Lagos is Investor’s Delight, Declares Sanwo-Olu at Harvard, Says Govt Policies Friendly

With a GDP of $259b, a 25 million population, four seaports, and friendly government policies, Lagos is an investor’s delight, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said.

“Lagos is a place where people come in without anything and become somebody. We are a business and commercial powerhouse,” he said on Wednesday.

It was another sales drive for the “State of Aquatic Splendour” at Harvard Business School where Mr. Sanwo-Olu spoke on “Building the Future: Lagos State Infrastructure-led Transformation.”

He was a guest in Professor Hakeem Belo-Osagie’s course, “Understanding Africa: Business, Entrepreneurship, Political Economy and the Complexities of a Continent.”

Belo-Osagie is a foremost Nigerian investment banker and businessman.

For the Lagos governor, it was an opportunity to share “Lagos’ bold vision and the tangible strides we are making in transportation, housing, innovation, and industrial growth.”

The students applauded as Sanwo-Olu spoke on the Blue Line, Africa’s first intra-city line, which has moved over two million passengers, an average of 42,000 commuters daily. The Red Line is also up and running, he said.

“We are building a new airport on the Lekki- Epe Expressway, and work is set to begin on the Green Line, which will connect that part of the State to Lagos Island,” he said.

Speaking on his remarkable strides in education, he said, “Two new universities have been set up, and a third, a University of Medical Science, is on the way to bridge the personnel gap in that sector,” he said.

Lagos, the governor said, was one of the foremost tech-driven states in Nigeria. The idea, he stressed, was to have a big pool of tech personnel so that if Microsoft or Amazon was looking for 10,000 to hire, Lagos would be the place to go.

“This is part of our 30-year Development Plan to make Lagos a human-centric economy,” he said.

This is possible, according to him, because of Lagos’ 25 million population, about 60 per cent made of youths who were tech savvy.

He spoke of opportunities in tourism, arts, and culture, saying, “There have been fashion shows, drama performances, and movies. In fact, a movie made in Lagos has just been nominated to be presented at the Cannes Film Festival,” he said.

“We are trying to calendarise tourism and entertainment,” Sanwo-Olu told the excited audience of students from various parts of the world.