By Hassan Suleiman, PhD
With the swearing-in of 16th Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lagosians waited for who becomes the new Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The 9th LAHA session was led by Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa, who has been on the seat since 2015, replacing Rt Hon Adeyemi Sabit Ikuforiji, who was served as Speaker of the state Assembly for 10 years.
RT Hon Mudashiru Obasa’s political career started in 1999 when he was elected as Councillor in Agege Local Government under the banner of Alliance for Democracy (AD)
He became a member of the Lagos State House in the 5th session in 2003 and since then he has remained a member of the House currently serving his sixth term.
As a member of LAHA, he has served as the Chairman of many statutory committees of the House. He is the longest serving member of the House, in his sixth term: dogged, reliable and rugged.
Unlike in the previous Assembly when all the members are from one political party, the 10th Assembly comprised of 38 members from the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Lagos and two legislators from the Labour Party.
Lagos House of Assembly has been commended over the years, especially for living up to its slogan of ‘Above the Common Standard of Excellence’.
The State House of Assembly was praised by the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi for using the Yoruba Language in the deliberation of House activities on Thursdays. Again, the House has also enacted a law making the Yoruba language a compulsory subject in all schools (primary, secondary and even tertiary institutions in Lagos State). Again, the state House of Assembly has maintained cordiality with the Executive in providing effective governance of the state.
The inauguration of the 10th Lagos State House of Assembly has come and gone.
RT Hon Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa was re-elected again to steer the legislative arm of the state for another four years.
While I can affirm that the Obasa’s leadership will guarantee Lagosians quality representation, it is imperative to set an agenda for the incoming legislators with a view to providing qualitative legislation for Lagosians.
Due attention to the diverse nature of Lagos State is necessary now. The 2023 electioneering campaign and the outcome of the elections revealed the need for the 10th Assembly legislators to work on a bill that will address the issue of settlers/indigenes.
A situation whereby some settlers lay claim to ownership of community/residential area when they are not the indigenes must be seriously trashed out. At the last election, some settlers resorted to calling Lagos, a no man’s land. The bill to be passed into law by the state must be able to state who a settler is and who is an indigene. The limitation for the two should be spelt out clearly. Lagos has grown to be left alone without addressing the indigeneship/Settlership imbroglio.
Education should also be given due attention in the next session. The Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASU STECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) are three major tertiary institutions owned and financed by the state. It is high time the state government came up with a bill to give autonomy to these schools. These schools in the present session have experienced increased enrolments. Though the state government has performed well by providing facilities for these institutions, there are more important areas that still need to be addressed.
There is a need for more lecture halls, modern eateries and restaurants, more toilets, upgraded recreational and sporting facilities, upgrade the landscape of all the campuses of these schools and entrench a collaboration between the relevant industries in Lagos State with them.
Environment Sanitation is another key area that needs attention. The 10th Assembly must strive to pass into law a bill that will re-introduce environmental sanitation in the state at least once a month. The rainy season in Lagos has exposed the porosity of our environment: houses, markets, recreational and praying grounds and even public toilets.
These places experienced uncontrollable deposits of waste. All these can be addressed if the Legislators come up with a law to tackle the menace.
The present legislators must also help the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu in enacting laws to establish recycling plants to recycle the waste. At present, the waste in Lagos comprised satchet water and fast-food nylon.
Security is also another area that needs adequate attention. The spiral head of kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery ravaging the country call for utmost concern.
The legislators must strive to pass into law a bill that will strengthen the Nigeria Police Force with modern weapon, artificial intelligence and other accessories. Each community in Lagos should also be sensitized on the need for them to be security conscious.
There are other salient areas such noise pollution, street lights, clearing of drainages, and the need for community-support initiatives and rehabilitation of sporting and recreational facilities in local governments.
Hassan Biodun SULEIMAN, PhD is
Senior Lecturer/sub -Dean, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies,
Lagos State University.
