Sanwo-Olu to opposition: Offer better ideas, not change for change’s sake

Lagos State Governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has challenged opposition parties to present credible and superior alternatives to the All Progressives Congress (APC), rather than seeking to dislodge the ruling party merely in the name of political change.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos could no longer afford to abandon policies and programmes that had delivered measurable development for untested political alternatives, insisting that continuity remained critical to sustaining the state’s growth.

The governor spoke on Tuesday while delivering the centenary anniversary lecture of the Yoruba Tennis Club at the club’s Greetings Hall, Onikan, Lagos.

The lecture, titled “Democracy, Governance, and the Lagos Spirit: A Century of Excellence”, attracted the First Lady, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; political and traditional leaders, public office holders, members of the club and other dignitaries.

Sanwo-Olu, who is the South-West Zonal Coordinator of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said opposition parties had a responsibility to offer Nigerians policies capable of competing with the APC’s record of governance.

He said: “We must keep insisting that it cannot be changed merely for the sake of change. We must never think we need to tear things up just to prove that we are in control.

“This is the message that I am taking into the political campaign, as my party strives to build on our legacy of transformation in Lagos State.”

Turning to the national political scene, the governor said the APC would also campaign on the reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that their effects were becoming visible in areas including foreign exchange, education, agriculture and security.

“Our challenge to the opposition remains the same – to put forward credible ideas that are able to compete with ours, instead of seeking change for the sake of change.

“Untested novelty is no longer an option for a Lagos State that has tasted and felt the superiority of continuity,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu described the “Lagos Spirit” as a combination of courage, self-reliance, openness and continuous improvement, which he said had shaped the state’s democratic tradition and development trajectory.

According to him, Lagos has historically responded to exclusion and adversity by creating alternatives rather than waiting for assistance.

He cited the establishment of the Yoruba Tennis Club in response to racial segregation during the colonial era, Lagos’ role in the June 12, 1993 pro-democracy struggle and the state’s confrontation with the Federal Government over the withholding of its local government allocation in 2004.

“The Lagos Spirit is the spirit of a city that does not wait to be given.

“In 1926, it was shut out of the colonial clubs, so it built its own, and a better one. In 1993, a free and fair presidential vote was stolen, so Lagos chose to lead the march to the streets and into the pro-democracy trenches.

“In 2004, its constitutionally allotted allocation was illegally withheld by the federal government, so it decided to make its own money.

“Every time a gate has been closed to Lagos, Lagos has built a house across the road and thrown a better party,” he said.

The governor said the state’s influence extended beyond its status as Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, describing Lagos as a longstanding centre of democratic activism and political engagement.

Sanwo-Olu attributed much of Lagos’ development since the return to democratic rule in 1999 to policy continuity across successive administrations.

He said the development blueprint initiated under the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu had been sustained by subsequent governments, enabling the state to pursue long-term projects beyond individual political tenures.

He identified four principles underpinning what he called the “Lagos Playbook” – vision, self-reliance, partnership and measuring governance by its impact on ordinary citizens.

On vision, he said the state’s development blueprint had provided a framework that successive administrations had continued to implement.

“It’s been 27 years now, and we have not departed from the original vision,” he said, citing the development of the Blue and Red rail lines as examples of projects made possible by policy continuity.

On self-reliance, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had strengthened its internally generated revenue system rather than depend solely on federal allocations.

He said the state had reformed its tax administration and fiscal architecture, resulting in increased capacity to finance development.

The governor also stressed the importance of partnerships, saying the founders of the Yoruba Tennis Club demonstrated the value of collective effort by raising resources to establish their own institution.

He added that governance should ultimately be judged by its effect on ordinary residents.

“The true measure of our work in Lagos is whether a doctor or nurse in Alimosho or Ibeju-Lekki can get to work on time, whether a child in Ajegunle has a desk and school books, whether a trader in Mile 12 can get her tomatoes or fish to market before they rot, whether a taxi driver can make enough money to maintain his vehicle and cater for his family,” he said.

Assessing his administration’s seven years in office, Sanwo-Olu said the government’s THEMES+ agenda had delivered projects and reforms across transportation, healthcare, education, technology, the environment, security, tourism, entertainment and the economy.

He listed the establishment of two new public universities, the Imota Rice Mill, investments in submarine cable infrastructure and data centres, as well as the construction of what he described as one of Africa’s largest children’s hospitals among the administration’s achievements.

He said his administration was also introducing digital technology into public school classrooms.

On food security, the governor said Lagos was developing the Lagos Central Food Security System and Logistics Hub at Ketu-Ereyun to improve the aggregation, storage, processing and distribution of food.

He said the initiative was designed to respond to Lagos’ estimated N5.89 trillion annual food market, while addressing the challenge of limited land available for agriculture in the megacity.

Reflecting on the club’s centenary, Sanwo-Olu said its establishment represented the determination of indigenous Lagosians to overcome racial exclusion and build institutions of their own.

He urged the club to preserve its founding values while adapting to changing realities.

The governor also called for greater involvement of young people, better documentation of the club’s history and adherence to high standards in admitting new members.

Earlier, Chairman of the Yoruba Tennis Club, Chief Olawunmi Gasper, said the club remained committed to preserving cultural heritage, promoting fellowship and contributing to the social, economic and civic development of Lagos.

Gasper described Sanwo-Olu as a progressive leader, public-sector reformer and advocate of people-centred development, commending his administration for its infrastructure and other development initiatives.

He said the anniversary lecture provided an opportunity to examine the relationship between democracy, governance and Lagos’ development.

The centenary celebration also featured the presentation and launch of the club’s anniversary history book, the turning of the sod for a proposed Legacy Building and an exhibition of 100 years of historical and archival materials.

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