enabling environment for willing investors.
Less than a month in the saddle of leadership, residents in the state started experiencing his milk of kindness. In­terestingly, a baby girl, Miss Oluwajomiloju Goodness, was the first to come in contact with the bowel of kindness of Governor Ambode.
The 2015 baby of the year in Lagos State had been diagnosed with a
 heart defect and required surgery. The Governor on his second day in office got wind of the condition. He immediately approved that the baby be flown to India on the expense of the state government. The surgery was successful and today, baby Oluwajomiloju is liv­ing healthy.
Next in line was Mrs. Ruth Uche, whose hus­band had fled their Agege home when his wife gave birth to triplets. Coming in contact with her story on the pages of Newspapers, Governor Ambode imme­diately directed the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency, Mrs. Oluranti Adebule, to provide official assistance to the family. Seeing that unusual succor had come the way of his ‘abandoned’ family, Mr. Uche came out from his hideout and re­turned home to his family.
When the governor made an announcement urging the Lagos State Traf­fic Management Authority (LASTMA) to adopt new strategies in their opera­tions, some motorists mis­construed it for a leeway to get away with traffic of­fence.
With his commitment in his inaugural speech that his administration would be committed to the State Development Plan (2012 –2025) built on four pillars namely;
Social Development and Security; Infrastruc­tural Development; Eco­nomic Development and Sustainable Environment, which he narrowed down to a tripod of Security, Job Opportunities and Infra­structure, Governor Am­bode believes that task of governing Lagos was not a 100-metres dash that required hasty decision-making, but a four-year journey that would require careful, thorough and co­ordinated policy and deci­sion making.
For a governor who is adept with the importance of a safe and secured state for businesses to thrive, Governor Ambode gave no second thought to address the issue of insecurity like petty crimes, cultism and armed robbery.
In response to the public outcry over the increase in spate of crime at the early part of his administration, Governor Akinwunmi Am­bode rebranded the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Nigerian Police, and in an unprecedented gesture donated equipment worth N4.765bn for the Police.
The items include 100 4-Door Salon Cars, 55 Ford Ranger Pick-Ups, 10 Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-Ups, 15 BMW Power Bikes, 100 Power Bikes, Isuzu Trucks, 3 Helicopters, 2 Gun Boats, 15 Armoured Personnel Carri­ers, Revolving Lights, Siren and Public Address System, Vehicular Radio Commu­nicators, Security Gadgets including Bullet Proof Vests, Drones Helmets, Handcuffs, etc, Uniforms, Kits and Im­proved Insurance and Death Benefit Schemes for officers.
The governor also donated 48 Patrol Vans, 385 Walkie Talkies, 11 Base and Repeat­er Stations, 1,150 Uniforms, 570 Handcuffs, 1,150 Belts, Berets and boots to boost the operation of the Neigh­bourhood Watchers, to keep all the communities in Lagos safe.
Since then, the equipment has gone a long way to re­duce the spate of traffic rob­beries, aided in recovering vehicles stolen at gun points and securing lives and prop­erty of residents in the state.
Making his thought known on the gesture, the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen­eral Abdulrahman Damba­zau (Rtd.) said the move is unprecedented in the his­tory of Nigeria and a sign of seriousness about the pre­mium the State Government under Governor Ambode attached to security of lives and property of residents. To back up the equipping of the police, Governor Ambode also made a gallant move which has now become the talk of the town; the gover­nor directed that the “Light Up Lagos” project should be spread across the three sena­torial districts in the state. To achieve this, the Governor set up an Advisory Coun­cil chaired by the Deputy Governor to come up with modalities on how to light up every nook and cranny of the State.
Five months after the team was set up, major highways in Lagos of today have been lit up and that has improved driving experience for mo­torists at night and has in­credibly gone a long way to reduce criminal activities at night which was ram­pant before the project kick started. In April, the gover­nor commissioned a 36km stretch of Street Lights from Ile-Zik to Sango Toll Gate, while the entire stretch of Murtala Mohammed Inter­national Airport Road has also been lit up.
Not forgetting his cam­paign promises to ensure re­habilitation of inner roads in the state, Governor Ambode approved the construction of two roads each across the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Develop­ment Areas, totaling 114 roads. He gave a six-month time frame for the comple­tion of the road projects which is expected to elapse by the end of June.
With the massive reha­bilitation of roads going on across the state, the Gover­nor initiated intervention geared towards boosting public transportation with the injection of 434 New BRT Buses for the Ikorodu Corridor during the com­missioning of the Mile 12-Ikorodu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Extension Project. There was also the re-launch of the Blue Line Rail Project by the Gov­ernor. The project, when completed would see over 500, 000 passengers con­veyed daily between Ma­rina and Okokomaiko.
The educational sector has not been left out as well. In a move to permanently resolve the protracted cri­sis at the Lagos State Uni­versity (LASU), Governor Ambode came up with an Executive Bill proposing a five-year single tenure for the institution’s Vice Chan­cellor and signed same into law after passage by the House of Assembly.
The new law pegs at 70-years, the retirement age for professors just as it also makes the institution a residential campus. Top of the efforts towards en­suring lasting peace in the State’s higher institution of learning was the appoint­ment and inauguration of Professor Olanrewaju Fag­bohun as the 8th substan­tive Vice Chancellor of the Institution who has since hit the ground running.
The saying, “catch them young” is one of Governor Ambode’s firmly beliefs. Thus it was not surpris­ing when he approved that 1300 qualified teachers be recruited to teach in the public primary schools across the state.
For Governor Ambode, motorable roads will go a long way to reduce the number of man hours spent by Lagosians in traf­fic. But aside improving the road condition, the con­struction of flyover bridges in Abule Egba junction and Ajah roundabout, two of the State’s high-density traffic zones was approved by the Lagos State Execu­tive Council.
The projects already awarded and work already in progress is expected to be completed within a pe­riod of 16 months.
Not done yet, Governor Ambode recently signed the Memorandum of Un­derstanding (MoU) for the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge. The project, which is designed to cover a distance of 38 kilometres, would be built under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) conces­sion and the state’s public-private partnership pro­gramme for a period of 40 years.