Engineer Jude Okpala
My name is Engr. Jude Okpala, I am the MD of Cliché Limited and we are into civil engineering, petition engineering, and metal components productions.
I happened to be classmates with His Excellency in UNILAG while doing our Executive MBA in 1999. He specialised in Finance while I specialized in General Management.
He is a very amiable man. When we were in school, we used to look up to him as someone who was very organized, he was there to take notes and submit on time. Everyone always looked up to him and was always saying, “I want to be like Jide He is an embodiment of what it takes to be a total manager, I think we have got the right person to take care of Lagos State.” While we were in school we looked at him as a man with a very bright future, he was so much “together” that he could hold sensitive positions back then and until now, we are very proud of him and that is why we are celebrating him today for not disappointing any of us.
Even after school, our relationship continued, he was a down to earth person keeping in touch with all his old folks. The relationship continued because while he was still working with the past government in Lagos State, he was keeping in touch, his doors were always open, as long as you were coming with positive ideas.
He knew how we all toiled to bring out success in our academic works so he was always willing to meet with old friends to share ideas and tap out of them. It continued till this moment, that is why we can call upon him every moment and that’s another reason he likes to spend time with his friends.
I was very happy when I heard of his candidacy for the governor of Lagos State, as you know I am the chairman of the alumni so we celebrated him in absentia, then we reached out to him to tell him we are so happy to have him in that position.
The Babajide Sanwo-Olu We Know, It was a thing of pride to know that one of ours has been picked for such a sensitive position. We were all super excited.
Lagosians should expect a total change in governance for this administration, expect new ideas, expect pleasant surprises because Jide would like to keep his good ideas within his chest and throw them out when you least expect it. At the end of it all, you come out positively surprised and excited. We should expect positive change, we should be ready for dynamism in governance, and we should also expect some seriousness, in the sense that he is going to bring some clarity from his first assignment in the financial industry, he is going to bring that to the way things are interpreted in Lagos State, so I tell Lagosians that they are very lucky to have Jide. They should expect that there would be a total change in the way things are done and they are going to see a seamless approach to governance. I also wish that he enjoys this position because in everything we should always enjoy whatever we are doing.
Finally, we want to wish him well and pray for him as we have always done. We look forward to the energy he is going to unleash on Lagos state, and that is my prayer for him.
I also wish that he enjoys this position because in everything we should always enjoy whatever we are doing.
Adegoke Omotola
My name is Adegoke Omotola, I am the CEO of a management consulting firm.
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a friend and also a brother to me and I have known him for about twenty (20) years. We were classmates during MBA school, and while we were in class he was a stickler for time, he was also a leader and always had the ability to pull people together. He led with his ideas, was very knowledgeable, and had an excellent memory.
From what I can see and what I know about him, I feel Lagosians should be excited and expectant because there’s going to be a lot of transformations and he is going to lead by example… That I know of!
I was quite surprised when I heard about his candidacy for the governor of Lagos State because I did not see him as a politician, however, I think it was a good thing. Having his kind of person in the political scene will encourage others who are contemplating to come in and add value.
Nigerian professionals are a bit shy when it comes to politics, but I believe that the time has come for professionals to come into the political scene and bring in their professional experiences, so Nigerians can benefit from them in the long run. I think the next four years is going to be quite interesting. The programs and initiatives of his excellency, I believe will have human faces and will also have balance in terms of reaching out to Lagosians from all spheres of life. Whether it’s the businessmen and women or the market women or professionals and so on.
I believe there’s going to be a lot of dynamism from the very beginning, so Lagosians should be excited and expectant because I believe that at the end of the first four years, there will be so much to be grateful for, during his time in office and he will be able to leave a lasting legacy.
I wish him well, I wish him well in office and I trust God will give him the grace to carry such a huge responsibility, and our prayers will always be with him to excel and do well as our governor.
Tunde Falase
My name is Tunde Falase, I am the MD of Brain craft, a consulting firm.
I am a former classmate of our incoming governor of Lagos state, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
When I heard that BOS “as we know him” had won the election, I was really excited because I had the privilege of being his classmate for 18 months during our MBA studies in the University of Lagos.
He has always impressed me with his unique qualities, if I have to summarize, I would say that in class BOS was always very composed, he was very calm and he was also very considered in terms of his contributions. He was a man of good contribution and they were also deliberate considerations, he was somebody that stood out for being deliberate in his thinking.
The class actually did well by having BOS as a member of the class and it’s a bit of a paradox because it is almost from one legacy to another. I was the first governor of the class and to hear that he is now becoming the governor of the biggest and perhaps the most considered state in Nigeria, I think to him it is an honor and of course, it also does us, his classmate an honor as having to be part of what we hope is the shaping of BOS.
“BOS doesn’t strike me as a person who is going to rush and then access the consequences of his actions later. His actions are going to be quite deliberate; they are going to be quite considered.”
One of the things we saw a couple of weeks ago was BOS preparing himself for this new role, attending a leadership class at the Harvard school of leadership. That speaks volumes to the type of person he is. I know that BOS will have a legacy in mind, this is not a small mantle that he has taken on and I know that he is not coming into the office to enjoy the role of a governor. I know he is going there to deliver what the role demands and I think Lagosians should lookout and expect a person who has a legacy in mind, which is one of the things you look forward to in the great leaders of today.
