Fashola’s Reward for Hard work

There is a cliché that says “The reward for hard work is more work”. This has been proven to be true for the immediate past governor of Lagos state. His excellent performance in office is one thing that cannot be argued because his results speak volumes.Babatunde Raji Fashola’s emergence into wide acceptance was earlier doubted based on the condition of his nomination and the political atmosphere at that time. However, today, he stands out as probably the most powerful and influential minister in the Buhari cabinet.One would recall that the late Funsho Williams of the Peoples Democratic Party was the popular name in the opinion poll of the people, as the one to win the 2007 election contested against Fashola.Unfortunately, Funsho Williams was assassinated, leaving the people open to a new option that saw the emergence of Fashola of the then Action Party (AC), and others being introduced.Meanwhile, Funsho Williams had earlier contested against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who won in the 1999 election that saw Nigeria transit from Military to a democratic dispensation. After he governed Lagos state from 1999 to 2007, Tinubu wanted a continuation of his party as the ruling party. So, he nominated Fashola and made sure he saw him through as the chosen candidate for the party, the then Action Congress.When Fashola was to contest, he had serious opposition to contend with; there were the likes of Jimi Agbaje, Obanikoro and others who gave him a run for the governorship position of the state.Fashola emerged victorious at the end of the election and was sworn into office. His first few weeks in office saw Lagos experience a radical change. The word “Change” was seen in action and not just a literary term without effect.He started with the elimination of the thugs that at that time seemed to be everywhere; constituting a nuisance. Criminals residing under bridges, in uncompleted buildings and deserted houses were not excluded from the sanitization drive of the governor. This was unusual to many because people had since accepted the presence of these class of people as a part of the Lagos experience.Another major area he touched was infrastructure. Governor Fashola renovated the state roads, state general hospitals and street lights in major part of the city. The beautiful look of Lagos State at night was due to the massive renovation of dilapidated infrastructure and street lights in the state. He soon became an example as other state governors decided to emulate his steps.On Education, the former governor made sure that education became free from primary to secondary education. He also provided textbooks for students in the state.Fashola, knowing how important it is to have good teachers, massively employed qualified graduates through the After School Graduate Development programme to meet the unique need of having more qualified teachers spread across schools in the state. He also increased the salaries and allowances of teachers in the state; allocating buses to take care of their transportation needs.Major markets in the city were pulled down and reconstructed to become Ultramodern Markets, where a long term goal of making people own them as they choose payment plans of various options.Unemployment was also a key area where he made radical changes. The then governor, through various bodies, established schemes for employability and vocational skills, amongst others, so that the youths can be employable or be self-employed.A few of the collaborations came through Lagos State Technical and Vocational Board (LASTVEB), the body responsible for training the youths on vocational skills of various kinds, After School Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), a body responsible for training the youths on employability skills, enterprise and business development skills, etc.The immediate past governor of Lagos State did not just stop there, he met with the youth in an event known as “The Youth Stakeholders Forum”, organised once a year to discuss challenges facing the youths and the way forward.Fashola became the standard in public service, challenging public servants to dutifully carry out their activities without any sense of complacency or negligence. He was known to go undercover and visit some of the state public service ministries and parastatals to know how they were carrying out their services or if they even reported to work.This led to the sack of unserious state civil servants and other workers who were not found on their duty posts, or were found to be negligent.The transportation of the state was drastically transformed during governor Fashola’s administration. He started by constructing a special lane for the public transit he introduced, popularly known as “Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)”. He successfully did this through a public private partnership.Fashola’s administration was undoubtedly a positive touch on the lives of Lagosians. If the present administration of governor Ambode would continue is a question open to all. But until now, people are still making do with the achievements of the previous administration of Fashola.His Reward”¦The president recently appointed his cabinet of Ministers. President Buhari stressed that he will make sure the right people are chosen for the right position. And this will not be a situation of having incompetent people as ministers.Babatunde Raji Fashola has been given the tri-partite portfolio of Power, Works and Housing. This is the reward for his hard work and diligence.Nigerians are excited because they are expecting the same radical change which transformed Lagos state to hit those sectors of the economy.People want to see a performing Fashola perform.