My name is Jibike Onigbanjo, I am the Assistant General Manager, Property and Land Management, LSPDC (Lagos State Development and Property Corporation):
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, to me, is a well-rounded person. He is hardworking, he is compassionate, he is full of wisdom, he’s got so much empathy, a leader, and a team player. I have worked with so many bosses in the course of my career but honestly, thumbs up to him!
He walks the talk. He doesn’t just give you direction, he does it with you. He is a leader in all ramifications.
That is the Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu that I know and I have worked with, in the last two years and three months before he vied for the governorship of Lagos state.
I joined LSDPC in the year 2000 so this is my 19th year. Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a total package.
I’ve had the privilege of working with about five CEOs directly, maybe one indirectly and Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu surpasses them all.
I always try to analyse what his weakness is and usually I end up realising that his weakness is actually more of his strength. In administering maybe a penalty or punishment for any erring staff, he will turn it into positivity. He doesn’t see anyone as being totally useless. He would rather call you and have a chat with you and tell you about life experiences, give you examples and before you realise, the person is better off.
So in comparing him with the other CEOs, he comes down to everyone’s level and he takes people as they are and he believes everyone has a role to play and everyone must play. So to me, his management style is totally different and very worthy of emulation and it worked.
He was here for like two years, three months and he was able to impact the people, the environment and the process.
He started what we call the “Project Eagle”. It’s still an ongoing thing. The project eagle is to come up with new processes of doing things easier, faster, interacting with the public, ways of doing our jobs and service delivery.
Generally, public servants, service servants are seen as lazy, not doing their jobs, not ready to work and all that but he changed that notion and with regards to the working environment; anyone coming into LSDPC, in the last two years or one and a half, and has been here before Mr. Sanwo-Olu came would notice that the environment is totally different. Even my office, compared to before Mr. Sanwo-Olu came is so much better now, it looks like a bank you know. So he actually affected all the facets of the corporation. Total Package! Honestly, BOS!
He was still at work on Friday, of course, the weekend was full of activities, and then we heard that Mr. Sanwo-Olu has been chosen as the party’s candidate, and everyone was like oh! We were all shocked.
On Monday morning he didn’t come to work and for the next management meeting, he had to call and he was put on speaker and everyone was like…just like that? He was still working, we even carried some files to him, “oga please can you look at this?” So it was sweet and sour for us; sweet in the sense that Yes! Higher calling for him and the best for Lagos state.
If given his antecedent and knowing who he is, and have had conversations with those he has worked with in the past, and his person, it is quite obvious that he is the best person to lead the state, and God helped him by giving him the best running mate.
Sour for us because oh my God!, this was a dream, changing the whole face of LSDPC, everyone is already keying into his ideas and now he’s just been yanked from us. We were shaken a bit but we have to continue his legacy; we must not let him down and we are trying our best and I hope that we are maintaining the standard he left behind. For example, he started what we also call the merit award day.
In times past, we usually have end of year get together to thank God, and the party, but he said he will rather have a merit award day to appreciate and recognise members of staff who had worked meritoriously in the last one year and this I think started in June 2017, he came in 2016 June, so a year later we had this and he said he will like for us to have a choreography group as well so we interject and put a little bit of fun inside the merit award day and I like dancing that’s my best hobby so I became that class captain or the coordinator of the choreography group and Mr. Sanwo-Olu is a student.
He would come to practice every day, with us. He practices with us. We usually have the practice for one hour, between 2-3pm and everyone goes back to work. The days he cannot come, he will tell us to please record and send to him and he will practice.
He suits to present awards and attend to people but when it is time for the choreography, Mr. Sanwo-Olu will yank off his jacket and join us.
Honestly, he’s a leader who walks the talk. What we have seen him do during his campaign, like him getting down to help people, the hairdresser, the mechanic, etc. That is actually the kind of person he is. He will say “roll up your sleeves, roll up your sleeves”.
He is not a leader or an MD that will sit down and expect you to do. No! Everyone must be involved. That is the kind of leader and man he is.