Personally, I think I would like him to work on improving the quality of life of Lagosians, and by saying the quality of life, it allows me to speak about a variety of things. We do know that Lagos is probably the envy of all the states but this doesn’t hide some opportunities that people like BOS will be able to address. We start from the seemingly mundane; what people are talking about at the moment it’s almost a distraction in a mega-city like Lagos, we shouldn’t be talking about roads and potholes and the likes. I know these are things that are with considered leadership, likely to be a thing of the past and then we can focus on the things that actually touch the common man on the streets, like the ease of doing business, quality of life and the comfort of life. When you go home to your haven, are you proud of the fact that your home is in Lagos state because of the things your governor has brought to bear for you? I think with BOS we can expect to see these things brought to bear.
Power supply, now this might be a federal thing but then the state government also has its contributions in terms of some of the decisions that are taken. As for transportation, we are already seeing some steps in Lagos State no doubt, but we expect this to get even more deliberate and touch the lives of those who count; the real Lagosians who are making Lagos the vibrant city that it is.
I wouldn’t choose one thing though, I would offer BOS a basket because he is capable, he has been tempered by the right type of fires, he has gone through the institutions and the work experiences both in the banking sector and in public service.
This is a time for a leader like BOS to step forward and deliver what Lagos is really looking for. I have every confidence that we will be seeing exciting things, lasting things, sustainable things coming from BOS.
I last saw BOS 20 years ago and from the pictures that I see of him, he is even looking younger perhaps than when we last saw but I am really proud of him as I said earlier on, I used to be the class governor now I stand behind him as he becomes my governor, so I look forward to his time in office as our governor.
My name is Mr. Bolade Daranijo, and I have been friends with Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for about 30 years now.
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a calm, focused and intelligent gentleman. I think Lagos has got the best that they will ever get because this is someone who is calm and does not get agitated even under pressure. He listens to everybody, he will take all the information that a thousand people have, absorb, digest and bring out the best of them.
Lagosians should expect a very successful time and very brilliant time, and I think he will be the best that Lagos has ever had.
I was extremely surprised when I heard about his candidacy because I think that for anyone to have looked and chosen someone like Mr. Sanwo-Olu, there must have been a very big thought process. His qualities are in-built and he is always trying to develop himself to a point where I thought it’d be blissful for Lagos to be governed by a man like him.
I wish him a very successful tenure and I pray that the Lord will be with him throughout his time in office.
Omolara Ogunkoya
My name is Mrs. Omolara Ogunkoya, I am a friend of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and we have been friends for almost 30 years now.
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a goal getter and nothing stops him from getting what he wants to get if he believes in it, that is the impression I have always had of him since our very early money market days.
The Money Marketers Association of Nigeria is an association of treasurers. In the days where we had just about 89 banks, and among members of the association, you will find people that will not keep their words and the motto of the money market was your word is your bond, so for a lot of us that know that integrity matters, we were really able to get along very well, even when the banks had problems, people like Jide and a handful of others were still together because even though the banks had problems, we the treasurers know that we had a relationship that would even transcend the banks, so that was the relationships we had those days.
I was really excited when I heard about his candidacy, I knew that with the energy he put into banking and his time as a public servant, Lagos state will be the greatest beneficiary of his agility and his intelligence and his uprightness. To a very large extent, I will tell you he is a very upright person.
If you look at the way the campaign was carried out, you will see that it was a whole new dimension, it wasn’t the usual everybody is going to the stadium with a crowd of people following them, make some noise and retire back to their homes. This one he tried to touch all the groups, all the professional groups, all the local groups, the Iyaolojas, the bankers, the Igbo traders, it’s like he touched everywhere and that is why we saw that kind of result that had a landslide victory.
I would like for him to work on the poor state of electricity in Lagos. He has worked with the former governor, Babatunde Fashola, who is now the minister in charge of power and I know that he knows what Lagosians need and he is going to use that his relationship to let Lagosians benefit immensely.
I know that he has made a lot of promises to a lot of people, I just want to assure them that he is a man of his words and that in the fullness of time they would know who he is and they will appreciate him even more.
Caroline Odoh
My name is Caroline Odoh, I worked with Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation. I retired in 2017.
Babajide was my classmate, MBA, 1998 – 2000 at Unilag. We did the course together for about two years and we graduated together. That was how I got to know him.
Babajide, honestly when I heard that he came out as a governor, I was so shocked myself because in class, though he was very intelligent, he was like an introvert, always on the quiet side, so I was so shocked when I learned that he was going to contest for governorship. I was just like waaooww! But I know, during that period, his brain and his intelligence will get him through.
He doesn’t look for trouble, he is so quiet not knowing that…I don’t know what to say. He was a smooth operator because he was very intelligent. In fact most of the things we do, at times he solves problems for us.
As I said, he was very intelligent and I know he is going to showcase that intelligence in these four years.
I expect him to be more organised, I expect him to be more focused, I expect him to carry everybody along and I know Lagos is such a place that if you’re not focused, you wouldn’t be able to do what you are supposed to do. We all live in Lagos, but I know with his education, with his experience, with his intelligence, he is going to do wonders for Lagos state. That I know!
We as his classmates, we have to pray for him because Lagos state is not a state anybody can rule anyhow, he can easily be distracted.
My advice to him is that he should be focused as he has always been. If he stays focused, he is going to be able to do wonders and transform Lagos from what it is now.
There are too many jobs to be done in Lagos state. If as a governor, you’re not focused and you lack vision, you might not be able to achieve what you want to achieve.
I know that a lot has been done under infrastructure but there are still more to be done. Infrastructure which may include road network because we all live in Lagos, we know what we are going through, so he should focus on that. I know there may be some resistance but if he focuses on infrastructure, on road network, he is going to perform wonders.