Speeches

2011 Chidren's Day Parade

May 27, 2011 - This year's edition of the annual Children's Day Anniversary, which comes barely 24 hours to the end of my first tenure as Governor of Lagos State is one that I have looked forward to with a lot of anxiety and enthusiasm.

This year's event will be the last of this term as I prepare to take another oath of office for another term and as I look back on what has been possible, I must acknowledge with profound gratitude the role that children have played in the circumstances leading up to my election not only in 2007 and 2011; but also in the successes of our administration.

It is with that sense of gratitude and immense appreciation that it delights me to no end to be here today to say a big thank you to all our children all over the State.

While my gratitude goes out to every child in the State on this day and to their parents and guardians, it will be remiss of me not to mention a few children whose passion for my personal safety and success and that of our Government have been most touching, humbling and inspiring.

I re-call that during the 2007 elections, our campaign team was shot at and a few people died. On the same day in the evening shortly after 10pm, a call came through on my phone from Mr. Larry Izamoje.

His daughter, Becky who had heard the news of the attack on our team was inconsolable in the belief that something had happened to me and inspite of her father's assurances, insisted that she must speak with me to be assured.

I will never forget what happened when she came on the phone that night. She spent at least five minutes praying for me. She insisted on the phone that I close my eyes and went on to pray not only for my safety but also for our success at the polls.

Of course it is now history that we won the elections in 19 (Nineteen) Local Governments out of 20 (Twenty) with a vote of 800,000 to our nearest opponent's 300,000.

Similarly on Tuesday 26th April 2011 as I was proceeding with my wife to cast my vote, an 8 year old girl accosted me with a poster which read:

"My dear Gov. Fashola, my Mum says I can't vote because I am 8 years old. I pray that God will give you victory today"

As it is now widely acclaimed, Lagosians delivered a renewed mandate to our Party in the Gubernatorial elections with over 1,500,000 votes to our nearest opponent's 300,000 votes.

Can any person truly doubt the efficacy of prayers and good wishes of children, said in the innocence of youth? I do not.

And this is why some of the letters I have received from other children such as Omoehi Ighodalo, Moyosore Reis, Eniola Olajuwon, Nabila Shuaibu, Onosetale Ijewere have not only been framed as treasures in my office, they are constant reminders to me of the hope that these generation of children hold in my ability and that of all of us in Government. They reinforce the trust of their future in our ability.

It is an enormous responsibility and we cannot afford to betray these children.

Let me attempt to demonstrate the strongest of their beliefs and trust that this Government will always come through for them.

Eniola Olajuwon had participated in an election to be Head Boy of St. Saviours School, Ebute Metta. He had never met me. But he had promised the electorate, his school mates, that if he was voted as Head Boy he would bring the Governor of Lagos State to their School.

I got to know about this when I received an email he had pressurized his mother to send to me in an attempt to redeem an electoral promise that got him elected as Head Boy.

I obliged, by replying the e-mail and visited the School. And nothing delighted me more than to see how proud he was amongst his colleagues that his promise to them was fulfilled.

As I said on the day, I was very proud of the honour and candour with which he had set out to redeem his promise. For me it did not matter whether he eventually succeeded in getting me to the school or not. What was important was the honour with which he made an effort though his mother to redeem a promise.

The future of our country can only be better as these children of honour grow up to become men and women of honour, whose word will be their bond.

I must also share the story of Onosetale Ijewere of Corona School, Victoria Island. Her own campaign promise was to ensure that I fix the road leading to her school. The truth was that I had previously approved that remedial works be carried out on the road but when I received her letter, it certainly spurred us into action that the work had not been completed.

I am happy to note that I have received reports from our Works Department that substantial progress has been made on the road.

The story of Moyosore, Omoehi and Nabila are not different. Moyosore was a victim of many hours of traffic gridlock during the construction of the Eti-Osa – Lekki –Epe Expressway. I was saddened to hear that she had to wake up as early as 4am in order to get to school for 8am.

Part of the problems which caused the delay in the project was the mindless, inciteful and very unethical campaign by our opponents in the PDP. A road which served to bring relief to everybody, which was an award winning foreign investment model for Nigeria had become a political tool in the hands of our opponents without caring or minding the pain and cost to children like Moyosere.

Their attitude frightened our investors who withheld funding because people had been incited to resist the payment of tolls.

Can our opponents really have compensated the trauma and loss of sleep that children like Moyosere went through for weeks and months? Does their brand of politics not care about children?

Happily, I am proud to say, albeit at great cost to the State, work has resumed, progress is being made on the road and relief has gradually spread on the corridor to all and sundry including our children as travel time is daily improving.

Let me use this opportunity to state again, that our brand of politics in the Action Congress of Nigeria under my watch, will always be issue driven and ethically defined. We will play very robust and partisan politics in Lagos but we will never play politics with Lagos, its residents or its prosperity especially the future of our children.

At the start of our administration, Omoehi and Nabila had written me letters about the need for a better bus system, improved security, a cleaner State, better education and improved healthcare.

I feel very happy to report that a lot of progress has since been made with our Bus Rapid Transit system; our Police and security improvement, our refuse clean-up and polio immunization for children and healthcare system for mothers and children amongst our diverse and multifarious policies.

I am of course very proud to say that children have played a very significant role in bringing on these successes.

They have participated in many of our turn around and life changing programmes like the Climate Change Clubs, Be Road Friendly Traffic Awareness Programmes, Spelling Bee Competition, Schools Debates and School Quiz competitions that have brought significant improvements to our healthcare and environment policies, education development and traffic management.

Truly, our children have been ambassadors in word and deed.

As I conclude this year's address and look forward to seeing you all next year, I pray that God keeps you all under his watchful and protective care.

Let me once again restate that I hold your trust and beliefs in me in a very special place in my heart.

I will do everything within my power never to let you down and to provide for you, that truly brighter and rewarding future.

Happy Children's Day. God bless you all.

Eko o ni baje o!

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State