Thank God for the kind of people or the kind of candidate or the kind of breeding that the former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been able to come up with. He came up with the likes of former Governor Raji Fashola who is currently a minister; he came up with Dr. Femi Hamzat, the running mate, and Mr. Sanwo-Olu. These are people that have served in his cabinet. So I am expecting that Lagosians will see the best of governance with two technocrats that have learned from a former performer and now coming to deliver to Lagos state. They have been schooled, they’ve learned and they have performed during the regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dr. Femi Hamzat also served under the current minister Babajide Raji Fashola, what are we to expect? They are very humble and down to earth human beings. They’ve got the values, they have the right interpersonal relationship, they’ve got the technocrats, they’ve got the brain and they’re ready to work.
Judging from the way the campaign went, going to every sector, having discussions, identifying the needs and the challenges, you can tell that they are already putting down a book on what the challenges are, and what are the likely solutions? They want to hit the ground running. Like Mr. Sanwo-Olu himself will always tell us, let’s pluck the low hanging fruits especially the ones that will reach the populace. So I expect that in the next four years, and by God’s grace, Lagos will experience the best of governance, judging from what I have experienced in working here, judging from their campaign.
Putting into consideration what his running mate Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, what has done at the state, and at the federal level with the current minister, because he was his special adviser on works, I expect the best for Lagos state.
I expect that the dark areas that Lagosians are mourning about will be addressed immediately. So I believe governance will be felt in the next one year and that things are really going to change for the better within the next four years. That is my belief and I pray God proves me right and they prove me right.
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, this is for you boss! My oga, oga mi, we know your worth, we know your standard, we know what you can do and we believe you’re not going to change and if you do, it is going to be for the better. Most of us have stuck our neck, we’ve staked all that we’ve got on you as a performer, God willing.
Please go ahead and dazzle Lagos with performance. Let them say “oh my God, it has been good during Asiwaju, it was good during Fashola, and now we are having a blast in Lagos”. As he said, he wants to take Lagos to his “THEME”. We’re talking of Dubai; we want Lagos to be the “Dubai” of Africa.
I believe that God has deposited all that you need, ably assisted by your deputy governor and I believe that with your cabinet, the one that you’re going to be having, you’re going to be putting round pegs in round holes and they will key into your vision and mission and you are going to ensure that they perform in your gentle manner and ably assisted by your lovely wife because without the support of your spouse, and having a peaceful home and peace of mind, a man would come to work and he’s just disoriented. That is my prayer my belief and what I think Lagos is in for best in the next four years.
My name is Olorunnimbe Ismail, Snr. SA Surveyor Valuer, LSPDC:
Personally, I will describe Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu in two ways;
1) As a union person; I am presently the secretary of senior staff association of the corporation so I will describe him from the union point of view and from a staff point of view. I remember one of the first things that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu did when he came into office was to invite the union representative. One of the statements he made that day was that he invited us because we are all stakeholders in the corporation and to me, that was a very wonderful idea because he saw us as a partner in progress, which is very wonderful and going forward, he ensured that he engages us periodically when there are issues. This is actually being very proactive because before issues start, we’ve already discussed them with him and this is very like I said, it means that he is a person that prioritises staff welfare.
2) As a person, I have been opportune to meet and interact with him on many occasions. I see him as a mentor, as a father, as a leader and someone that has a very vast knowledge of experience.
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is someone that encourages hard work and rewards hard work too. He usually tells us he is very finicky. He’s very particular about his things. One of the few things he did when he came into office in 2016 is the present block we are in. (he made a lot of changes to the corporation). He actually turned the block around and like he says, for a total overhauling of the system, you need people and a process.
Process is easy but you have to change the mindset of the people which he actually did.
He is a people’s person, he makes sure he interacts with you when he sees you and if he forgets your name, he will ask again. That is one of the good things about him.
As a leader, he has three qualities which I admire. He is accessible, he is a listener and he is selfless. Like I said this block is one of the physical examples of the impact of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as the reception. Asides that, he actually invested a lot in staff welfare. Like during his program, most staff members actually went for training.
