On Saturday December 31, 2016, at the residence of the publisher of Vanguard, on a shelf was a copy of Lee Kuan Yew’s global best seller which many people had written and talked about – but few ever read. It was time to read it from page to page in the hope that there might be some insights in it for Nigeria. I was an undergraduate reading Economics in the United States when in August 1965 the majority Malaysians physically threw out the minority Chinese and other races and forced them to form a new country – Singapore. It was a small island state with no natural resources, no large population, nothing to build upon. The vast majority of economist in the US gave the new country no more than six months before collapsing. Its per capital income was far less than that of Nigeria. But, by 2000, it had per capita income of over $13,000 per annum – the third highest of any nation in the world.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is an accomplished banker of repute, unpopular presently, for policies considered injurious to certain vested business interests. Some of the policies also came with pains considered necessary for sustainable economic growth.

On Wednesday, 21st December, 2016, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and his Kebbi State counterpart, Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu (whom Ambode humorously referred to as “my business partner”), carried out an inspiring assignment together at the Conference Chamber of the Government House of Lagos State: they launched the “Lake Rice” brand for consumption in Lagos, nationwide and (with time) the world at large. Lagos offered to sell the 50 kilogramme of the product at the subsidised price of N12,000.

It is a zeal that beats the imagination of many; but for an academic who successfully conceived the remediation of groundwater from sewage using solar power, Governor Ben Ayade’s efforts in Cross River State are hardly surprising.

WITH a governance template that stands out as a model among Nigeria’s 36 states, governing Lagos State requires more than just being a political heavyweight as obtains in Nigeria’s political landscape. It is a task that comes with a proportionate mixture of intelligence, character and audacity to achieve super results that befit Lagos.