Rivers state government and its Akwa-Ibom counterpart, whose governors are the leading dramatis personae in the feud which has engulfed the Nigerian governor' forum since May, have atleast one thin in common: they both have private jets. But neither neither Rivers and Akwa-Ibom is as rich as LAGOS STATE, which makes money from truly productive ventures and regenerative ventures and regenerative endeavours. interestingly, thew Lagos governor has no private jet or even a helicopter and there is no plan to get one in the foreseeable future.

The stark difference in the lifestyles of the Lagos State governor and his counterparts is no happenstance. Apart from Peter Obi of Anambra state, Babatunde Fashola of Lagos is the only governor in Nigeria who goes about with no sirens blaring away or long motorcades complete with a platoon of fierce-looking and heavily armed security officials. He is the only public officer since 1999 who has bluntly refused to accept any kind of award, including the national honour, because of the conviction that honours should be bestowed on office holders after they have left office.

whether in the public or private sector, our people equate leadership with ostentation and vanity rather than service and sacrifice. This is why Nigerian evangelical pastors, whose congregations are overwhelmingly poor, would consider it infra dig to fly on anything less than a private jet while the pope, who leads the world's biggest and wealthiest church, always travel by Alitalia. why should the Taraba state governors, for example, drive themselves to work daily because their states cannot afford to procure the services of official drivers.

in His world famous memoir, Singapore's founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew expresses shock at the sight of Presidents of poor nations like Nigeria and Kenya arriving at the 1980 Commonwealth summit in Canada with presidential planes. Some of the African rulers were at the summit to solicit for aid from countries whose leaders came by commercial planes! Not long ago, the king of Swaziland, a tiny and very poor country in the belly of South Africa, insisted before parliament on the acquisition of a presidential jet, arguing ferociously that he needed it to fly around the world in search of aid for his kingdom, which depends on foreign assistance for survival. It does not matter to African rulers like this king that the Prime ministers of prosperous nations like the United Kingdom and Singapore have no private jets, even though Britain is a major aircraft manufacturer. The Fokker brand, used widely in Nigeria and elsewhere, is British

Fashola understand that leadership is about service to the people and not self-aggrandisement. His performance in office has been sterling and inspiring. Lagosians, who are historically difficult to govern because of the robust tradition of activism, have been star-struck and charmed. At the President Goodluck Jonathan's launch of ROADMAP FOR POWER SECTOR REFORM at Eko hotel in Lagos on August 26,2010, the governor made other top government officials look very unpopular, almost making them cut the image of personae non grata. Immediately Fashola was called upon to speak, the large audience comprising leading entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bank executives, manufacturers, international and local media went into a long frenzy of adulation. the master of ceremony could not stop the audience. it even took the governor himself time and effort to stop the fawning audience. The first sentence President Jonathan uttered when he got up to speak was "i can see clearly that the people of Lagos state are very happy with their governor" and the audience responded enthusiastically as one man "yes oh!" followed by another sustained round of applause.

I therefore salute the courage of Fashola for his positive contributions to Lagos development and i pray that today being his birthday, will be remembered for good. and may the governor live long to see his children's children. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOVERNOR

HDB BRF

Kudos to Fashola.
Eko oni bajee ooo

Ah no biliv jaré, if na tru kudoz

I just like the guy, Kudos BRF!

@OP fantastic treastise on an action governor! A personification of excellence,intellect n industry

HBD Babatunde Raji Fashola

One of the most important qualities in good leadership is the ability to anticipate problem .
Fashola will not find himself out of place on the board of any of the global fortune 100 companies.
The best test of effectiveness of an administrator is the ability for his presence to be felt in the most unexpected places.
How I wish this guy has some serious money to play with.something of the order of 20 billion dollars.
The gradualism will be converted into instant transformation .
IMAGINE, LAGOS IS PRODUCING RICE WHILE RESOURCE POOR AND BADLY MANAGED STATES ARE DOING NOTHING.