• From Education To Environment, Lagos Benefits From His Exploits
• How His Stint As Special Adviser Prepared Him For Higher Office
• His Trajectory From Corporate Genius To Coastal City Sweetheart
By Lanre Alfred
Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom. So it is with Tokunbo Wahab, the Lagos Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources. The spirit of his excellence exorcises the demon of mediocrity from his work.
Since his appointment by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Wahab has refrained from the untoward act of singing his own praises; like the proverbial star, he never had to deploy words to tell the world what he does; he simply shines.
In a nutshell, Wahab never had to speak for his work; on its own, his work finds its own voice.
Little wonder Governor Sanwo-Olu, in apparent divergence from the established norm, has become a major cheerleader for Wahab’s exploits.
Indeed, it is not every time that a governor effusively extols, in public, the performance of one of his commissioners for a job well done. But delighted by Wahab’s remarkable work, Governor Sanwo-Olu was moved to praise him in public.
The governor, in a social media post, last Tuesday, hailed Wahab for his achievements in the last two months.
According to Sanwo-Olu, “The Clean Up of Lagos, getting rid of waste and reducing pollution is a shared vision and collective effort that demands out-of-the-box thinking and extreme discipline. When I moved Tokunbo Wahab to the role of Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources, it was because I saw passion and pragmatism as well as the discipline required to do the difficult things. Working closely with LAWMA (Lagos Waste Management Authority), LASEPA (Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency), LAGESC (Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps), as well as other agencies, they have hit the ground running in the efforts to clean up Lagos.”
Corroborating him, a former Commissioner for Environment, Dr Muiz Banire, who served between 2007 and 2011, wrote a well-syndicated article entitled ‘All Hail the Lagos State Environment Commissioner’ wherein he declared that the environment ministry is a vast terrain because the ecological issues linger while the need for industrial and noise pollution abatement is still extant. Not forgetting the menace that the ubiquitous culture of street trading poses to society and the government. Thus the ministry, he said, needs an ‘actualiser and enabler.’
He described Governor Sanwo-Olu’s choice of Wahab as fitting and auspicious. “The Ministry is now fortunate to have a young, vibrant, hardworking, committed, and dynamic person as the chief executive. Leadership in any community dictates the mood of the followership. Where the leadership is weak, inept, incompetent, and corrupt, no miracle should be expected from the followers. At the barest minimum, the followers mimic the leader. The environment of a state creates the first impression to a visitor about not only the quality of the leadership in the state but signposts the seriousness and commitment of the administration,” he wrote.
Dr Banire stated further that the environment encompasses virtually all strata of society, which explains why pre-eminence is accorded it globally. He commended Wahab for ‘hitting the ground running,’ while accomplishing what seemed impossible in recent times.
“No doubt, within the short time of his ascendancy to the office, he has proven that he is not a wrong choice. A few days ago, the social media via the X platform was on fire for the impacts the commissioner was already making. Except for the consciously blindfolded Lagosian, even the naturally blind and the deaf in Lagos State are already feeling the impact of the helmsman in the Ministry. You cannot but notice that something is happening currently in terms of the environmental rejuvenation of the state,” noted Banire.
Indeed, since his inauguration in September, Wahab, who served as the Special Adviser on Education in Governor Sanwo-Olu’s first term, has been the most visible commissioner in a state with a major flooding problem caused largely by clogged waterways and drainage systems and developments on floodplains.
An intrepid and self-motivated public officer, Wahab committed to his duty from the get-go without fear or favour of anyone or group. Many popular markets have been locked up for environmental pollution and reopened upon compliance. A lot of illegal buildings and structures on canals and flood channels have also been demolished.
It all seemed impossible until Wahab started doing it and in time, Lagosians learnt to repose their trust in Wahab. Through him, Governor Sanwo-Olu is successfully enthroning a clean, flood-free, hygienic, and sustainable environment conducive to tourism, economic growth, and the well-being of the citizens.
There are no surprises to the vigour that Wahab brings to bear on his work. It would be recalled that in his previous posting, he superintended the creation of two new universities for Lagos State which, since its creation in 1967, had just one; the Lagos State University. Now, Lagos can boast of the Lagos State University of Education in Ijanikin and the Lagos State University of Science and Technology in Ikorodu.
To underscore his excellent performance in that office, the State government has now elevated the Office of the Special Adviser on Education to a full-fledged Ministry of Tertiary Education.
In all that Wahab does, his busy hands achieve more than a million idle tongues. So adept is he at emblazoning every new portfolio with his signature presence.
He goes about his work with the passion of a man who understands that if success were to be a room, it takes skill to get one’s feet at its door, and the secret key combination would be perseverance, hard work and excellence.
Wahab also understands that you can only be in the room for as long as your character and integrity would permit.