10th September, 2023
As Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu get set to inaugurate his second term cabinet on Wednesday, this piece takes a critical look into the ‘men’ that Lagosians should look forward to, that will assist the Governor in delivering on his THEMES Plus agenda to the people. While the screening of the nominees were going on, close watchers took a critical look at the new team and the values they are expected to bring to the Governor’s THEMES Plus agenda. Based on their performance before the screening panel at the parliament; their achievements in public service; and their rich political profile, some have argued that a number of them have proved their mettle in their chosen endeavour and are very worthy of their inclusion in the team. However, a few of them have been identified as the ‘Top Strikers’ that would score the goal Lagosians are looking forward to during this second term.
1. Dayo Bush-Alebiosu
One of the leading lights Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu would be expecting to transform his THEMES Plus agenda to dividends of democracy for Lagosians during his second term is Hon. Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, a former two-term federal lawmaker in the House of Representatives. Though an Architect of over three decades, he once served as Special Assistant on Housing to the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, when he (Tinubu) was Governor of Lagos.
His ability to transform systems stands him out, that is why his admirers at the parliament often refer to him as ‘Mr fix it’, because tough and challenging assignments were often assigned to him. He was made to head the committee on Economic and Financial Crimes Committee (EFCC) during the dreaded days of Nuhu Ribadu, a time no one dares the anti-corruption agency. He was also moved to chair the committee on Treaties and Agreements, where he was responsible for harmonizing the treaties entered into by Nigeria. This was novel at the time.
Dayo Bush-Alebiosu was responsible for the call for re-negotiation of the Green Tree Agreement involving Nigeria and Cameroon over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula in line with the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ceding Nigerian territory to Cameroon. He was also a member of the house committee on Land Transport, Justice, and Science and Technology. The payment of compensation to Dana Air crash victims, ban on caffeinated energy drinks on youths, investigation of the brutal killing of the ‘ALUU’ four students, and many others are some of his achievements
After serving two-terms as a parliamentarian, he embarked on academic sojourn at Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA where he was trained in Leadership, Policy and Decision Making. He also trained in Personal Development at the Coaching Academy London and Dynamic Leadership at the University College London. He thereafter proceeded to study for his B.A and M.Sc in Leadership and Management. He is currently pursuing his PGD in Strategic Leadership at the Warwick University, UK.
One thing Sanwo-Olu can count on for bringing Dayo Bush to his team is his in-depth knowledge of the legislature. It is therefore worthy of note that, as he said during the screening process at the House of Assembly, the Governor has got a parliamentarian in his cabinet who would help him understand the psychology of the parliament further improve the relationship between the executive and the legislative arms of government.
2. Lawal Mohammed Alade Pedro SAN
This is another star in the studded team of Sanwo-Olu, Mr Lawal Pedro is a one time Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. He was born in the Campos, Brazilian Quarters area of Lagos State to the families of Libento Momoh Pedro and Ojutiku-Ambose Branch of Akinsemoyin Royal Family.
He attended Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Broad Street, Lagos where he obtained the First School Leaving Certificate; Anwar-Ul-Islam College Agege, Lagos (formerly known as Ahamadiyya College, Agege) and Methodist Boys High School, Lagos where he obtained his West African School Certificate and Higher School Certificate respectively.
He obtained his Law degree from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) with a Second-Class Upper honours degree in 1985, and was called to the Bar in 1986 after attending the Nigerian Law School. He had his mandatory national service (NYSC) as a Legal Officer in the Ibadan Western Regional Office of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Thereafter, he cut his teeth as a private legal practitioner in the law office of Dele Akinmusuti & Co.
Pedro joined the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in December 1987 and worked in various directorates before being elevated to the position of Director of Civil Litigation in 2006. He held the position until he was appointed the Solicitor General of Lagos State and Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in April 2008. In recognition of his contributions and dedication to the legal profession in Nigeria, Pedro was elevated to the Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in December 2008.
He served as Head of Prosecution of many high-profile criminal cases in Lagos State between 2008 and 2015 up to the Supreme Court. Pedro retired from the Lagos State public service in August 2015 to return to private legal practice as Principal Partner in the law firm of Lawal Pedro SAN & Associates, with offices in Lagos and Abuja.
Pedro is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) Nigeria Branch, an examiner of the Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria, and a certified Mediator (CEDR). He is also an author of various published legal texts including Jurisdiction of Courts in Nigeria, Nigeria’s Quest for Egalitarian Federalism, and Contemporary Issues in Nigeria Constitutional Law (Contributor).
He will man the position of Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in the Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
3. Bisola Olusanya
Abisola Olusanya is a tenacious and result-oriented professional with almost 10 years of professional experience in leadership roles in Sales & Marketing and Supply Chain management – executing strategies towards Food security, SME inclusion, growth and profitability within a sustainable ecosystem. She is a leader with participative management style and proficiency in establishing and managing entire operations with key focus on a sustainable organizational culture.
