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Lagos World Listing: An Indication Of Sanwo-Olu’s Extraordinary Leadership — Babajide Fadoju

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A beautiful environment sets the mood for every celebration. While there is a special environment for any kind of event, a serene and well designed locale will always be the dream of every tourist who wants to enjoy the most of their times celebrating a variety of occasions, the new year celebration for instance.

With Lagos staying agog with parties, celebrations and concerts through the festive period; CNN, the premium global television network of best cities in the world for new year crossover celebrations.

The story of Lagos is so compelling such that CNN couldn’t pass over the city in the list, stating that “Lagos is the centerpiece of Nigeria’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, which are marked in culturally and religiously diverse ways.’’

It is no surprise that Lagos State has made the list of the top 20 best destinations in the world for New Years Eve Celebrations this year, especially with a multi-dexterous leader as His Excellency, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, piloting the affairs of the state as her governor. And indeed, it has been said that when power is handled by those who know how to combine experience and expertise to achieve giant strides and massive developments, the proof of success becomes an open secret for everyone to see and imagine how far a leader could go for the betterment of his people.

For the very first time in history, Lagos has made the top 20 best destinations in the world for New Years Eve celebrations, topping Venice, Las Vagas and even London in the listing. By every indication, this historic feat is possible as a result of the commitment and hard work of the Sanwo-Olu administration in the entertainment and tourism sectors of the state. More so, if Lagos hadn’t exhibited verifiable evidences that earned the needed confidence in the security architecture of the state, such listing would not have been possible. Needless to say, His Excellency, Babajide Sanwa-Olu, has taken Lagos to the world map through his numerous giant strides in different sectors of Lagos State ever since his emergence as the Lagos State Governor in 2019.

Like a man intentional about the progress of his people, Babajide Sanwo-Olu ascended the leadership of Lagos State Government and immediately fired from every cylinder, breaking new grounds with the actualization of his T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda which has served as the template for driving his administration’s development agenda.

In 2019, Sanwo-Olu campaigned with the THEMES agenda on the basis of which Lagosians gave him a mandate. He had during the campaign revealed that Project T.H.E.M.E.S. is an acronym for six strategic developmental philosophy which are as follows: Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism as well as Security and Governance. No one thought that this could be achievable. But defiling all ioata of doubts, Babajide Sanwa-Olu got to work with his team and like magic, he created what we know as Lagos today, a state that can comfortably stand the world ranking for many criteria, starting from his many efforts to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which placed Nigeria as the fourth best country in the world that effectively and impressively curbed the spread of covid 19 Virus according to the World Health Organization, to placing the Lagos State University in the 799 position out of the total global entries of a thousand and fifty (1050) universities in the world, the best in Nigeria and 15th best in the whole of Africa, and now to placing the entire city of Lagos as among the top 20 best destinations in the world for New Years Eve Celebrations this year 2023.

The truth is that Lagos State is the Centre of Excellence today because a leader like Babajide Sanwo-Olu is piloting her affairs as Governor. Without mincing words, His Excellency Sanwo-Olu has successfully impacted every sector of the state. Talk of the agricultural sector, the Educational sector, transportation (rail, road, water), infrastructural development, Job and wealth creation in form of grants to business owners, monthly payments to 4,000 unemployed youth, top notch health care programs and facilities, 24 hours help line for security and fire emergencies, cleaner environment as well as active investment in sports development.

It would interest you to know that most of these projects were funded through internally generated revenue (IGR) which is majorly sourced from taxes. According to the National Bureau of Statistics report at state level for Half year 2021, Lagos state has the highest internally generated revenue in the country with the country’s capital following closely behind. In 2021, Lagos state topped the chart.

In the agricultural sector, governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu introduced the Agricultural value chain enterprise Activation program with a major aim of proper sensitization of men and women of different age groups on the economic benefits of agriculture. Through this program, over 12,000 women and thousands of youths were trained in various agricultural practices and has positively impacted the lives of many youths thereby giving them a means of sustenance and livelihood.

In addition to this, Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu’s administration has made it a continuous act to ensure that both employed and unemployed women as well youths become self dependent and employers of labor. This singular act drastically reduced unemployment rate and also decreased the rate of insecurity in the state. How else would Lagos be considered safe enough to comfortably play host for tourists from all over the world, and eventually being listed as among the top 20 best destinations in the world for New Years Eve Celebrations?

In the Education Sector, Babajide Sanwa-Olu remains a trailblazer! He began the turn-around in this sector by successfully increasing the 2020 budgetary allocation by 65 percent and giving his full support to programs like the Eko-Excel initiative- Excellence in Child Education and learning tagged “Leave No Child Behind”, followed by the recent certificates collected for the two new Lagos state universities at the NUC in Abuja and also his great investment in capacity development. He created an avenue to effectively equip the managers of tertiary institutions in Lagos state and produce beneficial materials, ensuring that they all attended a Higher Education Business Government collaboration conference at the university of London thereby creating a foundation for more growth of the Educational sector. Certainly when these kind of novel initiatives and developments are in view, the commissioning of various school infrastructure projects leading to the completion of over 1,000 projects across 970 schools in the state within the space of three years seems common to a man in the league of Babajide Sanwa-Olu who is bent on building a model city-state like Singapore out of Lagos State.

