24th August, 2019
By Ademola Adegbamigbe
Right from the pre-colonial, colonial to this post-independence period, Lagos has proved to go beyond being a melting pot of different nationalities. It is a pressure cooker of divers people coming to avail themselves of the opportunities the city offers. Apart from the other spheres of life where this reflects, it also shows in the level of politics and administration. When Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu swore in his commissioners and special advisers on 20 August, it was not an all Yoruba or Lagosian affair. He included one Igbo and one Hausa among his cabinet members.
They are Joe Igbokwe, who was the Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, and now Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources and Arc. Kabiru Ahmed Abdullahi who was the Executive Secretary of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LSWRC) and now Special Adviser on Urban Development. Under the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu, Ben Akabueze, an Igbo man, an economist who served as the CEO of NAL Bank Plc (now Sterling Bank Plc) and Director General of the Budget office for the Federal Republic of Nigeria was two terms Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget with the Lagos State Government.
Here are the cabinet members. Mr. Tunji Bello is the Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment. Other Commissioners sworn in include: Mr. Rabiu Olowo Onaolapo (Finance), Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo (Education), Prof. Akin Abayomi (Health), Dr. Idris Salako (Physical Planning and Urban Development), Mr. Gbenga Omotoso (Information and Strategy), Mrs. Bolaji Dada (Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation), Mr. Lere Odusote (Energy and Natural Resources), Dr. Frederic Oladeinde (Transportation), Mr. Gbolahan Lawal (Agriculture), Moruf Akinderu Fatai (Housing), and Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo, SAN, (Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice).
The other Commissioners are Mr. Hakeem Fahm (Science and Technology), Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle (Establishment, Training and Pension), Engr. Aramide Adeyoye (Works and Infrastructure), Mr. Segun Dawodu (Youth and Social Development), Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf (Home Affairs), Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke (Local Government and Community Affairs), Mrs. Lola Akande (Commerce and Industry), Mrs. Olufunke Adebolu (Tourism Arts and Culture), and Mr. Sam Egube (Economy Planning and Budget).
The Special Advisers are Dr. Wale Ahmed (Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations), Ms Ruth Bisola Olusanya (Agriculture), Princess Aderemi Adebowale (Civic Engagement), Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo (Political and Legislative Affairs), Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka (Housing), and Joe Igbokwe (Drainage and Water Resources). Others Advisers are Olatunbosun Alake (Innovation and Technology), Arc. Kabiru Ahmed Abdullahi (Urban Development), Anofi Elegushi (Central Business Districts), Bonu Solomon Saanu (Arts and Culture), Oluwatoyin Fayinka (Transportation), Oladele Ajayi (Commerce and Industry), Tokunbo Wahab (Education), and Solape Hammond (Sustainable Development Goals).
How has the Lagos megalopolis been able to achieve this kind of multi-ethnic cohesion and tolerance? There are some parts of Nigeria where citizens from other ethnic groups are engaged as contract staff, notwithstanding the level of their commitments and competence. Such workers should perish the thought of becoming pensioneers in their own country! Worse still, there are certain states where indigenes of other states or ethnicities can never obtain certificates of occupancy. But Lagos is a different place altogether.
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