This is part of the process. It is like feeding the goose that lays the golden egg. He invested so much in staff welfare which is a very nice thing to do. He made each staff feel like a part of the development process itself. One of the programs he actually engineered was project eagle.
Project Eagle is actually an initiative to take LSDPC to the next level, and why did we choose eagle? We chose eagle because of its peculiarity, its ability to survive. We realised we are in the construction industry and whether we like it or not, LSDPC of today, is not the same LSDPC of 30 years ago.
LSPDC was the only company 30 years ago that builds houses, now we have a lot of competitors and we need to have an edge and put our head above course if we want to remain relevant in the industry, that is one of the reasons we had ‘’Project Eagle’’, to revive the corporation; the total overhauling.
I was really excited when I heard about Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s candidacy. They say “he that is tested with small shall be tested with large”. In the small capacity, within two years, he has done a lot for the corporation like I said, so I can now imagine with a lot of resources and the bigger scope, what the state will enjoy when he is the state of power.
I am just happy for Lagosians because he is one of the best things that has happened to Lagos in recent times.
My name is Ayo Alabi, Head of Council, LSDPC:
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to me is a man that fears God and I believe that makes him wise, and that
has helped him in his work in LSDPC. The wisdom that he exhibits has given him a better edge in the
corporation.
He achieved so much in so many areas while in LSDPC; he improved the life of staff in LSDPC, staffs were well trained, officers that had never been out on training were out on training and most people that had not been considered for capacity building or to improve themselves in any area, had the opportunity of adding knowledge to what they know before. I can say he had that as a credit to himself; Improving the lives of members of staff on the job and even in their personal lives. Most people were well taken care of while he was in LSDPC.
During his tenure, everything was going on smoothly, if you are lacking in any area, you can go to him, even officially you will be considered. Your life gets better. Leave bonuses were paid, furniture allowances were paid, people became more comfortable when he was around and you can see a lot of improvement still going on in the corporation, those are his handiwork. That is what he started when he was here, he has added to the colour of LSDPC, more buildings, better infrastructure in strategic places, like this office that we are in, was completed just some few months before he left LSDPC and as a management staff, we had the opportunity of riding new cars, that was to his credit. He did quite a lot for us.
When I heard about his candidacy, I was surprised and along the line, I had to adjust myself because I saw it as an improvement on his own personality and he is a man I’ve always been praying for; that God will take him to higher grounds because he is been so good to us, members of staff of LSDPC so I have to adjust myself quickly as to “this man is going for something better you better allow your mind to come together and just wish him well as a person” which I succumbed to.
Lagosians should expect the best because while he newly came into LSPDC, we heard about him that during his time at the state office, he added a lot of improvement to people’s life, staff welfare, and in the ministries where he had served before. So we were also watching if in LSDPC he will do something similar or better and he didn’t perform less than that. So Lagosians should expect the best.
I will continue to pray for him that as God has given him the opportunity to advance, God himself will sustain him. He is wearing a larger shoe and I believe he did not scheme himself to become the governor of the state.
God that has lifted him, brought him up, will sustain him, back him up, and give him the wisdom beyond that which he has exhibited in LSDPC because he is now going to get himself involved with the state as a whole, that he will be able to perform even beyond his expectations.
I told him when we met with him that people’s expectations are so high but I believe that God that backed him up in LSPDC will see him through all his tenure. He will be able to perform even beyond the expectation of men by the grace of God.
Olusola Martins – Deputy GM, corporate, Comm. & Marketing LSDPC:
Mr. Sanwo-Olu is someone I find to be an astute administrator, he’s a man with a vision, he is a man with a purpose, and he is a man that takes measured steps towards achieving his purpose. He spent only just about two years and about three months, here in LSDPC and he was able to achieve very major positive changes.
I will say he left lasting legacies. I am sure you have seen some of his legacies around, in terms of physical infrastructure and he left legacies in terms of human capital development, in that short period of time.
There were times when things were a little bit at the low end for the corporation, operation wise; we were a bit on the low side but despite that situation, he was able to achieve a turnaround. You would recall that was the period that even the national economy itself, was not doing too well and finances were hard. Mr. Sanwo-Olu applied his ingenuity, and by the time he left, we had close to about six projects with three or four at advanced stages and all out of almost nothing.
