Three years after he was elected governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has proven why he was entrusted with the people’s mandate. This is profoundly evident from the effective way his administration handled the COVID-19 pandemic to the many completed and on-going projects across the state.
An accomplished banker turned politician, Sanwo-Olu rose in his career through hard work and exceptional performance. Born on June 25, 1965 in Lagos, he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Survey and Geo-Informatics from the University of Lagos and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management from the same institution. After his MBA degree, he took courses at the Havard Kennedy School of Government, London Business School and the Lagos Business School.
Sanwo-Olu served as Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, where he spearheaded the civil service framework, which ensured that civil servants in the state were among the highest paid in the country. He was actively involved in the setting-up of Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC), a contributory pension scheme to ensure that civil servants had what they could fall back on when they retire. He also served as the pioneer chairman of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund Board. He was instrumental to the establishment of the Lagbus Asset Management Limited (LAGBUS), which was established to complement the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and help ease traffic. As governor, Sanwo-Olo is reinventing Lagos by embarking upon cutting edge projects. The projects he has commissioned include the Lagos State Affordable Public Housing Scheme, Badagry; 110-bed Maternal and Child Centre and School of Anaesthesia at Badagry General Hospital, Lagos Homs at Lekki Phase I, Iponri, Surulere and Ikorodu; remodeled Abesan Youth Centre at Ipaja; and revamped Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos Island.
Sanwo-Olu completed the Agege Pen Cinema dual carriage flyover with adjoining roads; did groundbreaking ceremony of the Lagos rail mass transit red line project; flagged off construction of Massey Children Hospital, Lagos Island; commissioned new blocks of classrooms in four schools; reconstructed Ijede road in Ikorodu, commissioned 110-bed wards at Epe Mother and Child Centre (MCC), and commissioned 100 housing units in Lekki.
To actualise the mass transit programme in the state, the Lagos State governor has acquired three trains for the Lagos blue line rail project, with massive construction on the train stations across the state. There is also a new taxi scheme being evolved to complement the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT). For these and many other achievements, Sanwo-Olu wins The Sun Governor of the Year award.