One would wonder if Lagos would ever merit the listing as among the top 20 best destinations in the world for New Years Eve Celebrations this year if there are bad roads and transportation systems in the state. The transportation sector is of course one of the priorities the Sanwo-Olu administration takes pride in reforming. Starting with the construction of over 51 major infrastructural projects in just three years. These projects include the Pen Cinema fly-over, Lagos-Ogun Boundary roads, ramp and road networks, phase II, Lekki Oniru traffic circulation projects, network of roads in Ikoyi, Somolu, Ojokoro, not forgetting the construction and rehabilitation of 301 inner roads in the 20 Local government areas and 37 Local Council Development areas, the Oshodi-Abule Egba BRT lane, the Eleko junction to Epe concrete pavement and many more. Blue line stations have been built at Festac, Alakija, Trade fair, Volkswagen, LASU, Okokomaiko, Mile 2, Alaba, Iganmu, National Theater, with a possible extension to Agbara in Ogun state and about seven stations concurrently being built. These have in no small measures redefined mass transportation within and outside Lagos state, making it easier for both Lagosians and tourists to move around with ease and in safety.

Lagos State has made it to global listing a lot of times all thanks to the energetic and visionary Sanwo-Olu who clearly from every indication is an eagle yet to even perch.

BIG STORY

Police Eliminate Four ‘Kidnappers’, Recover N3m Ransom In Kebbi

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The Kebbi police command has reported that its operatives killed four suspected kidnappers and rescued a victim in Suru LGA of the state.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, Nafi’u Abubakar, the command spokesperson, confirmed that the police also seized N3 million in ransom.

“On Feb. 14, at about 1:45pm; armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded Gobiraje Village in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi and kidnapped one Umaru Bawa, 60,” the statement reads.

“Upon receiving the report, the Divisional Police Officer, Suru, swiftly mobilized a team of policemen and vigilantes to the scene, traced the suspects to Tundafari forest in Dakingari axis, and engaged them in a gun battle.

“Consequently, four of the kidnappers were neutralised, one arrested with fatal injuries, while others escaped into the forest with gunshot wounds.”

The spokesperson also mentioned that Bello Sani, the Kebbi police commissioner, praised the officers’ determination and professionalism in Suru, assuring that the fight against state crimes would continue.

The police commissioner urged residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station without delay.

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BIG STORY

Jay-Z, Diddy’s Accuser Drops Sexual Assault Lawsuit

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A woman who had accused hip-hop icons Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 decided to drop her civil lawsuit on Friday, according to court records.

In December, Jay-Z — whose real name is Shawn Carter — was accused of raping the girl along with Combs at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000.

A document filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York stated that the accuser “hereby gives notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice” — indicating that the lawsuit cannot be refiled.

It was not immediately clear if the stars had reached a settlement with the woman, who has not been identified.

But 55-year-old billionaire Jay-Z welcomed the closure of the case, which he slammed as “frivolous, fictitious and appalling.”

“This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims,” he said in a statement.

“I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”

The complaint said Combs and Carter — who is married to pop superstar Beyonce — took turns assaulting the plaintiff as another celebrity stood by and watched.

“Many others were present at the after party, but did nothing to stop the assault,” it went on.

“Carter has been with Combs during many such instances described herein. Both perpetrators must face justice.”

Combs, also 55, has separately been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering.

“Federal prosecutors allege that he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.

He has denied all charges, and his criminal trial is currently slated to begin on May 5.

 

Credit: AFP

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BIG STORY

First Lady Oluremi Tinubu Calls For Innovative Health Financing In Africa, Says “Foreign Aid Unsustainable”

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Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady, has stated that Africa needs to develop creative financing strategies tailored to its distinct challenges in order to build a strong healthcare system.

A statement released on Friday by Busola Kukoyi, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the First Lady, revealed that Oluremi made these comments during a high-level meeting on domestic health financing, organized by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda at the 38th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Oluremi emphasized that without guaranteed access to essential healthcare for Africans, the continent’s efforts to achieve economic growth will remain unfulfilled.

“Africa cannot continue to rely solely on donor funding and foreign aid, which, although helpful, are often unpredictable and unsustainable,” the statement reads.

Instead, we must develop innovative financing strategies tailored to our unique challenges and circumstances.

“Given the increasing funding gap for health on the continent, I urge us all to come together and commit to advocating for increased national health budgets.”

The First Lady noted that, in light of recent policy changes in the US, Africa must seek local and sustainable solutions to fill its funding gap.

On January 20, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Trump also froze funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supports most health institutions in Africa.

With this freeze, the World Health Organisation (WHO) projects a significant rise in health crises across the continent.

However, the President’s wife stressed the need for effective resource mobilization and use to ensure short, medium, and long-term impacts, stating that the health of the people is key to the continent’s prosperity.

“In line with the Abuja Declaration, our governments should allocate at least 15% of their budgetary allocations to health,” Oluremi said.

“We must also support innovative financing mechanisms and explore sustainable models, such as expanding health insurance coverage, health endowment funds, and investments from the African diaspora.

“Accountability and transparency must be ensured, as funds allocated to health must be used efficiently and effectively.”

The event saw the participation of presidents and heads of state from several African countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Barbados, as well as donor agencies and funding partners, discussing global and regional approaches to domestic health financing in Africa.

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