He was able to open about three projects in the Lekki axis, doing very well and another three projects on the mainland. So I would say that he is an ingenious person. He applied himself to the job, he was able to bring in his wealth of experience; he has a wealth of experience, having been in government for a long period of time and he was able to leverage on that.
I am sure there are good things in his confines for Lagosians.
If you are given little resources and you cannot manage it, how do you want to manage bigger ones? Let us not forget that this man has operated at the bigger level before coming here so for him, managing Lagos state, the challenges are not new.
He had participated in the conception of the developmental programs that were done between 1998 and 2003 most of which is what is being implemented in the last 20 years.
I don’t have any doubt, he will take Lagos state to greater heights no doubt about it. There is so much to expect; I know what happened to us, he turned around this place, he improved the personalities here, people were trained, bigger exposures, bigger responsibilities, people were challenged, people were fulfilled, people were motivated and that is what happens when you motivate your staff, they will deliver bigger. So Lagos state government staff should be thrilled.
They are going to be motivated, they will be happy doing what they are doing and God willing, Lagos will be better for it.
We should all join hands with the governor, support him with our prayers, we should also support him with what is expected of us, in terms of our civic duties and once we do that, the sky is the limit for Lagos state.
Oluwakemi Lateef – GM, Admin & HR LSDPC:
I can describe Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in many forms because he is many things to a lot of people but from my own purview which is HR, he is a man that has workers welfare at heart. Right from his inception here at LSDPC, he took staff welfare as his priority, even when there were challenges.
Initially when he came in, the system wasn’t too smooth, there was the challenge of funding, the challenge of labour issues and many other challenges, but he came in, and probably due to his vast experience at the private and the public sector, he was able to resolve all the lingering problems within a few months that he was here. In fact, I am also a testimony to one of his early achievements here at LSDPC. Before he came in as the managing director, the highest that any staff could get to here was the deputy general manager so he came and he said for him he doesn’t see anything stopping any staff here, a deserving staff from getting to the zenith of their career; so he changed the existing rule.
He was the one that brought in the idea of elevating staff to the position of general manager. That is how few of us in the system were able to get to the position of general manager.
Before he came to LSDPC, we had this idea of, training is done only when there is money, but when he came in, he said if you want to get the best from staff, you need to motivate them. He took staff motivation as his priority and no matter what constraint he has at that time, he ensured that every month or at every point in time, staff training and other welfare are taken as priority and at times, some of us wonder how he is able to achieve these things that he achieved.
The other thing that I also see is, since I got to LSDPC, I dare say I have not seen the infrastructural regeneration that he undertook and he completed most of them. This office is a testimony. You need to be here some few years back and see the state of the office but he went round and he said look, if you want your staff to give you the best, it is not only training them, you also must give them the best environment to work and that will challenge them to give you the best. So he undertook that project, he started with Block A, that’s where he was when he was here and when he completed that block A, people thought “oh this is the best LSDPC has ever seen” but, little did they know that he was just bringing out the bird from his pocket. He took this one too and he did a complete renovation. At some point, some of us were thinking he was overtrading when we looked at the cost implication of what he was doing, but he was able to achieve all those with the problem of cash flow that was inherent in the system at that time.
Apart from his love for staff welfare, he also came with a genius financial engineering that some of us do not really understand and we have never seen before he got here.
The other area that I can also comment on is his ability to bring out the best in every member of staff. Some of us were not so challenged to bring out the best of ourselves before he came. When he came, he gave us the environment to excel and also challenged us with tasks. He will give you a commensurate task to what he thinks your experience should carry.
For some of us, it was a new experience because we were used to the usual standard, but when he came, he brought that touch of excellence and he demands the best from you every time and that was a challenge to every one of us. Most times we had to go back to crosscheck before we even go before him to make presentations. He will ensure that you go back and check and double check to make sure that what you are bringing will meet his standard.
