Lagos is not a city that waits. From the moment the sun rises, it confronts its leaders with urgent questions—traffic congestion, flooding, power supply, security, job creation—all demanding attention at once. For Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who resumed office in 2019, each day has been about keeping Nigeria’s economic nerve centre standing while more than 20 million residents pursue their ambitions.
Behind the photographs of new roads, rail lines, and infrastructure projects lies a quieter, human reality. Sanwo-Olu says governance in Lagos is shaped not only by data and plans, but by people: the market woman rushing home before nightfall, the student stranded in traffic during a downpour, the young creative trying to turn talent into income. These everyday faces, he explains, often influence the biggest policy decisions.
Speaking recently with Konye Chelsea Nwabogor, the governor offered a candid look into what it feels like to lead a city as demanding as Lagos. He discussed the thinking behind the THEMES+ agenda—an approach designed to tackle transportation, health, education, security, and economic growth in a coordinated way—while remaining flexible enough to respond to daily realities.
Beyond infrastructure, Sanwo-Olu emphasized that Lagos is also Africa’s cultural heartbeat. Music, fashion, film, food, and nightlife are not side attractions, he noted, but key drivers of economic growth. The global popularity of events often referred to as “Detty December” was no accident; it followed deliberate investments in tourism, entertainment, and creative industries throughout the year.
While acknowledging that the journey is far from perfect, the governor described it as sincere. Leading Lagos, he said, is an ongoing effort to balance urgency with vision, and concrete with creativity—always with the people at the centre.
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