Connect with us

Uncategorized

Sola Fajobi: I refuse to be used and cowered, I’m voting Sanwo-Olu

Published

on


It is a general saying that “Until you realize how easy it is for your mind to be manipulated, you remain the puppet of someone else’s game”, and nothing can be truer than that quote in the light of Nigeria’s  situation at the moment.
The 2023 general election was meant to usher in a new era of renewed hope in a nation that is reputed to be the giant of Africa, but has successfully awaken an evil gnome of manipulation and bigotry in our youths like never before despite our alleged collective exposure.
On March 11, Lagosians will be polling to either re-elect the sitting governor or replace him with another aspirant from one of the other political parties gunning for the Alausa seat at the centre of excellence.
Lagos is a state with the highest number of voters in the South Western Nigeria. It boasts of vibrant and comparatively more educated electorates, representing a wide array of the nation’s ethnic groups. Statistics from the recently concluded presidential election shows that approximately 1/4 of the total number of registered voters were accredited to vote on February 25, 2023.
There was an upset in the usual results trend, where the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, was overtaken with a slight majority votes by the Labour Party that polled a total of  582,454 votes against APC’s 572,606. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the historic second -fiddle horse in Lagos elections was edged to a record low of 75,750 votes.
I may not be interested in the analysis of what went down in the election as there is an urgent task at hand; the requisite re-election of the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
For those whose sense of judgement have not been coloured by mischief makers, it is an easy affirmation that Lagos State is working by every standard. Looking around you, there is always a testament to that fact. A litmus test of the fact that Lagos State is working is the reality of a working integrated public services system: Lagos remains the ONLY state in Nigeria (roll in the FG) with a working toll-free emergency line, with chronicles of how it has saved the day in incidences of fire, security, disaster and many more across the state. 
Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a new convex curve in Lagos’ trajectory to regional dominance and global relevance. From the very first day, BOS has shown what he is made of as a member of a set of first-class governors that Lagos has been blessed with since 1999. He swiftly moved in to salvage the lot of Lagosians with respect to the perilous time his administration advent into. From leading the entire nation to successfully manage the COVID-19 pandemic, to rolling out his brilliant T.H.E.E.M.E.S. agenda, Sanwoolu came ready for the job from day one!
Aside from working out the long-standing vision of previous administrations, anchored on the objective of making Lagos a mega city of the 21st century-kind, five months ago, Sanwo-olu’s government launched a 30 year development plan for Nigeria’s commercial capital, which is to be implemented between 2022 and 2052. It is imperative to note that the plan is necessary to achieve the goals of becoming Africa’s model mega city, while also positioning Lagos as a global, economic and financial hub that is safe, secure, functional and productive.
Sanwo-Olu’s personality is cut from character traits uncommon with most Nigerian politicians, and ever since his assumption of office as the governor, he has rolled up his sleeves and got down into the trenches by ensuring that the state continues to move forward positively.
I’m a serial entrepreneur, and having traveled across the nation and outside its shores, I can declare without equivocation that Lagos State, under the APC, provides the best business environment for my business concerns to flourish. You can then understand my situation when I, Adesola Fajobi, say that I refuse to be used to derail such brighter prospects for my business and that of many other hardworking Lagosians like me.
Returning Sanwo-Olu as governor should be the most important task of every single Lagosian in this coking election. I refuse to be brainwashed to go against all the years of great works put into developing Lagos to make it the 5th largest economy in Africa.
The Ehingbeti Lagos Economic Summit has provided a platform for the articulation of Lagos economic and developmental agenda and progress, which Sanwo-Olu continually showcases with incontrovertible developmental strides.
He has commenced the construction of a new airport on the Lekki axis of the state after his government obtained approval from the federal government for the construction of the new airport in Lagos, and also completed the Lagos Blue Line rail project designed to move millions of Lagosians across the state.
Other laudable projects include the completion of the Pen Cinema flyover in Agege, the Opebi-Ojota link bridge, which is nearing completion, the largest rice mill in Africa, the Lekki Deep Sea port, upgrading of four higher institutions to universities and so many more.
Why change a winning and working formula? Why allow a newbie to turn a functioning society into a leadership testing ground?
Sanwo-Olu is sellable, tested and trusted. Why would I allow myself to be used as an agent of destruction to give greedy politicians tickets to return Lagos to ground zero? Mr. Governor always provides robust responses, demonstrating a deep understanding of the economy, governance, the people’s expectations and desires. This is something I wouldn’t want to stop benefiting from.
If his administration would be evaluated only by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no gainsaying that Sanwo-Olu performed excellently. Instead of throwing up his hands in defeat, Mr. Governor became the incident commander, and immediately went to work as he locked down the state, activated all the state apparatus – media, security, public health, emergency management, etc., thereby saving millions of Nigerians lives. He duly earned the country the fourth position in the list of the countries in the world that handled the pandemic well. This is a verifiable fact.
With his years of experience in the private sector, he quickly worked with major players to set up isolation centres, infectious diseases centres, amongst other steps. It goes without saying that if Sanwo-Olu had failed as a leader during this dark period in our life, we may not be here now talking about 2023 election at all. Today under Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos Health Insurance Scheme costs only N40,000 a year for a family to enjoy from primary to tertiary health care.
I refuse to be cowered by a mob that sees nothing good in Lagos, and are hell bent on fostering other candidates with no track records of performance. Governance is not a matter for experimentation 
I’m a father, a businessman, an entrepreneur, a brother and so much more like you; living in Lagos and flourishing under the present APC-led government. Come March 11, 2023, I have chosen to cast my vote for Babajide Sanwo-Olu to continue leading and serving Lagos with great achievements.
You should do the same too. Follow person wey know road

adron lemon friday

9 / 100 SEO Score
Continue Reading

News

Fani-Kayode Rejects Controversial Blue Silk Rank

Published

on

fani kayode

Fani-Kayode rejects Blue Silk after the Nigerian Law Society conferred its Senior Counsel designation on him at its 2026 annual conference.

