‘Why Ambode deserves second term’

LANATU JOY SHELTON went to town to sample opinions of some residents of Lagos State on the likelihood of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode coming back to office after 2019. They did not only say the governor deserves it, but that he should have no competitor. Excerpts:

What in your opinion should Governor Akinwunmi Ambode return in 2019?

He has done so well, I don’t think people should hesitate to support his coming back as governor of the state, he has done so well from infrastructure to health, to security and housing which are the major hurdle in government policy, if you look at Lagos today, all the rural areas has been developed, from Agege to Iyana-Ipaja to Epe to Ikorodu, the biggest surprise will be Oshodi, we call it Oshodi interchange where passengers will just walk into a hall like we see in London, Switzerland, America, you take a bus straight to your destination; so I think we don’t need to think, we should give Ambode a second term.

 

But there are some politicians that voluntarily step down after their first term, even if they performed well in their first tenure; do you see the governor doing so?

Ok; the black man is a greedy man. Mandela served only five years and left, he would have done it for patriotism. For Mandela, it was his own opinion, may God bless his soul, he is a man we saw as a pure African but for the black man down here in Nigeria, it is always incumbent on the leadership or followership to ask for a second term whether you have done well or you have not done well. If he has done well and the people want him to come back, then he can come back. But for Ambode, from his body language and from his utterances and from the support he gets from every nook and cranny, they want him to come back; so definitely he will come back…he will not only come back but he will win and win overwhelmingly, because of what he has done in Lagos. You know, there are the rich and the poor; Ambode has actually touched the poor. Now, remember about two years ago I went to Abeokuta, I came back very late in the night and I came through Sango-Ota and it was a disaster, but today if you go there; if you have been to Washington you will see the road network; he has done so well; if you go to Epe, we call it a small country out of the world; so I think Ambode has done well and he should go back for a second term.

 

In specific terms, what do you think are his major achievements?

I have just told you earlier on, I said infrastructure; it has to do with roads like I said Ekpe, Ikorodu, Agege, Iyana-Ipaja, and some areas within the city. Then you look at hospitals; all our hospitals are the best so far. On security matters, if you check the record of robberies and kidnapping, it has reduced drastically because he has provided all the equipment they need for patrolling the city; I think he has done so well; there is an adage that says ‘if you manage man well you will manage material’, he has done well for man, so the materials are just flowing. The only problem he is having now is this environmental issue like dirt all over Lagos, which am sure he will also handle. There is a new company they call Visionscape; they are actually going to make sure Lagos is clean and you must know that in New York they have about 88,000 metric tons of dirt; Lagos alone is 13,000 metric tons. But you know the black man, we will get there. Ambode is trying to make Lagos look like any part of the world, so we give him all the support; he is going to win I don’t think we should waste any time on that and I am sure other parties will not want to contest because as at today, no party has shown any interest, even PDP. Elections are in the next few months, by August we will roll out the primaries for parties and so far so good, there is no party that has shown interest in Lagos.

 

Are there possibly, some areas you would still want the administration in Lagos State to look into?

Well, man’s needs are insatiable. The major needs in the city are a good accommodation, a good job, a good health care system, a good school and of course, constant electricity supply to run the system. These are the yearnings of man by nature.  Yes, in this part of the world, we are still suffering it, but Lagos is taking the lead in trying to meet these yearnings of man. So, Ambode is doing so well on that; he normally has town hall meetings he spreads across the three secretarial districts; when he comes there, he allows market women, students, artisans to actually raise their hands and ask questions about their needs. And so far, the population of Lagos outweighs the infrastructure today; we have about six to seven thousand people that come into Lagos without having a place to live; without having a job, so the pressure on the infrastructure is too much and it gives the governor a lot of concern. So you can imagine, if you go to other states for example; if you go to Delta State, what’s the population of Delta State based on their infrastructure? But everybody in Lagos wants water; everybody wants good environment, housing and all those stuff so the pressure is much on the infrastructure.

 

So in terms of the pressure on the resources to cater for the population, what exactly do you think the governor may be doing or should do?

 

It is not the governor’s making, Lagos has the two most contagious ports- the Apapa port and the tincan port- and fortunately, the two ports are in Apapa Local Government, so the pressure is intense. Let me tell you something, if you go to under the bridges, before now those were abode for people, but now if you come to Lagos you must come to see somebody, if you go to Ojuelegba in Surulere, it is no more the Ojuelegba of those days; government is now working on it to beautify it and chase away miscreants.  If you go to Oshodi; before now Oshodi used to be where everybody comes to and sleeps but now they are working there. Ambode is trying to make Lagos a sane city where human beings should live, and let me tell you something, Ambode has just started another road infrastructure. He is building another 250 roads in the 57 local government areas. I think we have about three, four roads in Apapa that the governor says they must build. So the governor builds two roads last year in every local government and this year he has increased it to three, to four per local government. So you must see development at every point in time in each of the local government areas. In each of the councils we have general hospitals, the drugs are cheap, some are free unless if they don’t have it at that time, then they can ask you to buy, and of course, schools are everywhere. Schools are free. In Apapa here, we give free GCE form, free JAMB form, people go to classes free. Of recent, the House of Assembly member gave out three hundred pieces of chairs to three secondary schools in Apapa Local Government Area.

Lagos is having the highest IGR, in your own view, do you thing the state is capable of generating more?

There can never be enough when it comes to money. On revenue generation, the only system through which government generates revenue is through tax and rates, so far Lagosians are actually paying their taxes and the governor and his administrators are making all their efforts in generating enough revenue. So far, Lagos State has been increasing from Bola Tinubu to Fashola and to Ambode, if you check the Lagos State website you will see how much we generate every month because if you don’t pay your tax, you cannot ask the government to do anything for you, you have to pay your rates that’s where the government gets money, and of course, Lagosians are cooperating with the government to bring development closer to the people

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An interview with Sikiru Osunkoya also known as Onifagi of Apapa- immediate past chairman of APC, Apapa Local Government, or chairman emeritus of Apapa council.

 

What do you think about the present administration in Lagos?

Lagos is blessed with Ambode; we will not forget him; we cannot forget him for what he is doing now. He has done well he will be doing fine, this is the first time I am hearing that a governor is looking at his people that they are suffering and providing a lot of money that they should come and borrow fifty to one hundred thousand to five million based on the category of your business. you can borrow up to 5 to 10 million, they are to pay back ooo; it’s not free but it helps a lot; it assists those people in improving their own business. Everybody is enjoying Ambode in Lagos. If you go out there, you will see workers, they are all doing fine, so Ambode has tried.

 

So if he has done well in the area of social welfare, how about other sectors like health, education, etc?

Go to all the hospitals he has renovated all the hospitals, he has provided the hospitals with modern equipment; go to all our hospitals you will see medicine, he has really done well; it’s only in Lagos State that we don’t owe workers’ salaries. Do you hear that we owe in Lagos? Because the man knows what he is doing, he knows where the money is, and he is using it for the development of the state. Do you know that Lagos State is the 13thfastest growing state in the world? Every day you see different things in Lagos; every day new, new things are coming up. Look at the environmental vehicles they just brought now, everybody is praying for him every day that God should keep him for us to serve us the more.