On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, the campaign office of Governor Babatunde Fashola was once thrown open to kick-start his second term re-election campaign despite his initial statement when he assumed office that he would not seek a second term in office.
But the governor who has just returned to the country from the lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia, has been having it rough in the past few months with his political god-father and predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the state House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji and leaders of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
The emergence of Fashola was without some crises within the defunct AC. Yet, he overcame all odds and became the governor of Lagos State. After two years in office, he has proved sceptics wrong, those who said that the shoes left behind by his godfather were too big for him.
The people of Lagos now talk about the governor’s achievements within 1,200 days in office. At political gatherings that involve the ACN, hundreds of Fashola’s supporters can be seen around wearing T-shirts with the inscription: “Fashola for Second Term.”
In his inaugural speech on assumption of office on May 29, 2007, Governor Fashola promised Lagosians that his administration will stay on course and accelerate its pace towards a high standard of living which the people of the state deserve. He said, “I am convinced that with the leadership that you have now elected so overwhelmingly on the platform of our great party (AC), Lagos State will stay on course and accelerate its pace towards that standard of living which our people deserve.”
To all Lagosians of all faiths, male and female, young and old, Fashola sought their cooperation as he embarked on the first term journey. He demanded a peaceful co-existence, the need to discharge duties to the state with hope and good cheer and to promote all that is good for the state and denounce all that is bad.
While thanking the people of the state who thronged the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, to witness his swearing-in ceremony, Fashola assured them of brighter days ahead, saying, “I want to assure you that you have chosen a government that cares; a government with a clear vision of where we are and where we want to be; a government with a clear compelling purpose from which its priorities will logically flow.”
Observers believed, so much has been done by Fashola’s administration to improve the standard of living of the people of the state. At the beginning, after the initial understudy of the various ministries and parastatals, Governor Fashola swung into action by appointing 22 commissioners and about 20 Special Advisers to pilot the affairs of these ministries.
Fashola’s executive cabinet comprises 11 among the commissioners who served in the Tinubu administration when Fashola was the Chief of Staff (CoS). The cabinet meets every Monday as early as 9am, to evolve new ideas capable of moving Lagos State forward. Sometimes, the Monday meeting lasts between 10 and 14 hours non-stop deliberating on the way forward for the state.
At the beginning of the administration’s activities, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Barrister Opeyemi Bamidele, initiated a pro-active strategy to inform management in the state when he started a weekly media briefing after the maiden weekly executive council meeting. After the cabinet meeting, the commissioner tells Lagosians through the media, vital decisions reached at the council’s deliberations.
From such media briefings the people of Lagos get to know the state government’s readiness to fulfill all the campaign promises made by Fashola and other necessary developmental programmes the government has in store for the citizens to ensure a better Lagos of tomorrow. In the words of Opeyemi, the spokesman for Fashola’s administration, he often tells journalists who attend the briefings that “Fashola is committed to make Lagos a modern mega city.”
As at his third-year anniversary in office as the governor of Lagos State, Fashola, from the perception of people across the state, has performed above average. He has lots of accomplishments in the education sector, health, transport, environment beautification, security and others to the admiration of majority of the people of Lagos.
However, Fashola’s style of governance has distinguished him from his peers, made him a governor admired and respected across the country and beyond, and has put him against the camp of his predecessor, Bola Tinubu, the undisputed leader of the ACN. There had been open and behind-the-door campaign of calumny against Fashola within his party (ACN) and attempts have been made by the opposition within the party to bring his government to its knees.
Recently, a group known as “True Face of Lagos” visited the state House of Assembly with various financial impropriety allegations against Fashola. The group suspected to be sponsored by the governor’s oppositions within CAN ‘succeeded’ in creating confusion and controversy between the executive and the legislative arms of the government.
The heat generated by series of activities of the ‘True Face of Lagos’ is still on as at the time of filing this report as it was rumored that Fashola’s political god-father (Tinubu) is sourcing for his replacements. But, despite the sour relationship between Fashola’s camp and that of his mentor, the governor has been under pressure not to give in to Tinubu’s camp and contest.
One of the major oppositions against Fashola in the race to the governor’s office come 2011 is the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who has not been in good terms with Fashola for some time now. An unconfirm report had it that the assembly under the leadership of Ikuforiji, is not pleased with Fashola’s style of being thorough with financial issues, a situation that has created more enemies for Fashola within the assembly and the ACN.
In spite of opposition from the camp of his god-father, Fashola has kept on governing the state and strategizing on how to return for a second term without creating controversy. He had denied his ambition for a second term times without number, but Weekly Trust can report that Fashola is ready to confront all challenges and hurdles put on his way by the opposition within his party to succeed.
Although it was rumored that PDP in Lagos is wooing him to contest on their platform should the ACN reject him at the primaries, he once said the opposition party has no ideology that can make him join the party. Fashola did not rule out crossing to another party if the heat becomes too much for him in the ACN but he was quoted once saying, “I will not take AC’s mandate to another party. Instead of doing that, I will resign.”
While addressing the state on the occasion of his third year in office, Fashola who was looked upon by the people to declare his interest to return to office for the second time informed Lagosians indirectly, saying, “I assure you that we are not tired. We remain committed and hold your trust in our abilities most inviolate. We have evolved a clear strategy of how our state should develop based on the 10-point agenda, the manifesto of our party, with the resolve not to fire-fight, but to be methodical in achieving that plan of an orderly and sustainable development.”
Babatunde Fashola has been a very fortunate man in every sense. He came to power on the crest of a wave of desire for continuity in Lagos as a result of the desire of the PDP to ‘capture’ Lagos at all cost. The sympathy of the people of Lagos for Fashola cuts across divides that nobody thought could have been bridged politically until his assumption of power in 2007.
He has tried to build his own political clout, using incumbency in a very adroit manner to his advantage and taking opportunity to build bridges with various individuals and communities around the state. He has used the power of incumbency as a learning ladder as well, thereby finding increasingly assured steps into Lagos politics.
Fashola is a very lucky individual who has worked assiduously for the progress of Lagos State, and the best way to show gratitude for all what he has done for Lagos is to renew his commitment to service which can help advance the development of Lagos State, many Lagosians who spoke to Weekly Trust said.
However whether he can survive the offensive by the grand master himself remain to be seen.
