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Labor candidate for governor of Lagos State, Rotimi Odunaike, has said the quality of life of Lagos residents will be at the heart of his vision for the state, arguing that governance success should ultimately be measured by how people live, work and travel around the city.
Speaking on Daily Digest with Jimi Disu on Nigeria Info, Odunaike said his motivation for seeking the Lagos governorship was rooted in his personal experience growing up in the state and his concern over what he described as the erosion of the quality of life available to Lagosians.
“Lagos raised me,” he said, recalling the Lagos he knew before spending part of his professional life abroad.
Odunaike said the Lagos of his childhood was not perfect, but argued that she possessed qualities that he said had been progressively lost over the years.
He said his concern was less about headline economic statistics and more about the practical experience of ordinary residents.
“When I look at the state of things and the quality of life, I don’t talk about numbers and I don’t talk about statistics,” he said. “I’m talking about the impact Lagosians have on their quality of life.”
He used his trip to the radio station that morning to illustrate his point. Living in Ikeja, Odunaike said he left home just before 7am to ensure he arrived on time, but it took him about an hour to reach the station. “This isn’t living. This is surviving. This isn’t even thriving,” he said.
For him, therefore, mobility is not simply a question of transportation, but a question of quality of life with wider implications for the Lagos economy. He argued that improved mobility would improve people’s access to jobs, businesses and opportunities across the state. A resident of Ikeja, for example, should be able to travel to Epe on business without travel becoming a major constraint.
Odunaike also linked mobility and infrastructure to the vulnerability of informal sector workers, particularly traders whose businesses can be disrupted by floods and other environmental challenges.
He described traders as a critical component of Lagos’ economy and argued that the daily challenges they face in running their businesses should be part of the assessment of governance and public policies.
His broader proposition is that Lagos should pursue excellence across the fundamentals that shape everyday life. Rather than relying primarily on the description of Lagos as a “Centre of Excellence”, Odunaike said the State should demonstrate excellence through the actual quality of governance and public services, citing governance, mobility, economy, housing and hospitality among the areas where he believes higher standards should be set.
Odunaike said his political focus was therefore not primarily on competing personalities, but on articulating what he described as his vision for Lagos and demonstrating how it would affect residents. Underlying this view, he said, is therefore a concern about the role of values in leadership and public service.
Reflecting on his upbringing, particularly the discipline instilled by his mother, a Nigerian Army officer, and the years he spent in military schools, Odunaike said the values he acquired as a child continue to shape his understanding of leadership.
He argued that although circumstances can test or weaken an individual’s values, a deeply ingrained value system can ultimately bring a person back to their core. “You might meet different people. You might deviate a little here and there, but your core brings you back,” he said.
For Odunaike the leadership challenge therefore goes beyond political parties or personalities. He argued that Nigeria needs a stronger culture of values and service in public life. Ultimately, he said, his ambition is to build a people-focused campaign and vision for Lagos. “At the end of the day, it’s about them,” he said, referring to the citizens of Lagos
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