By C. Don Adinuba
If there is any state in Nigeria which is in spirit and truth a one-party state, it is Lagos . Now, this is a profound paradox. Lagos is not just Nigeria ’s commercial capital and the most populous and heterogeneous of states, but also the home of social activism. Its populace is energetic and exuberant, always charged with life. Any suggestion that Lagos is a one-party state should ordinarily be considered a contradiction in terms. But the reality is that it is a state where only one party effectively exists. Unlike some other states where the opposition is practically dead on account of the crass opportunism of the political elite, Lagosians enthusiastically embrace the ruling party
Oddly enough, the person most responsible for this social engineering has little interest in party politics or power game, the obsession of African politicians. Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos leads by personal example, the very element which Chinua Achebe laments in The Trouble With Nigeria as most lacking in our national leadership chemistry. Fashola is a quintessence of the political class in a number of emerging societies across the world steeped in what modern theorists call developmentalism, that is, the kind of politics obsessed with radically increasing the standards of living of the people so that they could, within just a generation, compare favourably with those of the citizens of the developed nations. Such societies include Singapore , Malaysia , Hong Kong , Taiwan , South Korea , Indonesia and, in recent times, Vietnam.
In Africa , the region in need of accelerated development more than any other part of the world, the political class is unfortunately preoccupied with power game. To acquire power and utilize it maximally, often without purpose, nothing is considered too sacred or too profane. The end justifies the means. Hence, religious, ethnic, racial and other primordial differences are played up for gains of the moment, even if the situation means sentencing the whole nation to a future of violence and mutual annihilation. Take events in Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Somalia and the Sudan.
Fashola is one of the very few African leaders genuinely challenged by what is commonly called the Asian miracle. He reasons that if countries like Singapore and Vietnam could score a global eye bull with their stunning development, in spite of well known disadvantages, there is no compelling reason for Nigeria to remain a typical third world nation, paralysed by old sorrows of history like disease, poverty, instability, clannishness, etc. Fashola is convinced that if Lagos , the nation’s heartbeat, gets it right the rest of the country will follow. He goes about the business of turning Lagos , with a population of over 10 million, into a mega city comparable to Rio de Janeiro with the zeal of a true believer, a missionary.
To succeed in this enterprise, he has demonstrably become an authentic servant leader. He goes with no motorcade of blacked-out sport utility vehicles and sirens blaring away to not just scare away the citizens from the road, but also demonstrate to all and sundry that a big man is passing, complete with all the paraphernalia of state violence. I am not aware of any state governor whom any person can access with as much ease as Fashola. His e-mail address, for instance, is public knowledge. He reads every message addressed to him, and personally responds to each with amazing sincerity and infectious courtesy.
In the middle of last year, I wrote a well published article on how he reacted to a rather critical letter I wrote to him on the awful state of the major road leading to my estate in the Lekki corridor. Only two days after the e-mail, a team of engineers and surveyors from the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure arrived in my place to objectively assess the strategic value of the road. I had cynically dismissed the governor’s statement in the reply to my letter that he was immediately dispatching my letter to the “appropriate agency” for prompt advice as another political statement, an empty assurance. Little did I know that we now had in our midst a different kind of leader. Fashola only says what he means and means whatever he says.
My experience with the governor over my road makes me think that he wants to provide infrastructure and facilities which meet the best international standards affordable, in accordance with his vision and determination to build a truly mega city. The directors in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure recommended that the contract for the road be awarded to a local engineering firm on account of, among others, the limited funds available. But conscious of the treacherous and difficult nature of the area which practically sits on a massive lagoon, I requested that the road be done by PW Nigeria Ltd., an Irish multinational which was already doing an impressive job on the Ajah—Badore Road; Unity Road in Badore is basically an extension of the Ajah—Badore Road. My nomination of a foreign firm was, admittedly, a moral dilemma for me, for I have long enjoyed the reputation of being a strong advocate of local firms and services and products, as well as transfer of technology. But this turned out to be a case of pragmatism triumphing over idealism.
As you are reading this short article, Unity Road is being developed, and PW seems determined to do a better job on this road than it has done on the Ajah— Badore Road . Whereas the technically advanced drainage slabs on Ajah— Badore Road measure half a centimetre each, those of Unity Road measure three quarters of a centimetre in width. The design of the latter road is, of course, better. By the time work is completed, Unity Road will become one of the most durable roads in Lagos and the estate aesthetically one of the best finished places in Lagos , complete with street lights and ornamental trees. All this is in consonance with Fashola’s single-minded determination to turn Lagos into a beautiful place, in utter defiance of our people’s astonishing talent for disorder and chaos.
As adumbrated above, easy public access is one of the critical success factors for the Fashola administration. There are many leaders who want to accomplish so much but lack information on the real needs of the people—and some of the needs can be met with little or no financial resources. A couple of weeks ago, I brought to the governor’s attention the traffic gridlock between Ajah and Lekki caused by failed portions of the road and the irresponsible behaviour of mostly commercial bus drivers, as well as the incompetence of traffic officials in the area. Forty eight hours later, I got a reply from the governor who promised immediate palliative and a comprehensive solution soon. The same day, I received several phone calls from the governor’s special adviser on transportation, Kayode Opeifa, who looks hungry for solutions to problems. Within 24 hours the newly appointed acting general manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Mr Edu, an engineer, traced my place on a day it was raining cats and dogs as he waded through ponds of water to address a meeting of the executive committee of the landlords association. The next day the LASTMA officials between Ajah and Lekki sat up, and some of them turned into emergency road repairers; they poured mixed cement and chippings into the numerous potholes and craters. Governor Fashola has since directed PW to quickly create drains on the road and reconstruct the failed sections so as to ease traffic on this strategic and extremely busy road on which 10 000 vehicles pass daily.
Bisi Silva, a very talented curator, and Ndidi Dike, arguably Nigeria ’s most versatile female artist, were having an exhibition in Yaba early this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and pleaded with me to invite the governor. I did. He was already committed, but he sent his Commissioner for Culture and Tourism to represent him. Presently, Ndidi was staging a solo performance at the National Museum at Onikan, and requested I invite the governor. I, once again, did. But unknown to me, Fashola’s official e-mail address was not functioning. I sent him another invitation just three days to the event. He did his best to attend in person but could not, so he sent a director in the state civil service, Mrs. Carol Aromire, who stoically waited long for Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe to arrive, and when she spoke gave a good account of herself. Fashola is exceedingly cultured and treats everyone, however highly or lowly placed, in a manner respectful of the dignity of the human person.
Gov Fashola has been in leadership for just one year, and he has during this period charmed all Lagosians. He has through sheer brilliant performance turned his state of boisterous people into a one-party state. Were he an army general, Lagosians would follow him to the war front even blindfolded. He is a perfect illustration that the best form of political propaganda is to do the right thing. I am proud to call Babatunde Raji Fashola a friend, nay, a brother. As he has just marked his 45th birthday anniversary, I am glad to regard him as a worthy representative of my generation. Ad maltos annos.
•Adinuba is Head of Discovery, Public Affairs Consulting.
Comment