Dapo Abiodun, Sanwo-Olu Partners in Progress

HighLife

“At the end of the day, it is not about us. It is about our teeming population that we have given a voice by the signing of the agreement we are doing today.” These words, so well said and reminiscent of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, were how Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State concluded the launching of the Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission. An excellent partnership borne on the shoulders of reliable leaders of the people.

Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun has hitched the Gateway State to the advancing wagon of Lagos State, Centre of Excellence. Both governors have shared and united their vision of a prosperous land and people, and this vision has birthed a joint development commission which suggests that both states will grow side by side and look out for each other. Beyond economic growth and development, the governors have intimated that they expect the commission to take care of pressing issues such as insecurity, planning, and the environment.

The governors set the commission in motion at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, on Monday, May 24, 2021. Governor Sanwo-Olu was his usual optimistic self and expressed his satisfaction at the alliance and the consequent Joint Development Commission. Naming it a ‘game changer’, Sanwo-Olu promised that it would usher in sustainable development within both Lagos and Ogun, maximising the advantages of each for the advancement of both.

The two governors also remarked that this alliance has nothing to do with politics or personal interests—only the interests of their people. Considering their respective profiles and track records, this is not difficult to believe.

As folks have noticed and pointed out, Governor Abiodun’s style of administration is similar to that of Governor Sanwo-Olu: flexible, responsive, and ever on the move. This is one of the reasons the Joint Development Commission took off so quickly and did not have to wait for months of deliberations and approvals. Moreover, Ogun is the only real geographical neighbour of Lagos (the other being the Atlantic Ocean to the South). Thus, a union between two high-impact Governors who happen to be neighbours is not totally unexpected. Thus, folks are standing on their toes, expectant, hopeful, and confident at the outcome of this partnership.