She attended St. Margaret Nursery & Primary school (Ikorodu) and obtained her First Leaving Certificate in 1994, and then proceeded to Queen’s College, Yaba- Lagos for her secondary education where she finished in 2000. Armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Lagos (2006) and an MBA from the prestigious Lagos Business School (2011), Ms. Olusanya is well-tuned to global management practices.
Olusanya joined Olam International – one of the world’s largest Food and Agri Supply chain companies in 2011 under the company’s West African Management training program, where her immediate stellar performance propelled her to senior management level by end of 2014. Her work leading Sales, Marketing and Supply chain operations for one of the largest business segments in Olam (Ghana) has provided her with extensive industry and international exposure to trading which has enabled a broad global mindset as a result of working with stakeholders in Mozambique, Cameroun, Vietnam, Thailand, India, UAE, and Singapore.
She was in Sanwo-Olu’s first term where she served as Special Adviser on Agriculture and later Commissioner for Agriculture.
Her efforts in the Imota Rice Mill initiative and other landmark achievements in the Agric sector cannot be over-emphasized since she was first appointed as the Special Adviser to the Governor till when she took over as the Commissioner during the first term of Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Olusanya is expected to retain her position as Commissioner for Agriculture in Sanwo-Olu’s new cabinet.
4. Tokunbo Philip Wahab
Tokunbo Wahab popularly called TKW is a lawyer of over 15 years and politician with his career in politics starting as far back as 1993 during the famously annulled national elections. Dubbed the voice of a new generation. He is an Alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Wharton University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. Tokunbo was a Partner at Wall and Ace where he anchored the vision after cutting his teeth at both Paul Usoro (SAN) & Co and Aluko & Oyebode, Lagos Nigeria.
Tokunbo is a strong advocate of equity and justice and passionately believes everyone deserves equal opportunities regardless of class or strata. This led him to provide countless pro-bono legal services to the poor and under-privileged right from his post-law school days and recently earned him a Lagos State recognition award presented by His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) during the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) in April 2014.
He was born into into the Otuwunmi Ateshinmara Royal Dynasty of Ketu in Epe Local Government area of Lagos State. His mother, Muyi Wahab (Nee Sosanya Aberuagba) was a prominent Women Political Leader both in Epe and Sagamu. A dogged grassroots mobilizer, a role she employed in her tireless support for the Late Chief MKO Abiola, who was the Presidential Flag bearer under the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the June 12th 1993 elections. She died on the same day of the election, few hours after casting her vote for MKO.
Tokunbo at the same time was also a student union leader and president of the Law Students Union of the University of Benin, leading several protests in the heat of the June 12 Democracy Struggle. As the UNIBEN Student Union Leader he came into serious confrontation with the Abacha Military Government, was physically assaulted in April 1994 thrown in to detention for weeks. This almost cost him his graduation from Uniben. One of the credits you cannot take away from Tokunbo is how he stabilised the tertiary education sector in Lagos state, as well as the up-scaling of some of the institutions to University status, especially the College of Education and the Polytechnic.
Wahab was the Special Adviser to Sanwo-Olu on Education during the first term where he supervised the establishment of two new universities. Wahab will be elevated commissioner for Education in Sanwo-Olu’s new government.
5. Afolabi Abiodun Tajudeen
This scholar was born on 31st of December 1960, he bagged his B.Sc. in Forest Management in June 1985 from the University of Ibadan, and his M.Sc. In Forest Resources Economics in 1987 from the same University of Ibadan. He enrolled for his Ph.D program in Environmental Resources Management and completed his Ph.D in 2009 when he got his Ph.D from Lagos State University (LASU).
Dr Afolabi started his career as an Agricultural Science Teacher from 1987-1993 at Vetland Grammar School, Lagos State before he joined the mainstream civil service as the Head of Unit, Utilization and Conservation Department from 2000-2010 in the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. He also served as the Assistant General Manager (AGM) at the Lagos State Coconut Development Authority, LASCODA Alausa, Lagos State from 2010-2012. From there, he became the Director, Conservation and Ecology Department from 2012-2014 in the Ministry of the Environment, Lagos State. In 2014, he was deployed as the Director, Enforcement & Advocacy Department in the Ministry of the Environment, a position he occupied till 2019 before he was transferred to the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory, Ojodu-Berger from 2020-2021 where he eventually retired from active.
In October 2015, Afolabi travelled abroad to undertake professional studies in leadership in. He was elected the National President of the Forestry Association of Nigeria in 2022, a position he is still occupying till today. He was awarded the Certificate of Recommendation for Excellent performance in 2004 by the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He also got Commendation Certificate in 2008 by the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola. In 2011, he got the Distinguished Merit Award of Honour, Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area.