I wouldn’t say it’s a pity he left shortly because if you compare what he did here to the number of years he did with us, you will probably want to say he was the shortest serving CEO in terms of his achievements. We served under those who served ten years and they hardly achieved a quarter of what he achieved. So for me, he was a wonderful person, and in so many aspects, in terms of welfare, he was up there, in terms of bringing out the best in staff, he was there.
Also, I need to mention this, he never failed to reprimand when necessary. When you take things to him and he feels this does not meet the required standard, he wouldn’t fail to chastise you and he wouldn’t do that because he hates you, some times when you leave, he will find a time and call you and tell you “look; that thing could be done better than what you did”, and he wasn’t just out to hurt you but there to correct you and ensure he brings out the best in you.
When I heard about his candidacy, I was happy for the state. If using his achievement here as a parameter, he probably will take the state to the level that we’ve never seen before because I think cumulatively, he spent two years or less here and you need to go round and see what he achieved compared to most of his predecessors who were here for so many years, so taking that and applying it to the state, I am assured that he is going to transform the state. More so, he’s not new to administration in the state.
He was a commissioner and his footprints are everywhere in the record of Lagos state on things achieved during his tenure when he was in treasury and when he was also in establishment “that is the ministry that deals with HR and Human resource issues”. I have this belief that he is going to take the state to great heights.
I am asking Lagosians to give him the maximum support and to be rest assured that he is not a man that will disappoint them.
Aladeloye Leo Francis – Asst. Town Planning Officer, LSDPC:
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is an astute leader, he is a man of character, he is a leader and a mentor par excellence.
He is ever interested in bringing out the best from his employee and I have benefitted immensely from his wealth of experience and his leadership style.
Before Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu got to LSDPC, the corporation had a process but the process was not as defined as much as it is now.
The major cardinal points, while he was here, was the people, the process and then the environment.
He was so much interested in the people, knowing fully well that it is the people that will drive the process and that was why he invested so much in human resource development.
During his time, a lot of staff both senior, junior and middle-ranking staff in the corporation went on training within the state, outside the state and even outside the country.
He was also much interested in the environment and you can also see that in the transformation that took place in Block B and in Block D and he had already started in Block B before the clarion call came for him to lead the state as the governor.
When you also talk about the process, he made the process seamless, he made the process easy currently, he made the process to flow and that was why he also started a project while he was here and they call it the project eagle; trying to make sure that the process in LSDPC is seamless and also as fast as it could. He had started working on that before he left. The difference is too clear and we are sure that in his coming to the state, the state will move forward and get better for it.
I was very happy to hear about his candidacy. While he was at LSDPC I used to say he is like somebody that has a capacity for 50 and is only given five, so he still has forty-five.
I worked with him closely and by God’s grace, he is somebody that rewards hard work. I benefitted from that.
When he went to pick the form, I was very excited because I know that Lagosians will be happy for the governor that they have chosen. I am very excited, I look forward to his leadership in Lagos state, I look forward to a Lagos where things will work again. So I’m very happy and I’m looking forward to his ascension of the leadership of Lagos state come May 2019, by God’s grace.
Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, you have excelled before especially in the private sector and also in the public sector, and I have no doubt in me that you’re going to excel in Lagos state as you take us steadily, step by step, as we follow you, and in four years’ time, when we look back, we will say “no, this cannot be Lagos, this is actually the Lagos of our dreams”.
Femi Ajayi – Security Man at LSDPC:
Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a leader and he is an ideal boss. He is an easy going man and he is very generous to me personally and the other staff members as well.
He made an immediate impact from the very beginning of his time with LSDPC.
Personally, for the nineteen years that I have been working here, I only got a promotion and the other basic things but when he came, he promoted and gave me an award.
When I heard about his candidacy, I felt it was a good thing, but considering the quality of his time here, we didn’t want him to go. I personally didn’t want him to go but I know the next level is where he is going. Personally, I’m happy.
Lagosians should expect that Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a man that will bring about changes to Lagos. I trust that from day one, he will impact everyone both young and old.
The promise he gave during the campaign, he should ensure that it’s fulfilled and his impact will also be felt at LSDPC now that he is Governor.
