For Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, there is no letting up in his determination to leave a lasting and positive impression on the minds of Lagosians. Unlike many governors, who drop the ball in the execution of legacy projects once they secure a second term, this laser-focused governor is charging on relentlessly, completing big projects and initiating new ones that are as audacious as they are impactful.
Take the health sector as a case study, the governor, conscious of the dictum that ‘health is wealth,’ is dotting the entire Lagos’ landscape with many signature projects that are unmatched by all standards.
About two years ago, the governor flagged-off the construction of a new Massey Children Hospital located on the Island. Lagosians heaved a sigh of relief that the hospital, the first paediatric health facility in the country, which was established over 100 years ago, would come in a new shape. The good news is that the multi-billion project is almost ready. Next year is the target date.
And knowing Sanwo-Olu, whose knack for completing projects in record time has been acknowledged even by critics, all stops will be pulled to get the new Massey Hospital project up and running in 2025.
During a recent inspection of work on the site of the largest paediatric hospital in sub-Saharan Africa, the governor, who expressed satisfaction with the level of work on the site, said: “We are on course, and we believe that we should be nearing completion sometime next year.
“All of the major civil works will be completed by the end of this year and extensive finishing would start. I’m happy with the commitment and the quality of work that is being done. The multi-level car park has gotten to the required height and the hospital has one more floor and helipad on top”, he said.
Recalling that the ground-breaking of the edifice was done less than two years ago, the governor added: “We did promise our people that we are going to be erecting what will be the biggest paediatric hospital in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa at a single location. You will see for yourselves the magnitude and extent of what is now being done and where the contractors are.
“I also undermined the size of this job, but being here on the site gives a full view of the magnitude of what we are trying to put up here”.
Affirming that that Lagos deserves the health edifice, the governor further said: “The current Massey Children’s Hospital, is almost 100 years old, and the minimum we can do is to not only just bring back that name, but put up a structure that would last for another 200 years. I can see from what we are doing here that this setting will last for centuries. My wish for the residents, especially mothers, fathers and children on Lagos Island is that this is another promise made, another promise kept.
“We are about ensuring that we put infrastructure that will outlive us. We will put facilities that will be comparable to anyone of the size in any part of Africa or indeed in the world. This is one of our major health projects, and there are several of them.”
“There are several of this kind of projects, about four, five projects almost of this size that we are doing in different parts of the state. By the end of October and November, we will go round some of these sites, in Ojo, Epe and others, to see where all of these are going to.
“We hope that when we come back here again, we will come to look at the finishing and the proper hospital. It’s going to bring about further regeneration of the entire neighborhood”.
Two of the “other big projects” the governor referred to include the Psychiatric Hospital in Ejinrin, Epe and the General Hospital in Ojo, the first in the local government area, with their construction revving up at a feverish pace.
Unarguably, the Lagos’ health sector has not had it this good. Within the first two years of his administration, the Sanwo-Olu administration completed and commissioned Epe Mother and Child Centre, Eti-Osa Mother and Child Centre, Ajah, Badagry Mother and Child Centre and the Igando Mother and Child Centre.
The scorecard in the health sector also includes the comprehensive renovation of public health facilities at the Ebute-Meta Health Centre, Harvey Road Health Centre, General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, General Hospital, Isolo and Ketu-Ejirin Health Centre.
That is a governor, who knows his onions. A governor who takes public service seriously. A governor who gets his hands dirty to get the job done. A governor determined to write his name in gold that he came into public service and made life better for the people.
