Who is Not Ambitious in Nigeria?
By Kaini Desmond
Lagos State has over time served as the nest catering to different tribes and tongues, becoming the home for all.
The state which basks in aquatic grace has become the common room where everyone particularly the youth run to in exploring their ambitions and their inner drive for self realisation.
The benevolence and receptive spirit of Lagos is demonstrated in the number of non lagosians who have risen to the peak of their careers even in the state civil service. This reception spans across business, entertainment, education, sports, name it.
Do you want to talk about the number of non indigene elective office holders in Lagos? It is unrivaled by any state nation wide, from the North to the South.
Years back in my formative era in my state, I witnessed the cold war that existed with ascerbity when non indigenes were given positions that some locals felt should have been occupied by ‘ wennes’ as indigenes were often described, but not in lagos.
Relatively recently, a colleague of mine told me how he walked in to the state owned television station (LTV) and landed a job all because of his expertise and not because of whom he knew. Matter of fact, he knew no one. He had his heart in his hands when making that move but it paid off.
During an interaction about the person of Tinubu, I made some epiphany.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State had impressed the entire country in 2002 when he stood up to the federal government led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and maintained the state for five straight years without a single allocation from FG.
Tinubu engaged his mind and the retinue of egg heads around him and catered to the welfare of lagos workers without fail.
That endeared him immensely to workers and residents of the state and further consolidated his political stature and goodwill as such audacity was not common in the post independence Nigeria.
Another of the many things I discovered impressive about him is the ability to build people.
I was privileged to be part of a program where conversations about his “king making goodwill” was shrugged off for his ambitious political tricks, but I asked “which politician doesn’t have ambitions?”
Tinubu has been a man of impact from his time as a private citizen, then later as a force for return of democracy. For almost thirty years, Tinubu has supported many average Nigerian citizens and even politicians to achieve their dreams including jobs, community development, healthcare support, scholarships, skills acquisition and empowerment, social amenities, campaign funding and political network. He has in the process built bridges across the nation. Is anything wrong with that?
You will be surprised the number of people he has raised. I think that’s what leadership and humanity is about, rising by lifting others.
