By Olasunkanmi Akoni
LAGOS — Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has urged Lagos residents to re-elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 and support his deputy, Dr Femi Hamzat, as his successor as governor of the state.
Sanwo-Olu made the call on Thursday while addressing participants at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos Island, during activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
The celebration featured an Independence Day parade by the Nigeria Police Force, paramilitary agencies and students, with the governor taking the salute. The ceremony also included the cutting of the Independence Anniversary cake.
Sanwo-Olu, who delivered his eighth and final Independence Day address as governor, said Nigeria’s survival through the civil war, military rule, economic hardship and political upheavals demonstrated the resilience of its people.
He said the historical significance of the venue was particularly important, recalling that the Union Jack was lowered at midnight on October 1, 1960, a short distance from the arena, as the Nigerian flag was raised to mark independence.
“Independence was not a rumour that reached Lagos late. It was born in Lagos, in the hearing of Lagosians,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He noted that Nigeria had remained one country and had recorded 27 uninterrupted years of constitutional democracy, which he described as the longest stretch of civilian rule in the country’s history.
“Here we are, 66 years, one country, one flag,” he said.
The governor acknowledged the hardship caused by recent economic reforms, saying rising food and transportation costs had affected households across Lagos.
“I’ve asked a great deal of ordinary families. The price of a bag of rice, the price of a bus to work, every household in Lagos has felt it, and I’ve felt it,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu, however, said the focus should be on ensuring that the benefits of the reforms eventually translate into improved living standards.
Turning to Lagos, he described the state as a microcosm of Nigeria, noting that people from different parts of the country live and work in the state.
“Lagos does not succeed in spite of Nigeria, and Nigeria does not succeed without Lagos,” he said.
The governor also highlighted his administration’s investments in transportation, healthcare, education and digital governance, citing the Blue and Red rail lines, road and bridge projects, healthcare infrastructure and expansion of tertiary institutions.
He credited Lagos residents for the achievements recorded by his administration, saying government could not take sole credit for the state’s progress.
“I did not build these things, Lagosians built them with me.
“With your taxes, your patience, your complaints, your holding us to account, the governor’s name fades on the plaque, but what remains is the people,” he said.
As he approaches the end of his tenure, Sanwo-Olu said his priority was to leave behind institutions capable of functioning beyond the tenure of any individual governor.
He also identified youth development and democratic participation as critical to Nigeria’s future, citing the contributions of young Lagosians to the creative, technology and entrepreneurial sectors.
On the 2027 elections, Sanwo-Olu declared his support for the All Progressives Congress, APC, and urged Lagos residents to support Tinubu for a second term and Hamzat as his preferred successor.
“I am asking you, first, to re-elect President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term of four years.
“He did what every President before him knew had to be done and none of them dared to do. You do not change the pilot when the aircraft has finished climbing and is about to level out.
“Vote the broom across the board for Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, my brother and my Deputy these seven years, as the next Governor of Lagos State, so that nothing we have started is abandoned,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He urged voters to participate peacefully and exercise their franchise, noting that Lagos had recorded peaceful transfers of power since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
“Vote peaceably, vote in your numbers, vote with your eyes open,” he said.
Returning to the symbolism of the Nigerian flag, Sanwo-Olu said it had remained flying despite the country’s difficult history.
“The flag has never come down.
“Sixty-six years after, those flags are still flying through war, through hardship, through long nights of trial, through every prophecy of collapse that clever people have written about this country since 1960,” he said.
The governor urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to protect the country’s unity and build on the legacy inherited from previous generations.
“It is not our hour to retire, it is our hour to build,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu also paid tribute to security and paramilitary personnel who participated in the parade, as well as schoolchildren who represented the next generation.
“To the school children in this arena who’ll see the 100th anniversary, this is your inheritance. Guard it, protect it, improve on it, and hand it to your own next generation,” he said.
The event was attended by government officials, traditional rulers, security agencies, students, members of the diplomatic community and other residents who gathered to commemorate Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
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