On COVID-19, Sanwo-Olu is getting it.
Neusroom’s Michael Orodare suggests Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos,
is ticking all the right boxes concerning the management of COVID-19.
But there’s still work to be done.
On COVID-19, Sanwo-Olu is getting it.
Written by Micheal Orodare for Neusroom
25 April 2020
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu may not have started on the very fast pace Lagosians were expecting when he took over the realms of power in Lagos State in May 2019, but at this point, barely one year into his government, credit deserves to be given to him on the manner with which he has handled the COVID-19 crisis.
A caveat: this writer is not a political jingoist, nor a patronage seeker, but one who firmly believes credit and honour ought to be given to those deserving, particularly when it is very rare to see Op-Eds complimenting the effort of public officials. The truth many may not want to tell is that Sanwo-Olu has shown exemplary leadership and high level of responsibility with his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and it is not too early to say it.
Sanwo-Olu hosts a security council meeting with the heads of security agencies in the state on March 24. Photo: Lagos State Govt.
Lagos, the epicentre of the outbreak in Nigeria presently has 731 cases (as at 11:50 pm on Sunday April 26) and the state has been on lockdown – commercial activities which ranks Lagos as the economic centre of the nation have been grounded.
It must be a very challenging time for the governor and his team as they navigate through this turbulence. I know because I’ve been close to the corridor of policy making in the past. I understand the burden of a series of meetings that go well into the middle of the night. As the CEO of the state, Sanwo-Olu must be part of the health task force and security meetings, or get frequent briefing from the economic stimulus distribution team and many others. It’s a difficult time!
If Sanwo-Olu was sleeping for six hours before February 27 when the index case was detected (I doubt if you can govern Lagos and sleep for six hours), he must have lost more sleeping hours. I may not be able to say if he has been sleeping. He has been doing the right thing and has been people-centered about his actions.
Firstly, the major approach in tackling the virus after ordering people to stay at home, is to “test, test and test” as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the last one month, Lagos has increased its testing capacity by establishing testing centres across the 20 local government areas in the state, without waiting for the Federal Government. With this, Lagos is several miles ahead of other states.
Sanwo-Olu inspects the economic stimulus package before distribution. The first phase was targeted at over 200,000 households in the state to cushion the effect of the lockdown. Photo: Lagos State Govt.
Secondly, his responses from February 28, 2020, when the index case was announced up till this time have been devoid of political undertone.
A time of crisis is not a time to play politics
it’s a period of responsible leadership, a time to hold and guide the people and leave no room for void in information management.
The people want to hear from their leaders to give them assurance and hope. Sanwo-Olu has provided this, giving factual and frequent updates on COVID-19, what the government has done, doing and plans to do. He is always the first to tell what is happening in the state. If he is not tweeting, he is standing at the lawn of the State House addressing newsmen with latest updates. We know that there are 731 confirmed cases in Lagos, and 128 have been discharged (as at 11:50 pm on Sunday April 26), the isolation centers in the state and how test centers have been spread across communities.
Sanwo-Olu pictured at one of his COVID-19 press briefing at the State House. He holds the briefing regularly to update citizens on the fight against COVID-19 in the state. Photo: Lagos State Govt.
He has continued to offer informed interpretations and predictions on the crisis to douse tension and give hope amid uncertainty. “It will get worse before it gets better”, Sanwo-Olu said at a press briefing on Monday evening. At a previous briefing on Saturday April 4, he said:
We must continue to reassure ourselves that we are not weaker as a unit, but much stronger and our confidence lies in the fact that, working together, we have and will always emerge victorious.
Third, before President Muhammadu Buhari imposed the first 14 days lockdown on Lagos, Ogun and FCT on Monday March 30, Sanwo-Olu had responded with distribution of food packs to over 200,000 households to cushion the effect of the lockdown. A week ago he rolled out free feeding for 100,000 youths daily in response to the unrest in the state.
We are also cleaning up our data from our various social registers to get a clean list of truly vulnerable and economically challenged persons to enable us to remit some cash to them. We aim to do these cash transfers by the end of the week to a minimum of 250,000 indigent citizens,
Sanwo-Olu said in his broadcast on Monday April 13. That’s proactive and responsive leadership not lost in the middle of the crisis. Just a few days ago the state also approved a 400 percent increment in the hazard allowance for all Health Officers in the State from N5,000 to N25,000 for the month of April 2020. In a time of crisis and uncertainty, what most people wait for is someone to lead and others will move purposefully to the battle field. As the Incident Commander of Lagos COVID-19 battle, his reverberating response has inspired businesses and individuals to show responsibility, and in the last three weeks many have donated isolation centers, funds and other forms of support. All commendable!
Lagos State Commissioner for Health (right), Prof Akin Abayomi and the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ikeweazu (left), have been commended for their partnership in handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State’s Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi and the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr Chikwe Ikeweazu, have also shown that good synergy between government agencies will produce great results like we are seeing in the handling of COVID-19 crisis.
When the leadership is getting it, compliance and support are most likely inevitable, the populace and institutions are also taking civic-minded actions in compliance with the lockdown order. Religious organisations in the state were the first to agree to a ban on large gatherings when there were still 12 confirmed cases in Nigeria as at Thursday March 19.
There is always room for more, it is not time to rest and get carried by the successes achieved so far, this is the time to do more to compliment the gains of the past two months. This is the time to motivate the state’s security architecture to do more and make the communities safer for the people. Now that we are recording community transmission, there is a need to create and spread more sensitization messages in local languages for people at the grassroots. It is good that the state has reviewed lapses observed during the first phase of distribution of food items and has made some adjustments. Kudos!
Sanwo-Olu (left), Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Segun Agbaje (2nd left), and other state officials at the handover of the 110-bed isolation center at Onikan, donated by GTB. Several organizations and individuals in the state have also supported Lagos with funds and other materials to fight COVID-19. Photo: Lagos State Govt.
Sanwo-Olu flanked by heads of security agencies in the state. The security heads have been going round communities to assure residents that there is no unrest in the state contrary to viral social media reports. Photo: Lagos State Govt.
Sanwo-Olu is earning an unusual trust from the populace, which is very crucial in scaling through the difficult times. A stark contrast to the feeling about six months ago when he was criticised as being “too slow”. The populace is always impatient with political office holders, they want quick results like a fast food menu. That was why tempers went high five months into his administration and residents started groaning over their expectations, he also admitted that he feels he has not done well enough.
Speaking at The Platform in October 2019, Sanwo-Olu said:
We can do a lot more. A lot of the things that you would see in the backroom, we don’t need to make a lot of noise about it. What Lagosians are looking for is results.
While we may want to hinge his performance on the experience he has garnered after being an integral part of the Lagos State government from 2003, the antecedents of many who have had such opportunity in the past have proven that experience is not the only yardstick. Competence, character and other rare leadership qualities form part of what makes a leader stand out.
Sanwo-Olu left the banking industry in 2003 when he was appointed Special Adviser on Corporate Matters to then-Deputy Governor Femi Pedro and later served then Governor Bola Tinubu in the same capacity. In 2007 he was acting Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget. He would later become Commissioner for Establishments, Training, and Pensions between 2007 and 2015. He was Managing Director/CEO of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) till 2018 when he gave the governorship contest a shot.
In the past two months of managing COVID-19 he has shown other states how to lead from the front in a time of crisis.Compared with how some have been playing politics, there is a lot other states should learn from him.
Even the Christians’ Holy Book recommended that elders who have served well should be counted worthy of double honour. Sanwo-Olu is getting it right and if there is anything called COVID-19 champion in Nigeria, no one else is deserving of such a medal, but Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
