In its quest for growth and development in Lagos, as well as making life more comfortable for residents, Lagos State is now competing with countries in Africa and not states in Nigeria.
This was disclosed yesterday during a live interview on the Breakfast Xtra programme on News Central Television by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile.
Akosile said that is due to the remarkable achievements of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in many sectors in line with the THEMES+ developmental agenda, Lagos is now being compared with countries like Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa and others by many people in the areas of infrastructural development, social contract with the citizens and other dividends of democracy.
Speaking on Governor Sanwo-Olu’s government, Akosile said the incumbent administration has delivered laudable infrastructural projects and dividends of democracy to improve the standard of living of millions of Lagos residents in the last five years.
Akosile said the administration has records of key achievements in the areas of Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy; Entertainment and Tourism, and Security and Governance, as well as ensuring inclusion in government, which are integral parts of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s THEMES+ developmental agenda.
He said, “Everything he (Governor Sanwo-Olu) has done is key and paramount to the living standard of Lagosians. All the areas that we have touched on in the last five years are key. Do you remember what the COVID did to us in the world? Do you want to talk about how Mr. Governor tackled COVID-19 head-on? How he rescued Nigeria and not just Lagos. In fact, he helped some neighbouring countries around us, like Ghana, Benin, and the rest of them, curtailed the spread of COVID-19 in the region. That is a monumental and huge achievement, and it shot us up in the global rankings.
“With other health initiatives of the Governor and the current administration, Lagos State is occupying an enviable space within the African rankings of the 10 best health facilities in Africa. What that tells us is that we are not competing with states in Nigeria; we are competing with countries in Africa.
“This is what a lot of people don’t take note of when they are comparing. They don’t compare Lagos with states; they compare Lagos with countries. They compare us with South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt, and those are countries. When people compare our rail projects, they compare us with Ethiopia, whereas Ethiopia is a sovereign country and Lagos is a state among 36 states. That shows that Lagos is not here to joke”.
