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Democracy Offers Best Platform To Address Humanity’s Problems - Gov. Fashola At Harvard University
…Says those who refuse to see the positives in Lagos will be left behind

Apr 12, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) Monday, in the United States of America , stressed the need for Democracy as a stable form of government which offers the best platform to address the myriads of problems facing humanity in the world today.

Governor Fashola, who was invited as Keynote Speaker at the African Focus 2010 held at the Harvard University, by the institution’s African Caucus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, said apart from providing opportunity to plan and implement policies and programmes of government, it also provides the platform for true partnership with the governed.

Speaking on the topic, “Re-imagine, Re-define, Re-invent: A new Paradigm for Africa’s Leaders – The Lagos Experience of Challenges and Opportunities for Transformation”, Governor Fashola said the best way to seize the opportunity offered by Democracy is to prepare for it and plan to use it for only the purpose of public good.

According to the Governor, who frowned at the use of democracy for any other end, “The reality is that in the pursuit of public good, all our individual needs are met and secured. We will use the roads we built, the hospitals we built and the security we put in place and benefit from the economic prosperity that we helped to create in a situation of harmony”.

Explaining that the alternative to this situation is chaos, aggression and desperation where the privileged would live in fear of revolt or crime from the under-privileged, the Governor declared, “The truth is that a leadership that cannot protect the poor will be unable to protect the rich”.

Responding to how he became Governor and the challenging opportunities involved in the governance of Lagos State, Governor Fashola, said he had enjoyed being part of the team that started rebuilding the State after many years of neglect and lack of development and was preparing to return to his legal practice in the private sector before being surprisingly given the opportunity to contest by his predecessor who described it as an assignment.

The Governor also underscored the importance of preparation in leadership saying that having accepted to contest the election, he took time off to put down his thoughts on what needed to be done in each of the vital sectors captured in an existing 10 Point Agenda which had become a State Policy, the Party’s manifesto and a Charter of Objectives of the Millennium Development goals. Armed with the resultant document which he titled “My Contract with Lagosians”, Governor Fashola said he then formally resigned from office to run a most rigorous campaign.

“But in all, from the document I wrote which became an Article of Faith that I titled “My Contract with Lagosians”, I explained at every opportunity what I intended to do and what the obligations of citizens would be in terms of support, payment of taxes and obedience of laws, maintenance of peace and the promise of what lay ahead,” he said.

Governor Fashola attributed the transformational successes recorded so far by his administration to public support , a solid foundation, an inspired public service and co-operation of other arms of Government.

“We made ourselves accessible to the public by publishing our email addresses and telephone numbers in the newspapers and responded as best as we could to complaints and suggestions.”

He said the successes also came largely as a result of the team he selected as his cabinet who, according to him, came from diverse backgrounds, pointing out that majority of the 42 Commissioners and advisers were his colleagues whom he had worked with in the previous cabinet of his predecessor. “This was intended to help us start quickly, using the experience of the old hands while the new ones acquainted themselves with the nuances, culture and communication skills of the public service which are quite different from what obtained in the private sector”, he explained”.

“We resolved to keep promises and deadlines we made to the public whatever it took and at the earliest awareness that it would not be feasible, we went back to them to notify and explain why. Our word was our bond”, the Governor said, adding that the cabinet members worked as a team, debating vigorously at meetings and voted when there was deadlock.

To assist his administration in meeting standards and best practices, the Governor said, “We sought knowledge and best practices from every part of the world, sent people to value adding trainings and tours”, adding, however, that more often, such trainings were conducted in the country so that the largest number of the team could benefit and also to manage cost.

His knowledge , the Governor said, was further enhanced by his wide reading and personal contacts with some of the world’s famous city managers and transformation experts such as Rudolph Guiliani whose book on Leadership about the transformation of New York he read, and Lee Kwan Yew, who did a seminal work titled, “From third to First World” which he had read before meeting the respected Singaporean leader during his visit to Singapore in 2007 to attend the International Bar Association Conference.

The Governor said he visited various cities like Dubai which, according to him, was at the peak of its construction boom in 2007, adding, “ I went to those places, not as a tourist but as a city manager looking to see what I could learn, trying to relate what I had read in those books with what I saw”.

On the need for Law and Order in the State, the Governor, who acknowledged that most people are driven to lawlessness by desperation declared, “We re-ordered the budget of the State from consumption to investment in infrastructure. We changed the expenditure profile to a 60-40 ratio in favour of capital over recurrent expenditure and applied the proceeds to equipping the police, building schools, roads, hospitals, water supply projects, sports centres and reclaiming open spaces for parks and greening”.

“The response was most encouraging. Before the efforts started yielding results, we, we were getting feedbacks of credibility. People trusted us. They believed that we meant well. They were ready to endure traffic because they saw construction going on and believed it would get better when we finished. In places where we needed to claim more land to build expanded roads, people voluntarily pulled down their walls so that our contractors could start work”, he said.

Governor Fashola said the people showed their confidence in the government by paying their taxes willingly, adding, “Rather than complains, we began to receive enquiries about how and where they needed to go to pay their taxes. It was a huge sign on that everybody seemingly wanted to be part of”.

Expressing appreciation to the African Caucus for the opportunity given him to address the forum, Governor Fashola declared, “”I wish to say that I have heard people speak about a success story in Lagos, but the truth is that the Lagos I dream of still lies ahead. As I said earlier, it is not a finished article, indeed, it is just beginning; but my optimism that it is achievable is fired by the enormous belief and support of our people which inspires me to no end”.

The keynote address of Governor Fashola was followed by a robust interactive session moderated by Professor Catherine Duggan who asked a number of questions before inviting further questions from the lively audience made up of academics and students of Harvard University , the Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology (MIT) and young professionals in the Boston community.

The questions and contributions ranged from transportation to mass housing, health care to security and from transparency in governance to taxation as well as commendations from many who had followed developments in Lagos . Responding to a question on the perception of Lagos and its impact on the drive for foreign direct investments from Professor Duggan, who teaches Business, Government and the International Economy, Governor Fashola said he does not lose sleep over such perception adding that apart from the market potentials of Lagos and the African Continent, concrete steps being taken by the administration meet the requirements of serious international investors.

“I don’t lose sleep about it honestly because I think that in the fullness of time, those who continue to refuse to see the positives in Lagos will be left behind. I made the assertion before that the future of our planet will depend on what happens on the African Continent,” Governor Fashola said.

According to the Governor, Africa remains the most viable market for goods and services produced from other parts of the planets and the substantial part of the resources that the entire human race depend on comes from the Continent. Specifically on Lagos, Governor Fashola said since investors look towards doing business, making profits which can be repatriated and recreating, the reform initiatives of the administration in the judiciary including the promotion of Arbitration, building tourist centres as well as rapid development of the infrastructure needed to do business like roads, transportation and security are targeted at positioning Lagos as an investment destination. He noted that such infrastructure provided by United Arab Emirate remain the secret of the attraction to Dubai, adding that ordinarily no none would have loved to go to a desert.

The well attended session, which was preceded by a reception in honour of the Governor and his entourage comprising some members of the State Executive Council and three members of the State House of Assembly, was chaired by former United States Ambassador to Nigeria , Ambassador Walter Carrington who came with his Nigerian wife, Arese Carrignton.