TINUBU'S LEGACIES

According to Okupe, “Bola Tinubu who spoke about poor budget implementation at the federal level never attained 60 per cent budget implementation while he presided over the affairs of Lagos State…”. Of course, the facts are there for verification if Dr.Okupe cares to check. The average percentage budgetary performance of the Lagos State government under Tinubu’s leadership was 71.5%.
The expenditure performance of the administration was 81% for 1999, 61% for 2000, 66% for 2001, 71% for 2002, 63% for 2003, 81% for 2004, 75% for 2005 and 74% for 2006. This is why the state witnessed massive infrastructural modernization and expansion across diverse sectors including roads, education, health, the judiciary, the environment, public transportation and water supply among others.

Most of the roads constructed by the Tinubu administration over a decade ago are still solid and motorable. They include KudiratAbiola road, Oregun; Awolowo road, Ikoyi; Akin Adesola road, Victoria Island; Adeola Odeku road, Victoria Island; Agege Motor road; Ikotun-Igando road; Yaba-Itire-Lawanson-Ojuelegba road; LASU-Iba road, Ojo; Ajah-Badore road, Eti-Osa; Oba Sekumade Road, Ikorodu; Adetokunbo Ademola Road; Victoria Island and the ongoing modernisation of the Lagos-Epe Expressway as the largest concessioneering project of its size and complexity in Africa. In any case, has the National Assembly not been perpetually at war with the Jonathan administration over abysmally poor budgetary performance?

If Dr. Doyin Okupe cares to educate himself, he will discover that the Tinubu administration constructed over 6000 housing units. These include the Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah; Ibeshe low-income housing scheme; Oba Adeyinka Oyekan Estate, Lekki; Ayangburen Estate, Phase 2, Ikorodu; Gbagada Medium Housing Scheme; Amuwo-Odofin Housing Scheme; Abraham Adesanya Estate, Phase 2; Ojokoro Millenium Housing Scheme; Alaagba Low-income Housing Scheme, OkeEletu and Oko Oba Low-Income Housing Schemes. The administration built new General Hospitals at Mushin, Shomolu, Ibeju-Lekki and Isheri-Iba as well as upgrading existing health centres to full-fledged hospitals at Ijede, Ketu, Agbowa and Agege. This was in addition to upgrading the buildings and facilities at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to international standard as well as rehabilitating and expanding old General Hospitals in Lagos, Gbagada, Epe, Isolo, Ikorodu, Badagry, Agege and the Island Maternity Hospital.

Only recently, Okupe’s boss, President Goodluck Jonathan, was the special guest of honour at the inauguration of the Eko Atlantic City project. He heaped high praise on the venture – a brainchild of the Tinubu administration. The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) is another outstanding success story. It continues to convey millions of commuters from one point to the other daily. That was another conception of the Tinubu administration. Of course, we do not have sufficient space here to detail other achievements of the Tinubu administration. But I think I have said enough to cure Okupe of his wilful ignorance. If a solid foundation like that in Lagos had been laid at the federal level between 1999 and 2007, Nigeria would not be in today’s rot.

On his exit in 2007, Tinubu identified a capable successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, who has elevated Lagos to new levels of developmental excellence. What have we had at the federal level? The Ota soldier-farmer-politician handed over to a physically incapacitated successor and with his passing a former “shoeless” school boy who is completely clueless about handling the affairs of a complex polity like Nigeria. Lagos offers a sterling example of Nigeria’s transformative possibilities. A thousand Okupes cannot hide that fact.