I’ll connect govt with citizens and investors

Most genuine, altruistic chief executives in the public or private sector have one big desire that eats up their life while in charge – it is to run their company or the enterprise of state business successfully. But success doesn’t often come easy. And that’s because it has different parameters of measurement. Depending on how you look at it, there is a sense in which expectations from chief executives, especially in Africa, vary depending on whether they run a private sector company or a state institution. Approaches are often different though; and a lot of this is often down to the individual who is placed with the executive responsibility either by the board of directors, or in the case of an electable executive office in state business, by the electorates.

There is always a meeting point between the business of managing state affairs and that of managing private enterprise. Success results from an ability to understand and effectively make this connection and then be able to deploy strategies that would produce results. Many public service personnel know this, but they are often cut short of success by what looks like an unwillingness to apply the principles that underpin it as a strategy. It is exactly a year this month that I first had contact with Akinwunmi Ambode, who is taking time off now as Chief Executive Officer of Brandsmith Limited, the consultancy firm he set up after retiring from the employment of Lagos State Government; and long before he threw his hat in the ring to contest for governorship of Nigeria’s most powerful economic state, Lagos.

During our first encounter, Ambode’s understanding of the world of public sector finance stood him out. “Strong public financial management systems,” he began to tell me then, “are essential to improved service delivery, poverty reduction and, to an extent, achievement of Millennium Development Goals. An effective public financial management system will naturally guarantee financial efficiency, improve transparency and accountability.” It seems to come naturally, but it is equally backed by years of experiential and theoretical knowledge, as a qualified accountant and public finance expert.

If you are putting yourself in the frame to become the chief executive of Nigeria’s most powerful economic state, you must have a proper understanding of this status and how to make the proper connection. His experience of 27 years with the state gives Ambode confidence that he is ready for the job. So what does he plan to do as CEO, I asked him during the week?

“My vision is to let Lagos play the type of role that California is playing in North America. To build Lagos into a city-state whose economic influence will be felt across sub-Sahara Africa. And as such, we plan to make every Lagos resident partake in the prosperity of the state as we take the state to the next level,” he explained to me.

Most of his life has been spent in public finance management. But he has also added a good dose of private sector experience. I wanted to hear from him how these experiences could shape his approach to running this cosmopolitan state.

“The obvious advantage from my experience is that nothing will be strange or hidden. I understand how the machinery of government works. I am familiar with the instruments of governance and how government connects with the citizens and investors. These are obvious advantages that I hope to deploy to good use, especially now that more resources are needed to run the state efficiently and, of course, better management of those resources,” Ambode said.

A prosperous economy that is built and put on a growth path requires that state managers think about securing this growth and creating an environment that is secured for lives and prosperity. But this has a link with the ability to built institutions that can aid this. When I asked him what institutions of state he would be building, Ambode quickly jumped at security.

“Security of lives and property are essential. It’s important to me because the image of the state and survival of the people rest on it. So I’m eager to build on the existing Security Trust Fund. Not only do we hope to remain the safest state in the country but to also eliminate all forms of social upheavals and public nuisance,” he said.

Chief Executives of private sector companies and those who manage state affairs know and share huge visions and often have defining projects that they execute and try to deliver. In the case of executives who manage state affairs, they know that delivering on these defining projects often touches lives. The outgoing government of Babatunde Fashola had this vision of a defining project in the form of the ten lane Lagos-Badagry road and rail project. As it has not been completed, I wanted to know if Ambode’s continuity mantra would work out here. 

“Definitely,” he began to tell me. “We would be working with the FG to deliver on this project as a world class road and rail infrastructure. We are very glad that the APC will be the government at the centre and the President-elect has practically handed us a promissory note, saying that not only will the FG reimburse Lagos state for the money expended on existing projects, but also undertake the renovation of road infrastructure and institutions owned by the Federal Government in Lagos State. This is like manna from heaven and you can only imagine the benefits that will accrue to Lagos from the Abuja -Lagos synergy,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

I probed further by asking him what his take is on collaboration, especially knowing that this vision of a life changing project for citizens initiated by Fashola ought to have been seized upon by the outgoing government at the centre.

He says it matters a lot that his party is going to be at the centre in Abuja as it would aid collaborative effort. “It does matter a great deal. Yes Lagos has demonstrated capacity to be ingenious and can hold its own. But it is not self-sufficient and can do a lot better with a friendly government at the centre. We won’t ask for an undue advantage. We only need the FG to be alive to its responsibilities in Lagos, considering the strategic importance of the state. For sure, a friendly centre will add to the prosperity of Lagos by simply allowing us to do what we have always hoped for example, approval for IPPs in residential areas, 4th Mainland Bridge, rail and tram system that can connect all the five divisions within Lagos and many more,” he said

For a state that has gained a lot of capital from what it has done with regeneration, I asked Ambode what his approach to the issue of regeneration would be and he said:

“It will be a collective approach involving an upgrade in transportation system and traffic management, building a more environment-friendly state, housing policy and industrialization that are very functional and certainly making sure that no section of the state is left behind in the development we are executing in the next four years. Trust me, you will see a true mega city going to the next level in our tenure.” And with that, I wished him well for tomorrow’s governorship election in Lagos.

Phillip Isakpa