Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Party (APC), is a juggernaut indeed. Tinubu, also a former governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), is reputed to have nurtured, tutored and birthed more leaders than his contemporaries in politics since Nigeria’s return to democratic path in 1999.
While Tinubu is nationally recognised beyond political, ethnic and religious divides, he has remained a colossus in Lagos’ politics where he seems to have the magic wand of deciding who becomes what in the political system of Nigeria’s richest and perhaps most populous state.
Since leaving office in 2007 after he successfully installed his successor, Babatunde Fashola (now minister of works, housing and power) in what caused a stir within the ranks of many of his political ‘sons’ and appointees, leading to a number of them leaving the then Action Congress (AC), Tinubu has remained as relevant in the politics of Lagos as ever.
Indeed, rather than weaning, his influence has continued to grow not only at the state and party levels, but also at the grassroots, as aspiring politicians- young and old- look to his blessing and endorsement to get into political office.
It was no surprise, therefore, that in 2014, many of the aspirants at the federal and state levels including Akinwunmi Ambode, the incumbent governor of Lagos, relied almost entirely on Tinubu to secure party’s nomination and ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections. It paid off, as many of the political office holders inclusive of members of the state House of Assembly rode on the endorsement of Tinubu to secure their current positions.
Indeed, twelve years after standing down as governor, Tinubu, who goes with the popular title ‘Asiwaju’ (leader) has continued to shape decision making and governance in Lagos. He has on many occasions intervened in critical situations that could have worked against the interests of his party and those of his political ‘sons’.
Asiwaju, it was, who stepped in to save the situation when the former governor, Babatunde Fashola (2007-2015), would not succumb to pressure by civil societies and students of Lagos State University (LASU) to totally revert an increase in their school fees.
The Fashola’s administration had in 2011 hiked the fees in LASU from N25,000 per session to between N193,000 and N350,000. The government had insisted on not reversing the fees, as it was the decision of the university’s senate. After months of persistent protests and agitation, the fees were reduced by between 34 and 60 percent, but this would not pacify the students who wanted a total reversal.
Amid wider consultations with stakeholders and ahead of 2015 general election, with the opposition already cash in on the fee hike to score political points, Tinubu had visited the State House, Alausa, where he met and held discussions with Fashola. He emerged from the meeting into the waiting arms of State House Correspondents. He took the shine from Fashola when he told reporters that the hiked fees would be reverted.
Fashola was to later announce the cancellation of the hiked fees at the 19th convocation ceremony of LASU held at main campus, Ojo on August 7, 2014, eliciting wild jubilation from the students and parents who vowed to vote against the state government in the 2015 elections.
Last week, and ahead of the 2019 general election, Tinubu played yet another role in the lingering feud between Private Sector Participants (PSP) and the Ambode-led government following a contract that the government signed with Visionscape Sanitation Solution, which excluded the PSP operators from domestic waste collection in Lagos.
Since the signing on of Visionscape to the exclusion of the PSP operators, Lagos had returned to the old days of heaps of refuse littering the streets with grave implications on the health of the citizens.
But in a meeting with the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAM), an umbrella body for PSP operators, led by Ola Egbeyemi as chairman, Tinunu pointed out the need to resolve the issue because of the immense contributions of the PSP operators to waste management in the state.
He assured that he would reconcile all the stakeholders in his capacity as grand patron of AWAM to promote the business interests of waste managers and wellbeing of Lagosians.
“It is disappointing and sad that at this stage of our development, the matter should result into petition. It should have been continuity and progress.
“Whatever is the shortcoming, we will correct it. This will get to the governor latest by Monday, April 30.
“It is sad to see Olusosun dumpsite in dangerous smoke. As a grand patron of AWAM, I am concerned driving around Lagos and seeing built up refuse.
“I must say it is a challenge that is coming back and we will not allow that to happen. The government is trying and responsive but the complexity of Lagos is compounding by the day,” he said.
Tinubu acknowledged the fact that AWAM members travelled abroad to learn international best practices in waste management and should therefore be allowed to apply it in Lagos.
“I challenge you to go and be ready in your various communities and lines and get ready to work. I appeal to you to maintain peace. The House of Assembly, the government and the party will work together to promote your business interests. The only thing we can do is to encourage this kind of small scale business to grow. The governor might have been experimenting and it is not a shame to reverse to the former,” Tinubu said.
One week, after the intervention of the former governor, Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, the state commissioner for the environment, at a press conference to mark third anniversary of the Ambode-led administration, announced the decision of the government to allow the PSP operators resume their hitherto role of collecting waste from residences.
Against this back ground, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, the municipal waste manager with which the government signed a deal in 2017, now has the mandate of implementing waste management infrastructure development across in the state, in addition to intervening in public waste collection to cover any service lapses that may occur.
According to Durosinmi-Etti, as part of this new reform, the Lagos State Public Works Corporation would oversee drainage management across the state, while the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) and the Public Utilities Monitoring and Assurance Unit (PUMAU) would both focus on enforcement and monitoring.
According to Durosinmi-Etti, LAGESC would handle enforcement of law against illegal dumping and fly-tipping, while PUMAU will track and control the payment of fees as well as supervise collection operations.
All this, according to the commissioner, is in the effort to rid the state of filth and the heaps of refuse littering the streets, stressing that before the heavy rains set in, the waste challenge would be totally resolve to save the state from a possible outbreak of diseases of epidemic proportion.
JOSHUA BASSEY