(more…)

adron lemon friday


74
/ 100


SEO Score

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Grey CEO Urges Africa to Ditch Dollar for Trade

Published

on

Grey

Grey CEO Idorenyin Obong says intra-African trade payments should bypass the dollar, as the fintech expands direct currency conversion routes

African businesses should be able to pay suppliers across the continent without routing transactions through the United States dollar, Grey co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Idorenyin Obong, has said, as the cross-border payments company expands its currency conversion infrastructure.

Also read: CAF Restores AFCON to Every Two Years After Reversing Four-Year Plan

adron lemon friday

Obong made the remarks on Thursday, October 29, on the sidelines of Moonshot by TechCabal 2026, a two-day technology conference held at the National Theatre in Lagos.

He said reliance on intermediary currencies, particularly the dollar, adds complexity to transactions between African countries and can worsen existing foreign exchange liquidity challenges.

According to him, Grey has developed direct currency conversion routes that allow payments between selected African currencies without requiring businesses to convert their funds into dollars first.

“Most times, if you’re trading within Africa, there’s always some form of intermediary currency,” Obong said.

“We’ve built out these currency pairs, these exotic currency pairs, such that you never have to go in between to the USD.”

The issue is significant for businesses operating across African markets, where differences in currency availability, banking arrangements and payment infrastructure can make cross-border transactions expensive or unpredictable.

For example, a Nigerian company paying a supplier in Kenya may traditionally have to convert naira into dollars before exchanging the dollars for Kenyan shillings.

Each conversion introduces another stage in the transaction, potentially increasing costs and exposing the payment to additional delays.

Grey says its direct currency routes are designed to simplify that process by connecting supported currencies more efficiently.

The company said its payment infrastructure currently enables customers in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana to send and receive money, with liquidity arrangements supporting transactions in multiple currencies.

It also said payments can be settled in real time across several supported currencies.

However, the availability of direct routes does not mean that all African currencies can be exchanged freely or that every transaction will avoid dollar intermediation.

Currency coverage, liquidity and regulatory requirements remain important considerations in cross-border payments.

Obong identified foreign exchange liquidity and payment reliability as two of the biggest difficulties confronting businesses that trade internationally.

He said uncertainty over when suppliers will receive their money can disrupt procurement schedules and weaken commercial relationships.

Grey has therefore invested in infrastructure intended to improve the predictability of international payouts, including providing customers with estimated delivery times.

“We spent the last six years building the infrastructure to ensure that we’re delivering at the last mile at 99.99% to our customers,” Obong said.

He also disclosed that Grey had processed more than 40 million transactions and nearly $5bn in payments since the company began operations in 2020.

The company has expanded beyond individual currency exchange services into business payments and international salary management.

Its Grey Business platform, designed for startups and small businesses, has processed nearly $100m since launching in February, according to the company.

Grey previously reported that the business platform processed $61.4m in its first four months, with demand partly driven by stablecoin-based payments.

The fintech has also extended its payout services to China, allowing businesses to pay suppliers in Chinese yuan.

The expansion reflects its effort to serve companies whose international supply chains extend beyond African markets.

Grey’s development has followed changes in customer demand since its launch in 2020.

Obong said the company initially operated as a currency exchange service but discovered that many customers were primarily using the platform to receive salaries earned abroad.

“Most of our customers were using Grey to receive their foreign salary. And so we decided to build what I would call simply a salary account for these customers,” he said.

That shift led to Paycheck, a product that enables professionals earning in dollars, pounds and euros to receive and manage their salaries.

The service also integrates with Pouch, Grey’s savings feature, which allows users to set aside money for goals such as education, travel and major purchases.

The company’s expansion comes amid wider efforts to improve financial connectivity across African markets.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to create a more integrated continental market, has made trade facilitation, payment systems and currency-related barriers important parts of the conversation about intra-African commerce.

One initiative in this area is the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed to facilitate cross-border payments in local African currencies.

The system is intended to reduce reliance on third-party currencies and make intra-African trade payments more efficient.

Grey’s direct currency routes address a related challenge through its own commercial payment infrastructure, although the company’s services and PAPSS are separate initiatives with different operating models.

Obong’s comments also came as the company faced questions about customer experiences, including difficulties accessing foreign currency accounts and obtaining support.

Grey said it provides round-the-clock digital assistance and operates a physical office, while maintaining that online support is more effective for directing customer complaints to its distributed teams.

Grey was the headline sponsor of Moonshot by TechCabal 2026, held on October 28 and 29 in Lagos.

The conference brought together technology companies, investors, entrepreneurs and other industry participants to discuss innovation, investment and business opportunities across Africa.

For Grey, the ambition is to make international payments less complicated for businesses and individuals.

Also read: CAF Restores AFCON to Every Two Years After Reversing Four-Year Plan

Its push towards direct currency conversion reflects a broader question facing African commerce: how much more efficiently could companies trade across the continent if paying a supplier did not routinely require passing through the dollar?


68
/ 100


SEO Score

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

NANYD Faults Miners’ Death Probe, Alleges NSCDC Witch-Hunt

Published

on

NANYD

NANYD questions the miners’ death probe report, alleging contradictions in its findings and recommendations against NSCDC leadership (more…)

adron lemon friday


65
/ 100


SEO Score

Continue Reading

Trending News