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By Akinwunmi Ambode:

I am sharing my thoughts in this article, not necessarily as the Governor of Lagos State but as a Nigerian; a Nigerian who wants to see progress and sustainable growth in our country.

I have been lucky to be administering over a State that has been put on the right track by my two predecessors, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). I do not think I have done anything special except to bring my own style of leadership, my own experience and my vision.
Lagos, as it is, has not reached its peak but we can see signs of progress and positive transition to the Lagos of our dreams. What bothers me personally is that I do not see the same level of progress elsewhere in the country. I am not happy that most States in our country are not advancing like Lagos. It will be unfair of me to think that because Lagos is functioning, then I can go to bed and assume all is well. If only one man is prospering in a village, it is not progress. Rather that man is in danger.

According to the statistics released by the United Nations, by 2050, Nigeria is projected to have the third largest population in the world, with two-thirds of the population today below the age of 35. What are we doing today about this? What are we planning to feed them with? How are we going to provide them with jobs, housing and infrastructure? How are we planning to make the country self-sufficient and self-reliant for the future?

One of the key instruments to the permanent prosperity of Nigeria lies in the hands of the 109 Senators and 360 Representatives in the National Assembly. I just want to plead that we should be open-minded and forward-thinking; we should think about the teeming millions of youths, from Kano to Ibadan, Zungeru to Warri, Jalingo to Yobe, Umuahia to Calabar, and then back to Lagos; we must give serious consideration to what we intend to bequeath to them.

In my opinion, the prosperity of this nation lies with the States. We need to get the States and Regions working again and the only way we can unleash the potential of the state is for our representatives at the National Assembly to help their own states take the next step and move to the next level. In the past, there used to be positive rivalry and competition among regions prior to the entrance of the military in the national governance. The military split the nation into States and moved all resource control to the centre for their own administrative convenience. Now that we have tasted democracy, I think it is time for us to sit back and think, for the sake of those who are older than us and for the sake of our children, and even those yet unborn.

We need to raise our voice in support of the demand for devolution of power to States and fiscal federalism, especially the review of the current revenue sharing formula. These, in my view, are fundamental and critical to creating an enabling environment that will accelerate development in all parts of the country. The ongoing process for the review of the 1999 Constitution presents a golden opportunity for us to redress all the aberrations created by the interjection of the military that have stunted growth and inhibited the capacity of States to harness the huge potentials of our nation.