As Lagos State eagerly and patiently awaits the change of baton to another democratically elected governor for the state, the spotlight is set to shift to another couple for the next four years. In this article we take a panoramic look into the life of the Lagos State’s first couple and especially the first lady, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo Olu’s Biography
While our focus here is majorly on the first lady, it behoves on us to first drop the spotlight on the in-coming governor himself.
Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a graduate of the University of Lagos. A B.Sc and an MBA holder in Surveying from the University of Lagos. He also attended the Kennedy School of Government, USA; the London Business School as well as the Lagos Business School (LBS).
Sanwo-Olu is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and a fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Training and Development (NITAD).
Before going into politics, Sanwo-Olu was a renowned banker with many years in the banking industry.
Between 1994 and 1997, he served as treasurer at former Lead Merchant Bank Plc. Sanwo-Olu also served as head of foreign money market and deputy general manager at United Bank for Africa (UBA). He was also deputy general manager, Divisional Head, at First Inland Bank, Plc. (now First City Monument Bank).
Sanwo-Olu was chairman of Baywatch Group Limited – a multifaceted company with interests in construction, property development and human capital development; First Class Group Limited, a cooling, power and maintenance solutions provider, among others.
In 2003, then deputy governor, Femi Pedro appointed Sanwo-Olu as special adviser on corporate matters.
He later became acting commissioner of economic planning and budget. In 2007, Tinubu appointed Sanwo-Olu as the special adviser (corporate matters) before becoming a substantive commissioner for establishment. Between 2007 and 2015, Sanwo-Olu served as Babatunde Fashola’s commissioner for establishments, training and pensions. Sanwo-Olu is currently the managing director/CEO of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) Awards/Social life
Sanwo-Olu scored 739,445 votes to defeat Jimi Agbaje of the PDP who polled 206,141 votes in the governorship election.
Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu – Lagos State First Lady In Waiting…
It is said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. This probably holds true in the case of Mr Babajide Sanwo – Olu. Reports have it that all through her husbands campaign period, his wife, a medical doctor with 27 years of practice was a solid force behind him, lending her support and doing her bit to canvass support for him.
It was in the light of this that shortly after his victory at the poll, Sanwo-Olu took to twitter to celebrate his wife and children. Check out his tweet:
Babajide Sanwo-Olu@jidesanwoolu
To my dear wife, Ibijoke, I cannot thank you enough for being my pillar of support, for believing in me and coming on this journey even when it meant you had to make personal sacrifices. To my children, I say thank you for encouraging me all the way. I love you all.
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Here are photos after their victory at the polls:
Victory Dance
A Formidable Support…
Even before the election, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu, could be seen already steering the ship in her field canvassing support from the medical professionals.
She was quoted as saying that said improved healthcare would be a major programme her husband would be bringing, saying the experience of the retirees would be harnessed to solve the challenges facing healthcare delivery system in the state.
She said this while receiving various women support groups at the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Campaign Office in Ikoyi. Mrs. Sanwo-Olu, who was joined by the wife of her husband’s running mate, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, appreciated the women for engaging in door-to-door campaign on behalf of their husbands, while re-assuring them that the support would be reciprocated with good governance.
She said: “Tackling poverty at the grassroots is one of the things Sanwo-Olu is coming to tackle. The one that concerns women the most is the issue of healthcare. While the healthcare delivery has improved, there are many challenges to be solved. We are going to engage retirees who have decades of experience in health management, as they do in Germany. These people can help solve most of the challenges we face.” Mrs Sanwo-Olu revealed that her husband always became emotional for the “overwhelming support” he enjoyed from various groups across the divides, saying the support would not be taken for granted.
We can only hope their administration is a smooth and impactful one.
